342. Deputy Gillian Toole asked the Minister for Public Expenditure, Infrastructure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation the status of the Unit for Forward Planning; if the staffing of the unit includes redeployment of staff or recruitment of new staff; when the unit will be operational; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [29225/26]

As set out in the Programme for Government, as our population grows, it is essential that people can continue to avail of public services when they need them, in a timely and efficient manner, through increased access and improved delivery. In this context, my Department will continue to enhance the capacity for longer-term thinking and future planning. Work in this regard is already being undertaken by existing staff of the Department across a number of relevant Divisions and this is kept under ongoing review.

The strategic use of data is key to my Department’s work in terms of delivering data-driven policy insights. Examples include contributions to the Medium-Term Expenditure Framework, the National Development Plan and specific published reports, including Irish Government Economic and Evaluation Service (IGEES) papers, which support ongoing monitoring and evaluation of expenditure programmes across Government. These analyses draw on a variety of domestic and international data and research resources including CSO, Central Bank, ESRI, OECD, IMF and the World Bank.

The Medium Term Expenditure Framework, published in September 2025, is a multi-year public expenditure planning exercise that supports assessment of the resource implications of future policy decisions up to 2030, which will enable better planning, effective prioritisation and increased transparency on the costs of delivering critical public services.

The 2025 National Development Plan Review sets out departmental capital ceilings to 2030 and overall capital investment out to 2035. Together with the National Planning Framework, under the remit of the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage, these plans combine to form Project Ireland 2040, the overarching planning and investment framework for the social, economic and cultural development of Ireland.

Other initiatives to support longer-term thinking in my Department include those by the IGEES with strategic policy discussion events on long term trends such as demographic change and a pilot programme of strategic foresight activities that was run in conjunction with the OECD to raise awareness of the uses of strategic foresight in policy development, connected to the Better Public Services transformation strategy.

My Department is also cooperating with the Department of Finance regarding “Future Forty: a Fiscal and Economic Outlook to 2065" which looks ahead, examining how demographic, technological, social, and environmental trends may impact Ireland’s economy and public finances over the next forty years.