http://hdl.handle.net/2262/37786 2013-05-12T21:29:23Z http://hdl.handle.net/2262/24099 Title: Delivering integrated policy and services for children Author: Langford, S. Abstract: The Irish Public Service has been relatively strong historically in the area of policy formulation. I have come to the conclusion, however, that we are relatively weak when it comes to implementation and many good policies fail due to a lack of appropriate structures and processes to ensure their successful implementation from policy objectives to tangible outcomes. This paper outlines the role of the Office of the Minister for Children (OMC), which is seeking to overcome that difficulty and bring about more effective implementation of services and interventions for children through cross-Departmental and cross–sectoral working. Description: Read before the Society, 21 June 2007 2007-01-01T00:00:00Z http://hdl.handle.net/2262/24079 Title: A review of recent trends in output, employment and productivity in Ireland Author: Sexton, J. J. Abstract: This paper reviews real output, employment and productivity trends in the Irish economy over the ten year period from 1995 to 2005. The analyses, which are carried out within the framework of the CSO Annual National Accounts, extend across the entire economy. An important feature of the paper is the provision of estimated trend measures for different sectors, which entails an extension of the limited number of categories usually shown in the National Accounts statistics. As the measurement of volume or real economic output is the subject of ongoing discussion and debate at international level, it was considered appropriate to include a section which highlights some of the main methodological and conceptual problems involved, and how these are dealt with. Productivity trends, which are currently the subject of much debate, are analysed in some detail. These results reaffirm that productivity growth in the economy has faltered noticeably in recent years, due not only to declining productivity levels in some sectors (e.g. building and construction), but also due to ongoing changes in the sectoral composition of the economy. The paper also compares the recent output, employment and productivity performance of the Irish economy with the trends in the European Union and in the US. Finally, the paper reviews some policy options for the future, drawing particular attention to the consequences arising from declining productivity and the concentration of growth in a limited number of areas. The identification of possible areas which would underpin sustainable economic growth in the future is also discussed. Description: Read before the Society, 11 October 2006 2007-01-01T00:00:00Z http://hdl.handle.net/2262/23819 Title: Launch of the on-line archive of the Journal of the Statistical and Social Inquiry Society of Ireland, 1847-2007; followed by an address by Aidan Punch Author: O'Brien, Miriam Hederman; Punch, Aidan Abstract: The journals of the Statistical and Social Inquiry Society of Ireland provide a remarkable record of both the events and the ideas of the past 160 years. They relate mainly to Ireland but they reflect the views and enthusiasms that swept through Britain, Europe and the rest of the world. Description: Read the 16th May 2007 2007-01-01T00:00:00Z http://hdl.handle.net/2262/23800 Title: Trinity Week Academic Symposium - Data for policy and research Author: O'Hanlon, G. Abstract: The availability of high quality statistical data on economic and social conditions is a fundamental prerequisite for ensuring an effective partnership between policy makers and academic researchers in contributing to the development and monitoring of public policy. The increased focus on Evidence-based Policy Making in recent years has highlighted the need for such partnerships and also for the development of the official statistics system to provide the basic raw material. Description: Read before the Society, 16 May 2007 2007-01-01T00:00:00Z http://hdl.handle.net/2262/23799 Title: Trinity Week Academic Symposium - Open access revolution: the local and national context Author: Brennan, Niamh Abstract: The title of this Academic Symposium comes from a paper read before Statistical and Social Inquiry Society of Ireland on Thursday, 14th January 1897, which refers to “the grievances of prejudiced patriots or the dreams of statisticians” (Synnott, 1897). The organisers of this Symposium felt that the phrase sums up the varied nature of the Journal of the Statistical and Social Society of Ireland which we celebrate today and the aspirations of the distinguished authors who have contributed to the Journal over the past 160 years. The Society’s new webpages are just about to go live. From these you may link directly into the Current Journal and to the Archive on the web – the complete collection of all papers published from 1848 to date. That includes over 1,300 papers. They are not particularly clean copies – with there being annotations, signatures, marks of all kinds, evidence of the attention of many readers over the years. The papers digitised for this project came from bound volumes held in the Economic and Social Research Institute and in the Central Statistics Office. Trinity’s Library, with the careful supervision of its Conservation Department, allowed any gaps in the collection to be filled in. So we now have a complete set – preserved and made available through an open access repository. The papers were individually catalogued to TCD Library standards. Description: Read before the Society, 16 May 2007 2007-01-01T00:00:00Z http://hdl.handle.net/2262/23759 Title: Trinity Week Academic Symposium - Public policy partnerships Author: Donnelly, Gerry Abstract: The Irish Civil Service, probably like a lot of workplaces, has changed almost beyond recognition in the past 35 years. In the 1970s, almost all internal communication was in writing and it was commonplace for the views of each officer handling a case file to be recorded in writing and every file proceeded through the hierarchical structure until it reached the level appropriate to the decision which needed to be made. At each stage of the process, submissions were corrected and re-drafted before transmission to the next level. It was through this process of correction and refinement that junior officers learned the right and wrong ways of doing things. My contact in those days with my Assistant Secretary or Secretary-General was non-existent. That much of these processes have changed in the intervening years is a consequence of advances in technology and the new work practices that have resulted. Description: Read before the Society, 16 May 2007 2007-01-01T00:00:00Z http://hdl.handle.net/2262/23739 Title: Trinity Week Academic Symposium - Origins, mission and significance Author: Daly, Mary E. Abstract: This symposium celebrates the launch of a dedicated website of the proceedings of the Statistical and Social Inquiry Society of Ireland, and its direct ancestor the Dublin Statistical Society. The Dublin Statistical Society was founded on 23 November 1847 with the mission to bring professional expertise to bear on pressing contemporary social and economic issues. The timing is not coincidental: 1847 was probably the worst year in the history of modern Ireland. This was the beginning of the third year of the great famine; death and emigration were at record levels, as was the incidence of disease. The British government was suffering from ‘compassion fatigue’; they had ended all special measures for famine relief and abandoned Ireland to its own resources, placing the entire burden of relief on the inadequate and inexperienced Irish Poor Law, which was breaking down under the strain. Landlords, faced with record rates bills and unpaid rents were evicting tenants and clearing their estates, and the emigrant ships contained not just the destitute and desperate, but many substantial farmers with their families. An international financial crisis only added to the gloom. Irish politics was also in disarray, following the death of Daniel O’Connell and the collapse of the Irish Convention which had attempted to achieve some political consensus on critical issues such as land reform. Description: Read before the Society, 16 May 2007 2007-01-01T00:00:00Z http://hdl.handle.net/2262/23639 Title: Proceedings of the Statistical and Social Inquiry Society of Ireland - one hundred and sixtieth session: 2006/2007 Author: SSISI Abstract: The first meeting of the session was held in the Royal Irish Academy, on Thursday, 19th October 2006, at 6:30 pm. The President, Aidan Punch, was in the Chair when Mr. Jerry Sexton presented a paper entitled, A Review of Recent Trends in Output, Employment, and Productivity in Ireland. Description: Proceedings of the Statistical and Social Inquiry Society of Ireland - one hundred and sixtieth session: 2006/2007 2007-01-01T00:00:00Z http://hdl.handle.net/2262/23560 Title: Marriage, fertility and the family in Ireland – a statistical perspective Author: Punch, Aidan Abstract: The paper looks at the changes which have been occurring in trends relating to marriage, fertility, and the family in Ireland. Cohabitation is increasing with one in four couples without children now falling into this category. On the other hand, marriage is occurring at older ages although there is evidence of a stabilisation of the decline in the probability of females marrying for the first time. The increase in the average age at which females are having their first child is consistent with later marriages while the narrowing of the differential between the average ages for different birth orders suggests that the spacing of children is now concentrated over a shorter period of time than heretofore. While the predominant family type still consists of husbands and wives and their children, the growth in the number of couples without children clearly reflects a lifestyle choice on the part of certain couples. The increase in the number of usual residents of this country who were born abroad has begun to impact on the make up of the family in Ireland. One of the fastest growing categories has been children born in this country to parents, both of whom were born outside Ireland and the UK. It is clear from the information presented in the paper that Ireland is experiencing major demographic change at present. Description: Presidential address read before the Society, 31 May 2007 2007-01-01T00:00:00Z http://hdl.handle.net/2262/23559 Title: Demographic trends and the future of pensions in the UK Author: Hills, J. Abstract: This article outlines the recommendations of the UK Pensions Commission, and the data and analysis on which they were based, including projections of demographic change, trends in private pension saving, and evolution of the state pension system. The Commission concluded that without reform, structural problems with UK pensions would lead to increasingly inadequate and inequitable provision in 15-20 years time. It recommended reforms which would lead to a more generous, more universal and less means-tested state system than would otherwise evolve, and the establishment of a low cost National Pension Savings Scheme, into which employees without good employer provision would automatically be enrolled. The proposals, now largely being implemented, imply eventual increases both in state spending on pensions as a share of national income and in State Pension Age, but accompanied by measures to facilitate later and more flexible retirement. Description: Read before the Society, 19 April 2007 2007-01-01T00:00:00Z