Jack Chambers

We will reform some of the infrastructure guidelines. Some of that is intended to try to remove some of the excessive time that projects take as they move through the infrastructure life cycle. Also central to wider expenditure control will be a reform of public financial procedures and ensuring for certain Departments that we need to have better fiscal discipline in terms of overall expenditure m…

On behalf of the entire Government, I sincerely congratulate and offer my best wishes to President-elect Catherine Connolly following her election victory. It is an enormous victory for her, her family, all of her supporters and many people across County Galway and beyond. Catherine commanded a huge vote following a really successful campaign. President-elect Connolly served with distinction in t…

I fully understand the issues and pressures families face. I reject the Deputy's assertion of jargon and waffle talk. We absolutely understand the pressure. That is why the social protection package was significant in this budget when it came to fuel allowance, the changes in rates we made and the changes the Minister, Deputy Donohoe, made when it came to the 9% VAT rate on gas and electricity. I …

-----does not work.

The Deputy's alternative budget amounted to nearly €16 billion. Her party's economic approach would wreck our economy, lose jobs-----

-----and deplete our country of resources. Its false promises and its reckless approach to economic management would not provide any future for any family and would seriously exacerbate poverty for many people.

I will not take any lectures from Deputy McDonald on economic management.

We make changes that are progressive, fair and targeted at the lowest income households and the social protection package reflects that.

The shocking and disgraceful recent attacks, including in Drogheda over the weekend and in City West before that, should serve as a stark reminder to everyone in this House how careful and responsible we must be when discussing and debating immigration policy. These disgraceful attacks are not reflective of the views of the overwhelming majority of our people whose first instinct is one of compass…

The Deputy is conflating lots of different things-----

-----unfairly and inappropriately.

It is important that everyone in this House be able to have an honest, open debate about migration policy.

The Government needs to examine incentives, disincentives and push and pull factors in the context of migration policy in Europe and internationally. Every policy should be evaluated and recalibrated to manage the various factors that contribute to the overall level of migration to an economy, while also acknowledging the huge contribution people continue to make to our economy and communities. It…

That is why the Minister, Deputy O’Callaghan, is correct in continuing to evaluate our migration policy and examine the wider factors contributing to significant increases. Those who are working and in centres should make a contribution. That is fair and proportionate, and that is the right policy approach. Anyone in this House would agree that if you have income and the means to make a contributi…

I think Deputy Cairns heard me respond to Deputy Bacik in the context of the shocking and disgraceful attacks that have happened in Drogheda and Citywest. I am very clear to anyone listening about the positive contribution that many members of the migrant community make to our country, economy, society and communities. That is the position of this Government, and all members of this Government, in…

-----trying to conflate two separate-----

Everybody in government condemns what happened in Drogheda.

That is very unfair.

Everyone in this Government and in this Parliament should be able to have an overall assessment of migration policy. That is what I am saying. We need an honest debate about that continuously because there are various factors which contribute to a surge in applications and we need to be able to evaluate that. I reject what the Deputy has said in trying to conflate these issues. It is unfair. The …

I reject that completely. If the Deputy listened to what I have said, I have rejected the politics of the far-right, of Farage-----

----- and of anyone who gives an inflammatory response or weaponises this issue to divide people. Our focus is on community, on building harmony between people and on supporting and investing in communities while also ensuring that we have a migration system and policy which works. That is why we should have an ongoing evaluation of it. It is unfair to continue to conflate this, as the Deputy has.…

I thank the Deputy. What I would say about transport specifically is that there has been a big uplift in the transport allocation for the next five years. Some €22 billion of the over €100 billion being invested in the next five years will be in transport, specifically to build more roads and ensure our public transport objectives are delivered. There is going to be a serious transformation of tra…

-----risks when it comes to delivery of infrastructure and other projects across our economy.

I acknowledge that in some instances there is excessive bureaucracy and red tape and we need to cut it, remove it and reform it. That is central to my work beyond what is happening in the national development plan. The Deputy is correct that we do need to radically reduce the timelines it takes to deliver critical projects and housing across our economy. There are too many layers and too many barr…

The Deputy is simply ignoring the record level of investment in our health service, which is €27.4 billion in funding in 2026. If she compares 2020 to July 2025, there are over 29,000 more staff, which is a 28% increase in staffing across our health system. There are over 10,000 more nurses and midwives, 5,000 health and social care professionals, 1,400 consultants and over 2,000 doctors and denti…