Social Policy

Responsibility for social policy and social inclusion is shared across a wide range of Government Departments and agencies, including the Departments of Health and Children; Social and Family Affairs; Justice, Equality and Law Reform and Education and Science.

The aim of the Social Policy Unit in the Department is:

To provide support to the Taoiseach in the delivery of social commitments in the Programme for Government,
To promote cohesion between different social policies and strategies,
To facilitate the development of shared analysis and joint action by the Government and other stakeholders, in particular social partners, and
To identify emerging trends and policy issues and proposing new initiatives and responses.

This Department works closely with other Departments and agencies to advance a range of social inclusion objectives. Examples of this include the National Action Plan for Social Inclusion 2007-2016, the National Drugs Strategy and the National Disability Strategy.

The Department provides the Secretariat for two Cabinet Committees which focus on a range of social policy issues, as follows:

Cabinet Committee on Social Inclusion,
Cabinet Committee on Health.

The Committees are supported by Senior Officials Groups, chaired by this Department.

Particularly relevant to the social policy agenda was the publication of the NESC Report “The Developmental Welfare State”, which provides a revised account of the evolution of the Irish welfare state, identifies the social deficits that remain despite Ireland’s remarkable economic progress and recasts the social debate in a way that can build consensus on how to improve social protection in Ireland. The adoption of the lifecycle framework, as set out by NESC in this report, is a key feature of the current social partnership Agreement Towards 2016 and is also reflected in the National Development Plan 2007-2013 and the National Action Plan for Social Inclusion 2007-2016. Further details are outlined below.

Social Partnership Agreement – Towards 2016

The Lifecycle Framework

Towards 2016 is the current social partnership agreement which was negotiated by social partners in 2006. Towards 2016 develops a new lifecycle framework to address key social challenges which the individual faces at each stage of life. The key lifecycle stages are identified as: Children, People of Working Age, Older People, and People with Disabilities.

Part III of Towards 2016 identifies an agreed vision and key long-term goals for each stage of the lifecycle, together with agreed priority actions for the initial phase of the Agreement.

Key areas to be addressed in relation to children include early childhood development and care, improving education outcomes, improving health outcomes, promoting recreation, sports, arts and culture, income support, and children and their families.

Employability, access to employment and income, improving health outcomes, caring responsibilities, and housing, will be the key focus in relation to people of working age. The particular needs of young adults in respect of education, training and employment, health and social services, housing and motor insurance, are also considered.

Priority areas identified for attention for older people include pensions/income supports, long-term care services,housing and accommodation, ensuring mobility, ensuring quality health services, and promoting education and employment opportunities.

In respect of people with disabilities, Government and the Social Partners have agreed that the National Disability Strategy provides a comprehensive strategy for this lifecycle cohort and are agreed that its implementation should be the focus of policy over the lifetime of the Agreement. Key issues highlighted include health and education services, income, measures to promote employment opportunities, accessible housing and public transport services and information and advocacy services.

The Agreement also includes a range of proposals designed to support the role of the Community and Voluntary sector in responding to the particular challenges associated with the implementation of the lifecycle approach. These include the provision of enhanced funding for the Sector and commitments to promote social finance and philanthropic activity.

For further information on Towards 2016 see Policy Areas, Social Partnership Publications on this website.

Reports or publications

Other reports of particular relevance to the Social Policy area include:

Key national bodies involved in Social Policy include :

Key Regional bodies include: