NESDO

The National Economic and Social Development Office (NESDO) was established as part of the National Economic and Social Development Act, 2006.

NESDO is the corporate body for NESC. It provides administrative support services, submits all recommendations and conclusions arising from research carried out by NESC to Government, and arranges for the publication of Council Reports on the NESC website.

NESDO publishes annual reports detailing its activities and furnishing its audited Financial Statement. For further information, please contact Gaye Malone, Head of Corporate Affairs.

 

Organisational Effectiveness

Governance and Financial Reporting

NESDO is committed to attaining the highest standard of corporate governance within the organisation. The overall governance and control framework within NESDO is guided by compliance with the NESDO Act 2006 and the Provisions of the Code of Practice for the Governance of State Bodies (2016).

During 2022, given the introduction of NESDO’s Blended Working policy, particular emphasis continued on monitoring the control environment operating in NESDO, focusing on financial and data management.

Risk Management

The effective management of organisational risk requires robust control processes to support NESDO and the Board in achieving NESDO’s objectives. Risk and control functions are established in the role of an Audit & Risk Committee appointed by the Board, who review performance and risk matters, including policy and practice. NESDO has an established Risk Register which is reviewed and approved at regular intervals by the Audit & Risk Committee.

Public Sector Duty

The Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission Act (2014) requires that NESDO conducts an assessment of the human rights and equality issues it believes to be relevant to its own functions and purpose; set out the policies, plans and actions already in place or otherwise proposed to be put in place to address these issues; and report on developments and achievements regarding the Public Sector Duty in its annual report.

Ethics in Public Office Legislation

As a public body, NESDO is required under section 22 of the Protected Disclosures Act 2014, to publish an annual report in relation to the number of protected disclosures made to it in the preceding year, and the action taken in response to any such protected disclosures.

No protected disclosures were made to NESDO in the period 1 January to 31 December 2023.

Freedom of Information

NESDO received no Freedom of Information (FOI) requests in 2023.

Offsetting Emissions Associated with Official Air Travel

In line with provisions of Circular 01/2020, NESDO recorded the following Emissions associated with official air travel usage for 2023 as follows:

• The total kilometres travelled via flights: 11152
• The tonnes of CO2 applicable 2006: 1.2006
• Amount remitted to the Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications: €58.23

 

Access to Information on the Environment

The AIE Regulations 2007 to 2014 gives citizens the right to access information on the environment from public authorities.

Under the Regulations, information relating to the environment held by, or for, a public authority must, subject to certain exceptions, be provided on request to any person.

The Regulations provide a definition of environmental information and outline the manner in which requests for information should be provided to public authorities. The Regulations also provide for a formal appeals procedure in the event that a person is unhappy with a decision on their request.

Requests under the AIE Regulations should be provided to the public authority concerned.

The AIE Regulations provide a definition of environmental information; outline the manner in which requests for information may be submitted to public authorities; and the manner in which public authorities are required to deal with requests (e.g. timeframes for response). The regulations also provide for a formal appeals procedure in the event that a person is unhappy with a decision on their request.

How to make an AIE application

Applications for Access to Information on the Environment should be made to:

          AIE Officer
          National Economic and Social Development Office
          16 Parnell Square East
          Dublin 1

When making a request for information under the Access to Information on the Environment Regulations you are required to:

• state that the application is being made under the AIE Regulations and submit it in writing or electronic form (info@nesc.ie);
• provide your contact details; and
• state, in terms that are as specific as possible, the environmental information required, and specify the form and manner of access desired.

Normally you will be notified of the decision on your request within 1 month of its receipt.

Fees

There is no initial fee for making an application under the AIE Regulations. However, a public authority may charge a reasonable fee for supplying the information requested. This may include the costs of compiling, copying, printing or posting of information.

• Search, retrieval and copying of records: €20.00 per hour;
• Photocopying: €0.04 per sheet depending on the volume of information contained in the request;
• A CD-ROM: €10.00

There is no charge for applying for an internal review.

It costs €150 to take an appeal to the Commissioner for Environmental Information, or €50 if you are the holder, or dependent of a holder of a medical card, or a third party appealing the decision to release certain information.

Requirements for dealing with requests

In general, a public authority is required to respond to an AIE request within one month of receipt of the request. Where, due to the complexity or volume of information required, a public authority is unable to respond within the one month timeframe, they are required to write to the applicant within the month, indicating when a response will issue. This date should not be more than two months from the receipt of the original request.

If the public authority does not have the information requested, it can either transfer the request to another public authority or advise the applicant of where it believes the request should be directed. In either case, it is required to notify the applicant.

Grounds for refusing information

There are a number of grounds on which a public authority can refuse information; these include when a body is acting in a legislative or judicial capacity (Article 3(2)) and both mandatory (Article 8) and discretionary (Article 9) grounds for refusing information. When making a decision on whether to release information, a public body is required to consider the provisions in Article 10.

Appealing a decision

Under Article 11 of the AIE Regulations you have a right to seek an internal review of the initial decision. You may also request an internal review if you have not received a response within the appropriate timeframe. An internal review must be requested within one month of receipt of the original decision (the public authority may extend this timeframe but is not required to do so). There is no charge for requesting an internal review.

An internal review involves a complete reconsideration of the matter by a member of the staff of the public authority, who may affirm, vary or annul the original decision made.

A written outcome of the review informing you of the decision, the reason for the decision, and information on your right of appeal to the Commissioner for Environmental Information (including the time limits and fees associated with such an appeal) will be issued to you within one month of the date of receipt of the request for the review.

If you are not satisfied with the outcome of the internal review, you can appeal to the Commissioner for Environmental Information (CEI). You must appeal within one month of receiving the decision on the internal review from the public authority. However, the Commissioner may extend this time limit in individual cases.

Further Information

Further general information on the European Communities (Access to Information on the Environment) Regulations, including background information on the legislation, useful publications and links to other relevant bodies, is available at www.dccae.gov.ie.

 

FuturesIreland

The FuturesIreland project examined the challenge of enhancing Ireland’s ability to innovate, learning from experiments and pilot initiatives, and in turn leaning into continuous improvement. To explore these challenges, we worked over 18 months with a large group of practical innovators and a smaller group of high-level leaders and thinkers.

The central argument of this report is that Irish people—in business, society and public service—are ready for much greater innovation, more widespread learning, and richer accountability; but the capabilities and practices that support these are inhibited by features of our organisational system. This argument has significant implications for how we address the current acute crisis and how we lay the foundations for future prosperity and social cohesion.

As in the 1950s and 1980s, Ireland is once again at a turning point. While there are, of course, reasons to fear that we are moving to a more uncertain and less benign context—economically, socially, and in public policy—our central argument lends support to a more positive view of the turning point we are in and the transition we might experience. This perspective on Ireland’s ability to create a learning society is derived from the four main findings of the project.

You can read the full report by clicking here.

 

Supplier Payment Reports

Please see our full list of supplier payment reports going back to 2012 by clicking here.