Departmental Strategies
Dail Éireann — 2026-03-03
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Eoin Hayes (SD), Dublin Bay South

The Government's well-being framework is supposed to be a means by which preliminary budgetary decisions can be made. As the Taoiseach might be aware, last month, Social Justice Ireland published an alternative well-being framework entitled Measuring What Matters. It critiques the Government's framework design as not being sufficient to identify and understand disparities, so it took it upon itself to create a more comprehensive picture that reflects the lived experience of different groups. The report states:
The social contract must foster societal wellbeing if it is to last. If it fails to do so, it risks a breakdown in the social fabric and a loss of faith in our democratic institutions.
I could not agree more. The report found that there are significant disparities and inequality across the housing and built environment dimension, as well as the work and job quality dimension, suggesting a deepening gap between the haves and the have-nots. Importantly, in the environment, climate, and biodiversity dimension, the report suggests that progress is reversing, inequality is widening and sustainability is declining. What steps will the Government take in the forthcoming budget to ensure that these trends are reversed and, in particular, that the environment, climate and biodiversity dimension remains a top priority?

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/dail/2026-03-03/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-09-14T01:01:02+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-03-03