Jack Chambers

As the Deputy is aware, we committed to updating the ethics in public office legislation in the recent programme for Government. This is on foot of a wide-ranging review the Deputy referred to on the legislative framework for ethics in public office my Department undertook during the last Government, the findings of which were published in February 2023. The report's recommendations include: the …

The first thing is to take into account the review that has happened and some of the more recent recommendations which have been made, and to have a policy consideration around those. Following that, what is set out in the context of the programme for Government is to give legislative underpinning to that. Once the policy matters have been bottomed out within my Department, which I am engaging on,…

That is why it has been set out as a priority in the programme for Government and why, in the first instance, we need to make sure that the policy framework that is developed can be reflected in a general scheme. At that point, we will have pre-legislative scrutiny and cross-party input in the Oireachtas. This is an important matter across the political system in terms of broader engagement. We kn…

As we debate this motion, Ireland faces huge economic threats and Government is extensively planning for the impact of tariffs on the Irish economy, jobs and competitiveness. This should be the prime focus of all Members on all sides of the House.

Instead, we have found ourselves in this never-ending debate on speaking rights which has been defined by vitriol, barracking, anger, obstruction and a complete disregard and disrespect for the Ceann Comhairle and her office. There has been blocking of the election of a Taoiseach and the attempt to obstruct votes and shut down business. The attempts to shout down the Ceann Comhairle which have tak…

-----who has simply tried to apply the rules and procedures agreed by this House in good faith. The economic threats we face require all of us to work together on behalf of the people in the interest. Today's vote needs to mark a turning point. We need a concerted effort to refocus and return to a more constructive, collaborative approach in the series economic challenges we will face as a countr…

I move amendment No.1: To delete all words after "Dáil Éireann" and substitute the following: "notes that: — the Government condemns the waste of any public money and notes that significant sums have been spent on providing better public services in recent years with the additional funding allocated towards improving and expanding the public services provided to our people; — Government expend…

I can reference, for example, the sports capital programme and many other areas of capital investment that are valued by the Deputies in areas for which they advocate. The motion is not balanced in the context of the significant investment and impact that is being made in public services. I acknowledge the work and the dedication of many public and civil servants across the system who are helping …

I move: That Dáil Éireann approves the following Order in draft: Finance Act 2004 (Section 91) (Deferred Surrender to the Central Fund) Order 2025, copies of which have been laid in draft form before Dáil Éireann on 12th February, 2025.

As Minister for public expenditure, I am responsible for setting the overall capital allocations across Departments and for monitoring monthly expenditure at departmental level. Responsibility for the management and delivery of individual investment projects or sectoral policy strategies, within the allocations agreed under the national development plan, NDP, rests with the individual sponsoring D…

From my previous role as Minister of State for the Gaeltacht, I am aware of the absolute need for infrastructure development to unlock economic development in the Gaeltacht region in the context of jobs, etc. I am aware of the difficulties that have been experienced by many residents as a result of the recent storm and, indeed, other storms during the winter period. There has been ongoing engagem…

I thank the Deputy. As already stated, the Minister, Deputy Calleary, is engaging directly in respect of communications infrastructure and on the need to ensure greater resilience in our communications networks. That is something that is being pursued. Similarly, when it comes to our energy infrastructure, the Minister, Deputy O'Brien, is directly engaging with the semi-State agencies and the regu…

I thank the Deputy. We had an extensive discussion on this yesterday evening. The purpose of the Ministers and Secretaries and Ministerial, Parliamentary, Judicial and Court Offices (Amendment) Bill 2025 is to give effect to the decision by Government to increase the maximum number of Ministers of State from 20 to 23. This number has remained unchanged for the past 18 years, since 2007, when it in…

The Attorney General provides all of the legal advice to the Government and is leading the defence of the specific cases raised by the Deputy. The Government is defending the particular cases so that matter will evolve in the courts. As I said yesterday, we can consider a number of other jurisdictions, such as Finland, where there are 19 Ministries, with a minister or secretary of state underpinn…

The legislation that is currently progressing through the Oireachtas is distinct and different from the specific constitutional questions that are the subject of the two judicial review cases before the High Court. They are being fully defended by the Attorney General. The practice and procedure over many decades has been the attendance at Cabinet of Ministers of State. The constitutionality of th…

The inflationary shock which started in 2022 was the most significant episode of inflation experienced in Ireland since the mid-1980s. Aware of the challenges that inflation posed for households and businesses, Government provided a series of temporary and permanent cost-of-living packages. The purpose of the supports was to ameliorate the exceptionally high energy bills that were a result of mark…

As stated, we will have a planned approach to this in the context of 2026. In every budget, we publish a distributional analysis. There is a consideration of well-being. A whole range of indices are published by the Departments of Finance and public expenditure. We have committed ourselves to progressive budgeting over the next number of years. We are also committing ourselves to returning to a mo…

The Deputy is taking a very negative stance on cuts. Thankfully, we are in a position whereby we are running a budgetary surplus. We will be in a position by means of budget 2026, the summer economic statement and the medium-term fiscal plan to provide additional supports, but through a more regular budgetary process. That means an envelope and support when it comes to the social protection budget…

The Social Democrats say they are opposed to energy credits, so it is interesting. A lot of the measures we introduced last year were targeted, like the living alone allowance and the qualified child increment lump sum and the working family payment. Some of the progressive measures I introduced with the additional tax credits, for example, were very much targeted at many vulnerable people in our …

I thank the Deputy. The programme for Government states that this Government will undertake a programme of workforce planning to identify the optimal staffing model within the public sector to meet the needs of our changing demographics. In considering the approach to this, I will have regard to the responsibilities of other Ministers in relation to relevant issues such as recruitment in their res…

I can revert to the Deputy on the specific background to the figures and I am happy to do that. On the overall point, as our demographics change and our population grows, we want to make sure - similar to the Deputy's party - we have increased numbers of people working in the public service and that it is in a place where people want to join it and it is an attractive place to work. That is obviou…

I acknowledge the contribution many section 39 workers make in disability, health and social care organisations across our country. As the Deputy will know, there is an industrial relations process in that regard. This is being co-ordinated by the Department of children and disability, which has many section 39 workers under its direct remit. My own Department is engaged with the Department in res…

I propose to take Questions Nos. 70 and 77 together. The programme for Government sets out the clear ambition to prioritise the delivery of transformative, critical and growth-enhancing infrastructure over the next five years by delivering projects as early as possible and within budget. Extra emphasis has been given to my Department through the placing of a real focus on infrastructure and the c…

We are scoping out the overall staffing needs of the division but, to be clear, the overall intention and policy focus in the establishment of this division is not to shallow out or undermine the expertise or delivery systems we have within existing Departments. This is very much to complement and enhance delivery systems, to focus on barriers to delivery and to progress the overall reforms that w…

First, we will review the national development plan to identify a new ambition and focus on overall delivery. What we have set out previously, for example, in regard to the state aid case concerning Apple, is that the strategic priorities of our economy are housing, water, energy and transport infrastructure. The other pillar is health digitalisation. That has been a missed opportunity for too lon…