Jack Chambers

There have been issues for people in Hollystown. Some even have quite a long walk to get to the existing bus stop. There is a need to improve the existing service but also to reflect the feedback people have given in respect of the various bus routes. Like the Deputy, I will engage with the National Transport Authority on some of the amendments that need to be made to the bus routes and in the con…

I thank Deputy Neville. In December 2025, the Government published the Accelerating Infrastructure Report and Action Plan. It is a comprehensive programme of actions designed to speed up the delivery of critical infrastructure across the State. This action plan responds to well-documented challenges of lengthy development timelines, fragmented processes and rising costs. These have all been identi…

I will go into that detail shortly.

I agree with everything the Deputy said and I appreciate his inputs at the infrastructure committee as well. There are well-documented issues with the existing culture, which has been too risk averse, leading to delays and cost increases. It is too process driven. It is about putting a delivery culture and delivery focus first. That means increasing risk appetite, but also taking practical steps, …

It is about having a clear, greater and more proportionate risk appetite statement for many infrastructure decisions. Ultimately we are measured on delivery and it is a process-driven approach. We have circular analysis and delays that will not narrow the infrastructure gap, which is well documented. The risk appetite statement will set out the expected benefits for delivery for a Department or ag…

I thank Deputy Connolly and I appreciate his support on this. My Department is responsible for the infrastructure guidelines, which replaced the public spending code for capital appraisal since the end of 2023. These set the value for money requirements and guidance for evaluating, planning and managing Exchequer-funded capital projects. Management and delivery of investment projects and public se…

On Deputy Connolly's first point, this is removing an unnecessary middle step which was adding time. The critical points are approval of the preliminary business case, which sets the political direction for a project to be advanced with prospective capital spend, and final approval for a contract award, which involves the respective Minister. Again, it removes a middle step which did not provide v…

We have taken every step in the infrastructure life cycle and tried to cut time. The Deputy referenced transport and water. We have the joint utilities and transport clearing house. That reflects those key sectors which build the foundations of any community in terms of water, energy and transport infrastructure. Improving co-ordination in how that wider infrastructure is delivered is part of that…

I propose to take Questions Nos. 13, 28, 61, 77 and 83 together. My Department will be managing the monitoring and reporting on delivery of the actions in the Accelerating Infrastructure Report and Action Plan, which will be led within the infrastructure division. The action plan details 30 headline actions for delivery by quarter and sets target outputs and outcomes to be achieved. All lead Depa…

We are essentially reducing the number of approval steps from three to two. The critical approval role of a Minister is after the preliminary business case. It is about putting discipline on how a preliminary business case is designed. In many instances, the administrative timelines taken for preliminary business cases are far too excessive. We are trying to put much greater discipline on that in …

We engage daily with the infrastructure team in the Department and the infrastructure division. According to the latest update, everything has been delivered in quarter 4 and we are on track with respect to the actions set for quarter 1 of this year. We are working in parallel to ensure steps or actions that are required in quarters 2 and 3 are being worked on as well if they have timelines in the…

I thank Members of the House for the opportunity to provide an update on the Government’s work to accelerate infrastructure delivery, and to discuss my Department’s role in the management and delivery of capital projects and programmes. In particular, I will outline some of the recent and ongoing developments in my Department, as we implement the actions contained in the accelerating infrastructur…

I thank the Deputy for raising this issue. I know it is something he has raised on many other occasions in relation to the Appropriation Bill. In terms of the wider practice, it is a Vote listed under my Department and it is also a Vote that can be used by other Government Departments in the context of the fund during the particular year. It is the only Vote operated in which the Oireachtas has wa…

I thank Deputy Ó Snodaigh. My understanding is that when auditing the secret service Vote, the Comptroller and Auditor General does not examine it in detail or comment on it for the Oireachtas. Instead, his office departs from the usual certification regarding the correctness of accounts and simply certifies that the amount shown in the account is supported by respective certification by the respo…

The wider structure of the Vote is still a matter-----

I am informed "Acht Leithghabhála" is not the correct citation in Irish for the Bill. What has been used since 1923, which is the Short Title of the Bill, is the correct one. More generally, I defer to the Deputy's interest and knowledge of the language. When I was Minister for the Gaeltacht, he showed a interest in and passion for it, and I respect that. We obviously have a thread here, whereby …

I move: "That the Bill be now read a second time." I am pleased to introduce the Appropriation Bill. The Bill is an important annual financial legislative instrument which must be enacted before the end of the year in order to give effect to the authorisation of voted expenditure through 2025 and to allow for the continuation of expenditure into 2026. The Bill has two primary functions. The firs…

Gabhaim buíochas leis an Teachta Farrell. Last week, the Government published the Accelerating Infrastructure Report and Action Plan. It is a comprehensive programme of actions designed to speed up the delivery of critical infrastructure across the State. This action plan responds to well-documented challenges of lengthy development timelines, fragmented processes and rising costs. These have all …

The first aspect is on the actions which relate to reform and the majority of them fall in 2026. We have tried to front-load the interventions and actions we make so we can see the benefits of having legal reform, regulatory reform and simplification, better co-ordination delivery and improved public acceptance. They are the four areas identified. Most of those are to be progressed in 2026. We hav…

We have fronted up an investment and taking the investment profile over the next five years, it means we will be one of the biggest investors in infrastructure per capita in Europe and have about 5% GNI*. We have responded to that around the investment piece. However, there is a well-documented need and an evidence base to drive reform and infrastructure delivery and that is why there needs to be …

As the Deputy is aware, the Protected Disclosures Act 2014 is Ireland's national whistleblower protection law. Significant amendments to the Act were signed into law in July 2022. The amended Act gives effect to EU Directive 2019/1937 and provides for the establishment of the Office of the Protected Disclosures Commissioner within the Ombudsman's office. As Minister, I am obligated to commence a …

I have had limited engagement on this matter with counterparts at an EU level. The directive has been transposed. Our Presidency in 2026 will allow opportunities for engagement on it. In the context of the review that will be happening in parallel, there will be a greater opportunity to take wider European feedback on this issue. We transposed the directive and legislation was enacted in 2022. Ult…

I will, of course, listen to and engage with whistleblowers. The review is really important, which is why we are bringing it forward from 2027 to 2026 to ensure we have broad feedback. They system I want to see operating is one that works for whistleblowers. As I said, we will be able to advance that next year.

The independent review panel on senior public service recruitment and pay determination processes was established in March 2022 and its report was published in June 2023. It found that pay determination of senior posts should consider best practice in terms of openness, transparency, accountability and the need for an objective evidence-based methodology. To this end, it recommended that an indep…

On a wider point, the budgets we implemented this year and in recent years are progressive. That is reflected in the SWITCH model the ESRI has around low-income deciles. The two lowest income deciles have been where the concentration of supports has been in terms of our response from a social protection perspective and the changes around income tax I made as Minister for Finance. We received reco…