Minister McGrath publishes paper on Well-being and Public Policy

As part of its work on supporting the development of the well-being initiative, the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform has published a working paper, Well-being and Public Policy – Utilising a well-being perspective to inform public policy.

The paper can be found on the IGEES website .

The purpose of this paper is to examine what is meant by well-being in a public policy context and how this understanding might be used to inform the policy-making process. The working paper builds on earlier reports setting out the development of the Well-being Framework, most recently, in June 2022, the second report of the Interdepartmental Group, Understanding Life in Ireland: The Well-being Framework.

The Minister for Public Expenditure & Reform in welcoming the publication of this working paper noted that:

“The development of a Well-being Framework for Ireland is an important cross-government initiative. The overall vision of this Framework is to enable all of our people to live fulfilled lives, now and into the future. The Programme for Government – Our Shared Future committed to not just developing a set of well-being indices to create a well-rounded, holistic view of how Irish society is faring, but to ensuring that such a framework would be utilised in a systematic way across government policy-making.

"The publication of this working paper will make an important contribution to the broader discussion about how a well-being perspective can inform the policy process in a way that enhances public policy and makes for better lives for all of our people.”

As further work is undertaken over the next few years, and as different methodologies and approaches are utilised, the intention is to update this working paper as part of the progressive and proportionate development of the well-being perspective within policy processes.