Press release
Minister Doherty hosts Pre Budget Forum 2020 in Dublin Castle
From Department of Social Protection
Published on
Last updated on
From Department of Social Protection
Published on
Last updated on
Minister Doherty hosts Pre Budget Forum 2020 in Dublin Castle
Over 50 Organisations to attend
#PreBudgetForum
The Minister for Employment and Social Protection, Regina Doherty T.D., and the Minister of State for Disability Issues, Finian McGrath T.D., are hosting the Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection’s annual Pre-Budget Forum in Dublin Castle today.
Representatives from over 50 community groups will be attending and participating in the Forum, which is to be moderated by Suzy Byrne, an activist and commentator who has over 25 years in the community and voluntary sectors working on equality and disability issues.
Speaking today, Minister Doherty said:
“This Forum offers a unique opportunity for the community, voluntary and employee and employer representatives attending to present their views on what they feel should be included and prioritised in Budget 2020. It will help inform me and the officials in my Department on how we can improve the lives of those adults and children who are the most vulnerable in our communities.”
Opening the Forum, Minister Doherty emphasized the importance of input from attendees and how it had shaped previous initiatives and Budgets. Pointing to recent developments, Minister Doherty outlined that in the last two years, the Government has delivered:
The Minister also cited recently introduced important new legislation which addresses the challenges of increased casualization of work and strengthens the regulation to help improve the security and predictability of working hours for employees on insecure contracts.
Also attending today’s Forum, Minister of State Finian McGrath T.D. said:
“I am very pleased to be attending the Department's Pre-Budget Forum and I look forward to listening to the discussions at the workshops. Since my appointment as Minister for Disabilities my primary objective has been to improve the lives of people with disabilities in a real and practical way. We need to strengthen our efforts to ensure that people with disabilities realise their potential by focussing on a person’s “Ability” rather than on their disability.”
The Forum is an important annual event for the Department and is a unique opportunity for community, voluntary and trade union and business representatives to discuss and debate policy issues and present their thoughts and views on Budget 2020.
Officials from the Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection will facilitate a number of workshops (see Editor’s Note) to allow attendees to outline their main priorities, concerns and views as work begins to frame the welfare element of Budget 2020.
ENDS
Editor’s Note
The Forum is an important annual event for the Department and is a unique opportunity for community, voluntary and trade union and business representatives to discuss and debate policy issues and present their thoughts and views on Budget 2020.
During the course of the morning, the organisations attending will break into workshops that will focus on the following six key themes:
Officials from the Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection will facilitate these workshops to allow the organisations outline their main priorities, concerns and views as work begins to frame the welfare element of Budget 2020.