Pádraig Mac Lochlainn
Question:494. Deputy Pádraig Mac Lochlainn asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality to provide the National Equality Data Strategy 2026-2031. [2949/26]
View answerThursday, 15 January 2026
Questions (494)
Written answers
I obtained Government approval for Ireland’s first National Equality Data Strategy just before Christmas. This Strategy has been developed by the Central Statistics Office and this Department in partnership with a working group drawn from across Government and civil society.
I will publish this Strategy very shortly and work will then begin on its implementation, including the formation of a steering group to oversee and monitor progress.
The Strategy requires all Government Departments to make a commitment to collect, use or disseminate equality data and to develop the organisational capacity to fulfil this commitment. It provides a general approach for identifying and filling current gaps in equality data, as well as developing standard practices in classification.
The Strategy will improve Ireland’s collection, disaggregation and use of equality data to enable policymakers to develop sound and inclusive evidence-informed policies that improve service delivery and outcomes across Ireland.