Welcome to the website of the Irish Government Economic and Evaluation Service (IGEES), which will present analytical and statistical outputs from the Service. The site contains recent analytical papers across a range of public policy and expenditure topics.
The papers have been prepared by members of IGEES and do not necessarily represent the policy positions of the relevant Departments, Ministers or the Government.
Last week saw the conclusion of a very enjoyable and thought provoking 2021 IGEES annual conference. Though it was hoped we could return to an in person event it was great that we could still go ahead in an online setting as these events are so important to sharing and driving the impact of our analytical work.
Climate change took a central role in this year’s IGEES conference. The Climate Action Plan 2021 published earlier this year signalled the important role of climate change in public policy going forward. Moving forward it is likely that climate related issues will form a key part of our work in IGEES.
Day two of the conference started with a video message from Mister for Public Expenditure and Reform, Michael McGrath TD, and showcased the wider work of IGEES in terms of driving evidence informed policy and the final day highlighted the opportunities and challenges for the economy and labour market.
Guest speakers Professor Cathal O’Donoghue from the National University of Ireland Galway and Associate Professor Stephen Kinsella from the University of Limerick for brought their perspectives to the discussions and 140 people on average over the three days logged in to hear about the work carried out by IGEES which is of critical importance in terms of building up an evidence base and informing policy formulation. This work is greatly appreciated and valued throughout the Civil Service.
Conference Presentation Slides
Day 1
Guest Speaker – Prof Cathal O’Donoghue – National University of Ireland, Galway
Climate Policy and Expenditure Frameworks (Laura Kevany)
Beef Environmental Efficiency Programme Sucklers (BEEP-S) (Charlie Banks and Anthony Cawley)
Day 2
LGBTI+ Youth Capacity Building Grant Programme (Fiona Corcoran)
Driving Evidence Informed Policy Making Spending Review Healthcare (Mark Hennessy)
Capital Demand Analysis & the NDP (Jane Burmanje)
Tenure Shift from Ownership to Rental & Policy Implications (Eoin Corrigan)
Applications of Economic Modelling for Shaping Health Policy (Patrick Moran & Terence Hynes)
Day 3
Guest speaker – Prof Stephen Kinsella – University of Limerick
Outlook for Consumer Price Inflation (John Harnett and Eimear Flynn)
Impact of Covid-19 on remote working in Ireland (Patrick O’Brien)
As part of the NDP, Department of Public Expenditure and Reform has published the Public Capital programme 2021 – 2030: Labour intensity of Public investment paper. The paper estimates that an annual average of up to approximately 80,000 direct and indirect construction jobs will be sustained by the investment over the course of the NDP.
The full report is available here
This report presents an evaluation of the LGBTI+ Capacity Building Grant Programme, delivered annually by the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth (DCEDIY) as per Objective 7 of the LGBTI+ National Youth Strategy 2018-2020. The programme aims to support organisations that work directly with young people, in improving their understanding of and ability to engage with the key issues faced by LGBTI+ youth. An evaluation of the Programme was requested by the LGBTI+ Youth Strategy Team in January 2021, and delivered by the DCEDIY Research and Evaluation Unit (REU) between February and April 2021.
The evaluation was based on survey responses received from a total of 65 individuals: 45 from grant recipient organisations and 20 from organisations that participated in grant-funded initiatives. Survey respondents represented 56 organisations: 38 grant recipients organisations and 18 participating organisations.
The results indicate that almost all respondents agreed that the initiative improved participants’ understanding of and ability to engage with LGBTI+ young people, and helped to change professional practices. The majority also felt that in order to be more effective, the capacity building initiatives will require further dialogue and training, with many grant recipients highlighting the need for ongoing, multiannual, long-term or mainstreamed funding to enhance the impact of the initiative. The majority of participants commented on the need for more support around engaging with LGBTI+ youth with disabilities and/or mental health issues, and the need for more LGBTI+ awareness and education in schools.
The findings in the attached evaluation report will help inform the direction of future funding for the DCEDIY’s LGBTI+ Youth Capacity Building Grant Programme.
The full report is available here
The Strategic Research Analysis Division in the Department of Transport have published the 2020 edition of Transport Trends. The report is an annual overview of the main data and statistics from across the transport sector. The report primarily compiles information up to 2019 which have previously been released. This is the sixth year the Department has produced Transport Trends.
There has been some changes to the document this year. The Energy and Emissions chapter was renamed Green Transitions, which presents changes made to reduce the CO2 emissions within the transport sector, and a COVID-19 chapter was included, which briefly highlights the initial impact of the pandemic on the transport sector. A more detailed analysis on the impact of the crisis on the Aviation, Maritime, and Land Transport sectors will not be fully included until the next iteration of Transport Trends.
This year’s edition of Transport Trends highlights changes across many transport domains in Ireland up to the end of 2019. This includes increases in the movement of people – by public transport, through our airports, and via cruise ships – and a decline in the volume of freight being moved by air and sea. However, it is important to be aware that much of the growth shown in this report is likely to be followed by decline in next year’s report as the impact of the pandemic on the transport sectors come to light.
The paper can be found here