immediately)
- Critical Infrastructure Bill 2026 (Report and Final Stages) (to conclude within 1 hour)
- Motion re Presentation and Circulation of Further Revised Estimate for Public Services 2026 [Vote 26] (without debate and any division claimed to be taken immediately)
Wednesday's private members' business shall be the Second … Public Expenditure, Infrastructure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation; and
7. the proceedings on the Motion re Presentation and Circulation of Further Revised Estimate for Public Services 2026 [Vote 26] shall be taken without debate, and any division claimed thereon shall be taken immediately.
In relation to Thursday
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In debates
hours)
- Údarás na Gaeltachta (Amendment) Bill 2024 (Report and Final Stages) (to conclude within 2 hours)
- Motion re Leave to Introduce Supplementary Estimates for Public Services 2026 [Votes 30 and 31] (without debate and any division claimed to be taken immediately)
Wednesday's private members' business shall … Minister for Rural and Community Development and the Gaeltacht; and
7. The proceedings on the Motion re Leave to Introduce Supplementary Estimates for Public Services 2026 [Votes 30 and 31] shall be taken without debate and any division claimed thereon shall be taken immediately.
In relation to Thursday
Business or the Resolutions of the Dáil of 17th December, 2025, 28th January, 2026 and 25th March, 2026 the following Further Revised Estimate for Public Services for the year ending 31st December, 2026, be presented to the Dáil and circulated to members on 13th May, 2026 being
Minister for public expenditure, I am responsible for setting the overall capital allocations across Departments and for monitoring monthly expenditure at Departmental level. As part of the budgetary process each year, my Department sets overall expenditure ceilings for each ministerial Vote group. These … laid out at Vote level in the budget day expenditure report published in October, with further detail provided in the Revised Estimates for public services published in December.
Following the allocation of each ministerial expenditure ceiling, it is a matter for Ministers to assign funding as appropriate
Select Committee on Education and Youth has completed its consideration of the following Revised Estimate for Public Services for the service of the year ending 31 December 2026: Vote
Select Committee on Education and Youth has completed its consideration of the following Revised Estimate for Public Services for the service of the year ending on 31 December 2026: Vote 26 - Education and Youth
Dáil sittings from 9 to 11 June 2026 shall be taken on the conclusion of the motion regarding leave to introduce Supplementary Estimates for Public Services 2026, without debate, and any division demanded thereon shall be taken immediately.
All of the party whips are in agreement
after 1 October. I presume the Minister of State does have those figures but is not making them publicly available. That raises very significant concerns. Based on my estimation, we are talking about hundreds of children without an offer and thousands of children in inappropriate school placements - nearly
harmful effects of alcohol. Since the enactment of our Public Health (Alcohol) Act 2018, the trends in alcohol consumption show that we are having success with these aims. Alcohol consumption in Ireland in 2025 was an estimated 9.24 litres per capita. This reduced from 10.8 litres … larger decline in recent years. That said, we cannot be complacent because we have not yet reached the goal of the Public Health (Alcohol) Act, which is to reduce consumption to 9.1 litres per person, based on the OECD average.
We must also note that the Healthy Ireland
commitment to engage honestly and transparently should extend to Government Ministers and the Departments being required to come back to the Minister for public expenditure and reform well before 17 July with their very clear plans as to how these levies will impact services in their respective Departments … held to account by this House for their own budgets for 2027 and their own Estimates in advance of budget 2027. This is a very significant development from the Minister for public expenditure.
There are alternatives to the introduction of levies across Departments. We could look
government; between the public and private sectors; and between planners, developers, infrastructure providers, financers and communities themselves so we can deliver the homes we need right across this country.
Achieving the delivery of 300,000 new homes under Delivering Homes, Building Communities requires an estimated €20 billion … every home. We have to deliver schools, hospitals and roads. We have to create that investment as well in other parts of the public sector that need that support for our local communities.
One of the key challenges identified is apartment viability. As part of Delivering Homes, Building
targets for employment for disabled people in the public sector are below the current employment rate. That is an incredible indictment of the Government's record in respect of this matter, which came to light during the Estimates process in the documentation that the Government produced … these short-term crises. Sinéad O'Sullivan has written extensively about the need to build up the State's ability to invest in public services, capacity and renewable energy in order that we are not just having to put more money into emergency measures time and again, which
sufficient public service content and, in particular, public interest journalism. The Bill further takes into account the committee's recommendations by requiring that both triennial reviews are submitted to Government no latter than six weeks after the annual budget and Estimates.
One of the key objectives … fund existing activities undertaken by commercial media. This requirement stems from state aid rules and domestic guidance on the appraisal and implementation of public expenditure set out in the public spending code. The European Commission typically describes the additionality principle as requiring any state aid to change
appreciate that, but this is what the Minister has been saying publicly for the past number of weeks. What I am seeking to address with him is strong criticism of him and his Department in terms of their budget allocation process.
For example, the Irish Fiscal Advisory Council … points out that the Minister's Department got the allocations and estimations in terms of what we would spend on doctors and nurses in the last three months of last year wrong and that every year his Department does not base its budget allocations on what was spent
question on education that was raised at the budgetary oversight committee too. First, it is being done in the context of the Estimates process for budget 2027. Transport is at 1.4%. Housing is at 0.1% and justice is at 0.7%. We have specifically provided a carve … growing budget. I see this differently, through the lens of driving efficiencies, advancing reforms and enhancing productivity across these areas of public expenditure. I think we can improve outputs in the context of an efficiency and expenditure levy. New priorities emerge in the context of expenditure and that
banks. The stated purpose of NAMA was to protect the interests of the State and manage distressed assets in a way that maximised public value, but when we examine the legacy of NAMA honestly, serious questions remain. NAMA paid €31.8 billion to acquire loans with a face value … were ultimately borne by ordinary people through austerity, including cuts to services, higher taxes, emigration and lost opportunity. The Comptroller and Auditor General estimated in 2022 that the net cost of the bank stabilisation measures amounted to €45.7 billion.
Nowhere is the failure of the post-crash political
electricity generation are estimated to reduce by between 53% and 60% by 2030. With additional measures, we are projected to meet our overall Carbon Budget 1 programme target, with only three sectors set to miss their 2025 sectoral emissions ceilings: transport, industry and public and commercial buildings
particularly at EU level and maybe looking at the UK specifically. It means a stronger as opposed to a weaker role for the public accounts committee in reviewing the activities of agencies and for the enterprise committee of which I am a member.
On the flammable liquid provisions … standards is necessary, but we also have to be mindful of the compliance burden on small operators, particularly those in rural areas. Industry estimates suggest it could cost up to €15,000 per site for upgrades and inspections, depending on the scale of the equipment involved. Those
citing general data protection regulation, GDPR, concerns and six years later, nothing has replaced it. The Department is estimating its procurement spend using estimated tender values on eTenders, not actual expenditure data. I believe this is a structural governance problem and a very practical step is adding … sounds small but it would be transformative. It would begin creating that golden thread from tender to contract award to payment because public money should be traceable from beginning to end. I will say this plainly: we cannot govern a system that we cannot see. I greatly appreciate
Ireland study shows a 12% increase in youth drinking since 2018. That should concern the Minister of State, as the person responsible for public health. It should concern the officials in the Department as well. We know that, according to Alcohol Action, 50,000 children take up drinking … Ireland from alcohol-related harm. It is costing the health service a huge amount of money; according to the Government's own estimates, it is costing the health service €1.5 billion. We talk here all the time about cost savings, efficiencies and doing things better
propose to take Question Nos. 10, 53, 55 and 61 together.
As Minister for Public Expenditure, Infrastructure, Public Service Reform and Digitisation, I am responsible for setting the overall expenditure allocations and monitoring it at Departmental level. In the programme for Government, there is a clear prioritisation … Maritime Area Regulatory Authority, MARA, has made progress with granting fit and proper designations to Uisce Éireann and local authorities. This move is estimated to have reduced the average time relating to the granting of new consents and licences by more than 30%. Changes that have been made
through all of the various age categories. It is not that simple. The Minister, Deputy Calleary, as the Deputy knows, organised a significant public consultation which has received a significant number of responses.
I attended the strategic focus network summit on the cost of disability … cost of disability payment arising out of all of that consultation. We will then assess that in the context of the Estimates for decisions in the next budget. As I said, the previous budget deliberately prioritised permanent structural supports that will endure in five and ten years' time
colleagues from the Psychiatric Nurses Association of Ireland, the INMO and Nursing and Midwifery Board of Ireland, NMBI, formerly Bord Altranais, in the Public Gallery. Tá céad míle fáilte romhaibh, a cháirde. International Nurses Day was first celebrated 65 years ago on the anniversary of the birth … trouble. It is shaken to the core by the rapid and steady exit of medical professions to perceived greener pastures. An estimated 25,000 Irish qualified nurses and midwives left the healthcare system in the past two decades.
The significant long-term trend of emigration deepens the nursing
North-South interconnector is now delayed until 2031. By Government estimates, it will cost up to €100 million. To tie back into what I was saying earlier, the semi-State company's own decarbonising strategy is dependent on 80% of renewables. The Taoiseach is aware of CIÉ … different method, politicians need to give the real impact of that to their communities. At the end of the day, it is the public and those local households that are going to be paying higher energy costs by these projects being delayed
also provide infrastructure with the capacity for future offtakes to serve communities along the route in Tipperary, Offaly and Westmeath. The current cost estimate is €4.6 billion to €6 billion and construction of the project is scheduled to commence in 2028, with Uisce Éireann aiming to complete … statutory planning process and will ultimately form part of the determination to be made by An Coimisiún Pleanála. This includes an extensive public consultation. As part of the planning application for the project submitted last December, a 30,000-page environmental impact assessment report, EIAR, was submitted
In parliamentary questions
Sorca Clarke
Written
Youth if she will explain the 4% reduction in the allocation for the National Educational Psychological Service (NEPS) in the Further Revised Estimates for Public Services; whether this reduction will impact recruitment, waiting times or access to psychological assessments and supports for schools and students
Pearse Doherty
Written
Deputy Pearse Doherty asked the Minister for Public Expenditure, Infrastructure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation the estimated cost of a 1% annual pay increase in the public sector. [35676/26
Pearse Doherty
Written
Deputy Pearse Doherty asked the Minister for Public Expenditure, Infrastructure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation the estimated cost of a €1,000 flat rate annual pay increase in the public sector. [35677/26
Pearse Doherty
Written
Deputy Pearse Doherty asked the Minister for Public Expenditure, Infrastructure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation the estimated cost of a 1% or €500 increase, based on whichever is the lower, pay increase across the public sector on a pro rata basis. [38092/26
Cian O'Callaghan
Written
Deputy Cian O'Callaghan asked the Minister for Public Expenditure, Infrastructure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation to set out the estimated cost of maintaining existing levels of service across the public sector in 2027; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [35437/26
Ken O'Flynn
Written
updated economic modelling of the cost of overweight and obesity in Ireland since 2017; and if so, to provide the estimated annual cost to the public health service and the wider economy; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [32339/26
Carol Nolan
Written
Deputy Carol Nolan asked the Minister for Health the estimated cost to the HSE and public health system of adding Hantavirus to the list of notifiable diseases, including training, laboratory testing, contact tracing and potential isolation measures; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [38987/26
Ciarán Ahern
Written
Deputy Ciarán Ahern asked the Minister for Transport if he will consider exempting public transport services from toll charges; the estimated cost of such a measure; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [37264/26
Ken O'Flynn
Written
Public Expenditure, Infrastructure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation the total number of non-statutory bodies in receipt of public funding in each year since 2020; the estimated aggregate annual funding provided to such bodies; and the proportion of that funding subject to formal governance codes equivalent
Claire Kerrane
Written
Deputy Claire Kerrane asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the estimated cost of bringing early years graduates Level 8 and 9 under public-sector pay and conditions; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [37990/26
Cian O'Callaghan
Written
Deputy Cian O'Callaghan asked the Minister for Public Expenditure, Infrastructure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation the amount the Department of Education and Youth estimated as its required budget for 2026; if it was more than was allocated by his Department in Budget 2026; if so, the amount
Aidan Farrelly
Written
Children, Disability and Equality further to Parliamentary Question No. 1971 of 29 April 2025, the estimated cost of bringing early years graduates only NFQ Level 7, 8 and 9 under public-sector pay and conditions; and to provide an update. [40676/26
Pádraig O'Sullivan
Written
enter into cost negotiations with the HSE; the timeline for when a proposal on a publicly funded shingles vaccination programme may be submitted to her Department for consideration given that the estimated cost of full rollout for over-65-year-olds stands at €218 million over five years
Carol Nolan
Written
Deputy Carol Nolan asked the Minister for Culture, Communications and Sport the estimated annual cost to the Exchequer or to licence fee payers of the new three-yearly public service content reviews and the operation of funding schemes under Ciste na Meán; the number of additional staff Coimisiún
Ken O'Flynn
Written
Flynn asked the Minister for Health whether the Department or HSE maintains any national estimate of the number of minors currently engaged in overseas healthcare pathways supported directly or indirectly through public funding arrangements. [39780/26
Michael Cahill
Written
Deputy Michael Cahill asked the Minister for Health the estimated total costs for the newly completed Killarney Community Nursing Unit, including all payments associated with the public private partnership contract, including not just the cost of design and construction, but also the cost of financing, operating and maintaining
Ken O'Flynn
Written
Flynn asked the Minister for Health the estimated number of persons living with lipoedema in the State; the projected demand for services under the proposed national care pathway; and the current and planned service capacity within the public health system to meet this demand. [32621/26
Peadar Tóibín
Written
Tóibín asked the Minister for Public Expenditure, Infrastructure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation the total cost of Brexit-related infrastructure works delivered at Dublin Port; the proportion delivered under schedule-of-rates pricing versus market-tendered works; and the estimated value of assets currently not in active
Peadar Tóibín
Written
Digitalisation in respect of any public offices identified as relocating due to the prohibitive cost of retrofitting to meet climate and energy efficiency targets, the name and location of each building; the most recent BER rating available for each building, the estimated cost of retrofitting each building
Naoise Ó Cearúil
Written
Public Expenditure, Infrastructure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation if he will consider establishing a real-time National Infrastructure Delivery Dashboard, published quarterly, tracking all major State capital projects over €10 million, including projected completion dates, current delays, revised costs and the estimated financial cost to the State
Eoin Ó Broin
Written
basis for recent public comments reported in the media (details supplied) that the data centre sector employs approximately 29,000 people in the State; whether the figure of 29,000 jobs associated with data centres is derived from Departmental analysis or from estimates supplied by industry representatives
Peadar Tóibín
Written
where public offices are relocating due to difficulties or excessive cost associated with retrofitting existing buildings, to outline the proposed new location of each office; whether the new accommodation is newly constructed, leased, or purchased; the anticipated energy rating of the new accommodation; and the estimated total cost
Alan Kelly
Written
Deputy Alan Kelly asked the Minister for Education and Youth the total amount of public expenditure incurred in each of the years 2019 to 2025; the allocation or projected expenditure for 2026, in supporting the governance of recognised post-primary schools; for the purposes of the reply … include all Departmental, agency, ETB, school-level and Department-funded third-party expenditure that is recorded or capable of being estimated in relation to boards of management, patrons, trustees, management bodies, finance sub-committees, board training and induction, financial-governance supports, the financial support services unit, audit
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