Minister’s Brief

some of the technical work would be published by Departmental staff in order to highlight
the analytical base upon which policy recommendations are made to Government (some
of the technical work has already been published). This unit also provides economic
support to the Banking and Finance Directorate of the Department, including in relation to
the economics of climate change.
Living standards are ultimately enhanced through productivity gains and for this reason
productivity is often seen as the single most important economic variable in the longer
term. For this reason the Department is increasing its capacity to analyse productivity
developments and provide a stronger evidence-base for Government decisions. This is in
line with efforts among OECD countries to promote productivity growth.
The unit also monitors developments in the monetary area. This is an increasingly
important area given its inter-relatedness with fiscal policy (e.g. the non-standard
monetary policies now being adopted have had a major bearing on debt service costs) and
the increasing demand from the Oireachtas for information on the economic impact of
unconventional monetary policies.
Page 22 of 184