We are very clear, as a Government, when it comes to supporting people and families around the cost of living. We will have targeted measures using our social protection system, as I have said. Second, the Minister, Deputy O'Brien, will bring forward changes to grants to incentivise and help families build sustainability in their own homes and ensure that there are more accessible grants for people who currently cann…
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
It is deeply unfair on the public that there will be significant disruption to their daily lives because unions are unwilling to sit down-----
-----and engage constructively on a new agreement, which we want to have. This Government wants to have a fair, equitable deal for public sector workers. Our record on that is clear. If you take the lowest paid in the public service, their wage increases have far exceeded inflation over the past number of years. A clerical officer, teacher or nurse will have received in excess of 30%, when inflation is about 23%. We …
Again, the Deputy just makes this generic point about funding public services. We have funded significant increases in public services over the last number of years. There has been nearly €10 billion more in our health system over a series of years. There have been significant increases in investment in our education system, particularly in special education, and rightly so, but no area of the public service or, inde…
That is to make sure we get greater value for taxpayers and improved public services rather than it just being a binary discussion. which is what we get from the Opposition benches, about allocating more.
That is not sustainable.
The Deputy needs to study the facts. If you take the last five to six years, public pay has increased by in excess of €12 billion per year.
That has resulted in a massive expansion of public services, more than 70,000 more people working across public services - in our education system and our health system and with the number of front-line gardaí increasing year on year, and rightly so. We want to invest in better public services and ensure public sector workers are given a fair, equitable pay agreement.
That is why in the last pay deal we allowed for increases of 9.5% when inflation over the same period was about 6.5%, again, supporting a fair and equitable deal. That remains the case. We are a Government that will make provision for a public sector pay deal so people are paid fairly.
We are open an willing to engage with unions. Instead they are balloting their members.
That has been their prerogative. Over the last two months they have taken a course of balloting members rather than engaging in substantive discussions to give their members a pay deal. We are willing and open to do that and we will make provision for it as well.
I thank Deputy Healy for raising this really important issue. I acknowledge the Before We Die campaign and the dedication of the parents, the carers and the families behind it. We all know they speak from a place of deep concern about what will happen to their sons and daughters when they are no longer able to provide care themselves. That fear is real and deserves to be heard. The Minister, Deputy Foley, and the Min…
I share the view that we need to see continued expansion of the availability, frequency and range of respite options in order that people with disabilities, their families and carers have the support they need now and into the future. We need to use each budget to deliver progress in that area.
In 2025, the HSE delivered 164,000 respite nights to 7,500 people, alongside more than 65,000 day-only respite sessions. Th…
I thank Deputy McDonald. I appreciate the Deputy raising this important matter. As the Taoiseach said last week, his officials have been engaged on this. I have not got a specific update with respect to the Deputy's request for a meeting. As the Taoiseach said, there is a process that is being kept under review. However, I will raise the matter with the Taoiseach and the Minister for foreign affairs and ask them to r…
We all accept that the level of suffering inflicted on the civilian population who are not responsible for the actions of Hamas is wrong - it is an affront to human decency - and we have repeatedly opposed and strongly condemned Israel's actions in Gaza and the West Bank, the blatant disregard for international law and the ongoing expansion of settlements. Certainly, my colleagues at the UN will be reflecting that du…
On the issue of visas, and as the Deputy will be aware, there is a well-established process in the Department of justice that assesses every visa application.
I understand that some may have been granted and that others are still being assessed, but there is a well-established process that is progressed and through which an assessment is made of each individual case.
I thank Deputy Bacik for raising this important issue. As she will know, the Government approved the general scheme of the pregnancy loss leave Bill in July of this year, the aim of which is to introduce for the first time in Irish law statutory leave for pregnancy loss prior to 23 weeks' gestation.
I acknowledge the work of Deputies Bacik and Sherlock on the matter.
The Minister for enterprise is now working on dr…
I thank the Deputy for raising this matter. I have not read the newspaper article she referred to or about the case she referenced so I do not want to make any inappropriate comment. As a Government, we seek to support any victim of sexual assault properly through policies and through the resourcing of our agencies and An Garda Síochána. I have not seen or read the detail the Deputy referenced, so I will not comment …
I thank the Deputy. As my colleagues said last week and at the weekend, it is not appropriate to comment on any specific cases that are ongoing and I will not be doing so today.
The Government will be commencing a review of the Protected Disclosures Act this year, which will begin with a public consultation and an opportunity for all stakeholders to participate in that review to ensure the legislative framework we h…
I thank the Deputy for raising this important matter. It is clear that the service should be sustained, particularly if investment has happened and the service is of such importance to An Garda Síochána and to the local community in Limerick. I will speak to the Minister for justice to ensure that it is examined and that the service can continue. I appreciate the Deputy's advocacy on this matter.
I thank Deputy Brennan. To be clear, the significant increase in transport infrastructure investment over the next four years will be seen in the south east. This investment is twofold. First, we want to see significant capacity improvements. That will obviously involve upgrades to existing infrastructure. In addition, the Minister, Deputy O'Brien, is doing work on the public service obligation to ensure that the dem…
I thank Deputy Kerrane for raising this issue. I will reflect her requests to the Minister, Deputy Calleary. To echo what I said earlier on, we want to ensure that, through the decisions we make, we prioritise concerns about the cost of living in the budget. I refer particularly to issues relating to home heating oil. Using the social protection system will be critical in mitigating the issues facing those most in ne…
I thank the Deputy for raising this important issue. I appreciate the concern he has referenced in the growing communities of Dublin Fingal West, which have seen increased antisocial behaviour over recent months. As a Government, we have sought to significantly expand the numbers in An Garda Síochána.
By the end of this year or early next year, we should exceed 15,000 gardaí. Combined with the civilianisation we hav…
As I said to Deputy Brennan, the capital investment in transport is due to significantly increase in the next number of years. If one takes the Cork area commuter rail programme, which the Deputy did not mention, for example, there will be significant progress in the wider Cork area over the next number of months and, indeed, the next number of years, where people will see improvements in public transport, in particu…