I am happy to do that. If we look at the existing scheme, the fact that the requests have doubled is a good sign that people are engaging with the broader FOI system. One thing that also needs to be strengthened across public bodies is the work we are doing with the Minister of State, Deputy Higgins, on data and digitalisation. A great deal of public information can be published properly and proactively that should b…
TDs / Jack Chambers
Jack Chambers
Minister for Public Expenditure, Infrastructure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation
Portrait: © Houses of the Oireachtas (Oireachtas (Open Data) PSI Licence) · source file
0
questions asked
Members of the Government answer questions rather than ask them
152,394
words spoken in the chamber
146,472 as a minister, 5,922 as a TD
358
votes recorded
Each Yes, No or Abstained in a recorded vote
From the Dáil chamber only: committee meetings are not in this archive.
Members of the Government answer parliamentary questions rather than ask them, so this page lists none of theirs.
Month by month
Low months are usually recesses, when the Dáil does not sit. The archive runs to 22 October 2026.
Contributions to debates 720 in all
Dec 2024Oct 2026
Show as a table
| Month | Contributions |
|---|---|
| December 2024 | 0 |
| January 2025 | 0 |
| February 2025 | 57 |
| March 2025 | 2 |
| April 2025 | 36 |
| May 2025 | 52 |
| June 2025 | 2 |
| July 2025 | 90 |
| August 2025 | 0 |
| September 2025 | 0 |
| October 2025 | 11 |
| November 2025 | 109 |
| December 2025 | 69 |
| January 2026 | 1 |
| February 2026 | 44 |
| March 2026 | 0 |
| April 2026 | 37 |
| May 2026 | 44 |
| June 2026 | 1 |
| July 2026 | 60 |
| August 2026 | 0 |
| September 2026 | 80 |
| October 2026 | 25 |
Debates they spoke in most
Plus 658 contributions in the regular slots, such as Leaders' Questions and Priority Questions. Speech from the chair is not counted.
Party, constituency and offices
- constituency Dublin West 29 November 2024 to now
- party Fianna Fáil 29 November 2024 to now
- office Minister for Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform 23 January 2025 to 4 June 2025
- office Minister for Public Expenditure, Infrastructure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation 5 June 2025 to now
The more information we can publish and allow academics and the public interest to interact with it, the better it will be for public policymaking. This needs to sit in parallel with the FOI system itself in respect of how we get better proactive publication across the board.
The construction sector group was set up in 2018 by my Department. The group ensures regular and open dialogue between government and industry on how best to achieve and maintain a sustainable and innovative construction sector positioned to deliver on the national development plan and Project Ireland 2040. It is made up of representatives of key industry bodies, as well as senior representatives of relevant Departme…
The latest meeting of the construction sector group received an update on some of what the Deputy mentioned. This included the proposed research on a pathway to having a 30% embodied carbon reduction in the construction sector, the development of a modern methods of construction data dashboard, which is nearing completion and the collaboration between Dublin City Council, DCC, and the Build Digital Project to progres…
The construction sector group is doing an element of that in the context of construction skills. The Planning and Development Act was obviously discussed, and modern methods of construction as well as other priority areas, which I have referenced, around digital adoption and productivity in the construction sector. However, a separate very serious piece of work is ongoing in the Department on establishing a new infra…
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 legislative framewor…
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, I will be in positi…
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 know that other legisl…
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 taken place in recent w…
-----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 country.
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 expenditure has provided, …
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 to support all of th…
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 Department in each ca…
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 engagement across Governmen…
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 regulators in order that…
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 increased from 17 to 2…
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 underpinning each, or New Zea…
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 that continued practic…
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 market volatility throug…
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 more standard budgetar…
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, for example. The D…
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 society. That will a…
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 respective sectors and …