Jack Chambers
Dublin West · Fianna Fáil · Ireland
“We have been clear about the absolute necessity to protect the huge ecosystem of digital and infrastructure investment in Ireland over the past ten to 20 years. Part of that has been the wider and ongoing discussion on the security of subsea cables.”
“Progress in achieving balanced regional development and detailing the delivery of the NDP is monitored through regular updates on the capital investment tracker and the MyProjectIreland interactive map viewer.”
“The tax strategy group examines the different options that are available to the Government during the summer. That informs the respective tax package that will advance. We have to honest about the measures we take in terms of taxation. They have to be sustainable and affordable in the long term. USC brings in about €5.5 billion per year.”
“I am not privy to the interaction the Deputy had with the Minister for housing on this, but the Local Government Fund distributes the respective funding across different local authorities, and Galway County Council and Galway City Council would receive allocations through that. I was clear in my initial response to Deputy O'Hara.”
“My Department has taken a proactive and co-ordinated approach to supporting the responsible and effective adoption of AI across the public service.”
“More broadly, the achievement of balanced regional development is a key priority of this Government and is at the heart of Project Ireland 2040, which includes the national planning framework, which sets out the wider spatial strategy for the next 20 years, along with the national development plan, NDP.”
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“Under Article 25.2.1° of the Constitution, the President may not sign a Bill earlier than the fifth day after the date on which the Bill is presented to her. However, there is provision in Article 25.2.2° whereby, at the request of the Government, with the prior concurrence of Seanad Éireann, the President may sign a Bill on a date earlier than the fifth day mentioned. In view of the urgency of this Bill, the provision in Article 25.2.2° is sought and a motion to this effect is placed before the Seanad. Such an earlier signature motion has also been sought for the Appropriation Bill in previous years. The Appropriation Bill is an essential element of financial housekeeping which those of us in both Houses of the Oireachtas are required to undertake.”
“With the banking system closed on 1 January, funding will need to be in place in departmental bank accounts before the end of the year to meet these liabilities on a timely basis. In addition, An Post needs to be pre-funded before the end of the 2025 in order to distribute funds to its network of post offices throughout the country in respect of social welfare payments it makes on an agency basis. These Exchequer liabilities form part of the supply services for 2026 and these costs will come under moneys voted in 2026, in respect of which the usual processes and mechanisms for voted moneys will apply. Concurrence to an early signature request for the Appropriation Bill is being sought. The signed Act is required by the Comptroller and Auditor General for clearance of the end-of-year issues from the Exchequer.”
“Schedule 2 of the Bill outlines the proposed amounts to be carried over by Vote. The Appropriation Bill 2025 will also include a provision to advance funds from the Central Fund to the Paymaster General's supply account to facilitate payments due in the initial days of January 2026. This provision ensures that the funds are in place for salary, pension and social welfare payments at the start of 2026 without creating an overdraft on the supply account. Section 4 of the Appropriation Bill provides for up to €1.2 billion to be advanced, with this then being repaid to the Central Fund in January 2026. The need for this provision arises as certain Exchequer liabilities and social welfare payments are due for payment by electronic funds transfer in the initial days of January.”
“Under the rolling multi-annual capital envelopes introduced in budget 2004, Departments may carry unspent capital funding over from the current year to the following year, up to a maximum of 10% of voted capital allocation. The Bill provides for the capital carryover from 2025 to 2026. The multi-annual system was designed to enhance the efficiency and effectiveness of the management of capital programmes across government. The system recognises the complexity inherent in the planning and profiling of capital expenditure and that larger capital projects may be subject to delays. Therefore, it allows a portion of the unspent funding to be made available for programmes in the subsequent year. Section 3 of the Appropriation Bill provides for a proposed capital carryover of €182.25 million.”
“The second function of the Appropriation Bill is to provide a legal basis for public spending to continue into 2026. The enactment of this Bill before the end of December provides the authority for spending in January 2026 until approval of the 2026 Estimates by the Dáil. The authority for 2026, as contained in the Central Fund (Permanent Provisions) Act 1965, is based on the amounts provided for in the Appropriation Bill 2025. This ensures that payments can be made in respect of social welfare; pay for those delivering our key public services, including our healthcare and education systems; and a range of other supports and services.”
“This infrastructure supports not only the delivery of modern, fit-for-purpose public services but also supports our economic development and regional growth into the future. The 2025 funding set out in the Bill has enabled measures such as improvements in the social welfare system for people on a range of income supports, as well as providing additional support for families and people on illness, disability and carer programmes, alongside a €12 increase in core weekly social welfare rates; investment in our health service which has resulted in better outcomes for our citizens and greater access to higher quality healthcare; delivery on social and affordable programmes in housing; school places for over 975,000 students in primary, post-primary and special schools; investment in the apprenticeship system and other areas of further and higher education; support for affordability in early learning and childcare through the core funding scheme; and pay increases in line with the public service agreement to deliver better public services across the State.”
“The amounts included reflect the Revised Estimates and any Further Revised Estimates for 2025 voted by the Dáil earlier this year, and all of the Supplementary Estimates voted by the Dáil over the course of 2025. For 2025, these Estimates amount to €91.5 billion in total in net terms. This represents the ongoing investment in our public services through the Government’s balanced and planned approach to budgetary policy. It is supporting our public services, schools and healthcare and providing supports for our population, including childcare and social welfare payments. We have provided record levels of investment under our revised national development plan. This builds on investment in recent years providing more homes, schools, transport and water systems and other vital infrastructure.”
“I am here today in Seanad Éireann to present the Appropriation Bill 2025. The Appropriation Bill is a key component of the annual financial process and although it is technical in nature, it is of primary importance to the whole-of-year budgetary framework and must be concluded by both Houses of the Oireachtas before the end of this year. The Appropriation Bill has two crucial functions. The first is to legally authorise the expenditure which has taken place throughout 2025. The Appropriation Bill 2025 provides this lawful basis in line with the Estimates that have been voted on by the Dáil throughout the year. These allocations are the amounts appropriated for the supply of services and are set out in Schedule 1 to the Bill.”
“In the context of what the Deputy has said and given the ongoing work with Foras na Gaeilge, the new Uachtarán and within the language community, the Government should always be open to that engagement and taking an informed view with further inputs and I would be open to that.”
“I am not against having a broader engagement with the Deputy or others outside of here and with the Department of the Gaeltacht as well. If it is correct that it should be updated for the future I would be very open to that. Language evolves, as do Titles to legislation. For today, that is the position I have been given but it is something I would be happy to engage on in the context of future legislation. I respect the fact that the Deputy is more knowledgeable about it than I am. This has been checked in the past and is something that we are respectfully continuing this year.”
“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 this has been in consistent use for 100 years. I am told the Deputy proposed a similar amendment in 2023 and the Department engaged at the time with the Department with responsibility for the Gaeltacht on what was deemed to be the correct Title. The position I have been told, as of today is what we have said is the correct translation.”
“It extends only as far as agreeing to the annual Estimate and then the respective spending authorities certify and ensure it is processed in line with established procedures. That is the backdrop. There is obviously wider custom of practice as regards why this is the case. It is for any Oireachtas committee to question or probe that, and I respect that.”
“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 responsible Ministers. That is accepted as part of the wider discharging of responsibilities. The statement of internal financial control is signed by the Secretary General in my Department, who is the Accounting Officer for this particular Vote. That reflects the process and practice that have existed for a long time. As I said, my Department has a very confined role in relation to the expenditure of the Vote.”
“The Oireachtas votes a specific sum annually for this Vote and the Comptroller and Auditor General plays an important role with the Secretary General in terms of the overall financial control of it. There is obviously practice around why that is the case. If an Oireachtas committee wants to have an informed debate about the Vote in terms of future practice or tradition, that is obviously something the Department can have engagement on as part of the overall Appropriation Bill. We are simply seeking to continue what has been advanced in previous years. The fact that the C and AG plays an auditing role is also important in that context.”
“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 waived its right to know precisely what the money has been spent on. It has always been the custom and practice not to disclose what Departments sought funds from this particular Vote. The appropriation account for the secret service, as has been said in previous years, is also audited by the Comptroller and Auditor General.”
“It also provides authority for voted expenditure to continue in the period between the beginning of January 2026 and when the Dáil approves the 2026 Estimates. This will ensure the continued funding for the delivery of front-line public services, including our health and education services, social protection payments, funding for An Garda Síochána and much more. It reflects a continuation of our planned approach to public spending, which is focused on delivering our economic, social, and climate ambitions and supporting a growing population now and into the future.”
“The advances provision in the Bill ensures that these payments can be transferred from the Department of Social Protection to the network of An Post offices throughout the country. Section 3 provides for up to €1.2 billion to be advanced from the Central Fund to meet these requirements. This is a higher amount than in recent years due to payroll dates in early 2026. This is a technical provision and any advances will be repaid to the Central Fund in January 2026. The Bill is an essential element of housekeeping undertaken by the Dáil each year. The passage of this Bill will authorise in law all of the expenditure that has taken place in 2025 on the basis of the Estimates voted on by the Dáil over the course of this year.”
“As in previous years, the Appropriation Bill also provides a provision for repayable advances from the Central Fund to the Paymaster General’s supply account to meet certain 2026 Exchequer liabilities due for payment over the first week of January, such as payroll and pension payments. The provision for these advances is critical as the banking system will be closed on Thursday, 1 January. This means that it is necessary for the funding to be in place in departmental bank accounts before the end of this year to meet those liabilities on a timely basis. This Bill also provides provision to prefund certain payments under the Social Welfare Acts due between 1 January and 6 January 2026 that are made on an agency basis by An Post.”
“The carryover figure is on a downward trajectory from the amounts requested by Departments in recent years. I am pleased that the strong performance of capital expenditure this year reflects significant improvements in capital project delivery throughout the country. This continued investment is providing housing, school buildings and transport infrastructure for all our citizens, building capacity for our future. The Revised Estimates Volume 2026, which will be published by my Department in December, will include details of the amounts to be deferred by subhead for Votes that are availing of the capital carryover function for next year.”
“For this reason, it is essential that it be enacted before the end of 2025. Should the Bill not be enacted, there would be no authority to spend any voted moneys in 2026 from the start of January until the approval of the 2026 Estimates. To account for the complexity faced by Departments in planning for major capital projects, the rolling multi-annual capital envelopes introduced in 2004 allow for the carryover of up to 10% of unspent voted capital expenditure from the current year into the next year. This provides the degree of flexibility needed for the year-on-year planning of capital expenditure. Schedule 2 of the Bill sets out the proposed capital expenditure amounts that are to be carried over to 2026 by Vote. The total level of capital carryover sought from 2025 into 2026 is €182.25 million.”
“A balanced approach to public service pay in the context of both the State's fiscal position and the broader economic environment was achieved by the Public Service Agreement 2024-2026. Multiyear public service agreements have contributed to stability within our economy by facilitating the delivery of quality public services, ongoing reforms and the maintenance of industrial peace in the public service. The second principal function of the Bill is to provide a legal basis for expenditure to continue into next year in the period before the Dáil votes on the 2026 Estimates. As set out in the Central Fund (Permanent Provisions) Act 1965, the authority for spending in 2026, prior to the agreement of the 2026 Estimates by the Dáil, is based on the amounts included in this Bill.”
“At €1.35 billion, investment in early learning and childcare reached record levels in 2025. National childcare scheme universal subsidies are worth up to €5,000 per child in 2025. In addition, the access and inclusion model is now supporting more than 8,000 children with a disability to access childcare. Budget 2026 will continue to see early learning and school-age care prioritised, with an increase in the allocation of 10%. This will support affordability measures including further reductions in the maximum level of fees and increases to the income-assessed thresholds on the NCS. Increased capital funding through the NDP will seek to improve accessibility in the sector.”
“Close to 700 new teachers were employed in September 2025 for the commencement of the 2025-26 school year. To support the education of students with special education needs, over 400 new special classes were sanctioned for this school year, bringing the total number of special classes to over 3,700. Education capital expenditure in 2025 is supporting the continued progression of around 300 building projects currently at construction. The 2025 funding has also enabled a range of other schemes and initiatives across government. In further and higher education, 2025 funding continues to invest for our future and to meet the skills needs of the labour market. Investment in 2025 provided funding for the increased delivery of apprenticeships, supporting skills development in key areas for the economy such as housing and climate action.”
“In 2024, 10,500 new social homes were delivered and there is a continued delivery pipeline for 2025 and future years. A total of €9.7 billion in funding is being provided this year for the housing, local government and heritage Vote group. This includes close to €6 billion in capital funding. The significant level of capital investment will continue under the revised national development plan, with almost €40 billion committed over the period to 2030 to support housing delivery and water infrastructure. Education funding in 2025 provided an appropriate school place to over 975,000 students in primary, post-primary and special schools around the country. This is alongside a record number of teachers, with approximately 78,000 employed by the Department of Education and Youth.”
“It underscores the Government’s commitment to ensuring that the healthcare needs of our population can continue to be met in a complex and challenging environment. Ireland achieves good health outcomes across a number of indicators. Over the past decade, Ireland has achieved an improvement in life expectancy. Improvements in the overall health of the population have resulted in significant declines in our mortality rates for many of the common causes of death over the past decade. There have been significant expansions in eligibility for schemes including the free contraception scheme. There have also been women’s health initiatives and the abolition of inpatient charges for public patients. Housing has seen a strong ramp-up in delivery on both the social and affordable programmes.”
“When expenditure on the Social Insurance Fund is included, the 2025 gross expenditure allocation for social protection is over €27.5 billion. Funding provided in 2025 enabled improvements to the social welfare system for people on a range of income supports as well as providing additional support for families and people on illness, disability and carer programmes. Funding in 2025 delivered increases in core weekly social welfare rates, which increased the income of an estimated 1.45 million recipients, increases to the child support payment and working family payment income thresholds, an increase in the domiciliary care allowance rate, and a range of other measures. Significant investment in the health service, with the allocation for health in 2025 reaching €26.1 billion, continues a trend of substantial resourcing in recent years.”
“In net terms, these Estimates amount to €91.5 billion. In gross terms and taking into account expenditure on the Social Insurance Fund and National Training Fund, total gross voted expenditure allocated for this year is €109.9 billion. This reflects the Government's investment in public services, delivering on the priorities we set out in budget 2025, including higher weekly social protection payments, targeted investments in areas such as health and transformational investment in infrastructure to unlock growth, enhance competitiveness and support communities all over the country under the revised national development plan. Our social protection system seeks to provide an effective social safety net for the more vulnerable members of our society.”
“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 first is to provide legal authorisation for all the expenditure that occurred in 2025 on the basis of the Estimates voted on by the Dáil over the year. These allocations are known as the amounts to be appropriated for the supply of services. They are set out in section 2 and Schedule 1. They relate to the Revised Estimates, Further Revised Estimates and Supplementary Estimates that have been agreed by the Dáil over the course of 2025.”
“I appreciate the Deputy's remarks. We can make a serious impact next year in terms of the legal reforms, the regulatory reforms, and the co-ordination and delivery changes we are making while also making the case for greater public acceptance of infrastructure across the State, in particular across those critical areas of water, energy and transport. Part of that is reflected in the questions the Deputy has asked in terms of enabling developer-led infrastructure as well. I look forward to working with him next year on driving delivery.”
“The Deputy will have heard from the Minister, Deputy Browne, about wastewater treatment plants and the work on advancing that, which will be critical to improving overall housing supply. It will not be solely Irish Water but it will be something that will enhance wider water infrastructure across the State. Similarly, there is the work the Minister, Darragh O'Brien, is doing in respect of private wires, again ensuring we broaden and enable infrastructure development across the State, which will help. I am working with both Ministers in order that these reforms are advanced in 2026. Both will help in terms of overall housing supply but also in building greater investment in job opportunities across the State.”
“Both Departments will work closely with utilities, local authorities, regulatory bodies and planning authorities to ensure that developer-led delivery is integrated effectively with statutory processes and national priorities.”
“In relation to water, it means bringing forward measures for developers to deliver new, stand-alone wastewater treatment plants to bolster the service provided by Uisce Éireann to support increased levels of housing. Both of these activities are planned for completion in quarter two of 2026. It is explicitly committed to that any developer-led infrastructure will comply with environmental and technical standards and integrate with public systems, where appropriate. The Department of housing will lead on reforms relating to water infrastructure while the Department of Climate, Energy and Environment will lead on energy-based measures.”
“The accelerating infrastructure report and action plan includes targeted reforms to certain types of developer-led infrastructure as set out under action 15. This action recognises that alongside record public investment under the national development plan, private sector delivery models may play a complementary role in certain circumstances. Specifically under action 15, the Government has committed to progressing regulatory reforms that allow developers to deliver certain types of electricity and water infrastructure, where this may result in faster or more efficient development with no degradation of standards. In relation to electricity, this means advancing regulations to enable private wire electricity connections in line with the Government's private wires policy statement.”
“The Minister for housing, Deputy Browne, has also set out proposals for an infrastructure fund to try to complement housing delivery to support the broader infrastructure where there is significant housing development and having that enabling infrastructure. If we look at the overall capital allocation for education, for example, it is €7.5 billion over the next five years. This is to ensure we continue development of critical education infrastructure across the State. We have had record funding, for example, on sports capital to ensure we have sports infrastructure built in communities. This is something we are continuing to commit to.”
“To respond first to Deputy McCormack, again, the whole focus is on driving delivery. I take his point on the role of that particular project in the east and midlands. We will engage with Irish Water on it. Obviously, we do not want to delay the current design, which could possibly hold back the project by a number of years. There is a need to accelerate its delivery because it is a critical project for the State. To respond to Deputy Brennan, we have tried to complement the prioritisation we have given in the national development plan with social infrastructure. We have record levels of investment in transport infrastructure in the State of €24 billion.”
“Whatever can be done to drive its delivery will be critical for the future development and growth of the east, as well as ensuring basic water supply. I will ask the project design team to respond directly to the Deputy on the issues with phasing or sequencing.”
“We are keen to ensure all infrastructure in the State, including in County Offaly, is accelerated. At present, it takes 15 years to build a road and it can take up to ten years to deliver wastewater and water infrastructure and seven or eight years for electricity or energy infrastructure. These timelines are all too long to meet the growing demands of our population and economy. As regards the eastern midlands water supply project, which is of interest to the Deputy, this is an issue on which we can engage with Irish Water. Obviously, it is critical that we advance the project for the east and midlands more generally. Irish Water is working through how it can accelerate the planning of the project and ensure it can commence.”
“Together, these actions will ensure the record investment under the national development plan translates into faster, more efficient delivery of housing, energy and transport infrastructure, supporting Ireland’s economic growth, climate commitments and Delivering Homes, Building Communities. This will benefit every county and region of Ireland, as infrastructure projects play an essential role in supporting Ireland’s balanced economic growth and meeting the demands of a rapidly expanding population. There are considerable infrastructure projects under way in County Offaly. I am sure the Deputy is aware of the Edenderry wastewater treatment plant, a number of regeneration projects and education and schools' projects across the county and the work being undertaken in the context of transport investment.”
“The plan sets out 30 targeted actions grouped under four pillars, each addressing a key area of reform. The actions address the 12 barriers to the timely delivery of infrastructure that were highlighted in the report published by my Department in July. A four-week online and in-person public consultation last summer supported the preparation of that report published in July by providing an opportunity for stakeholders and the general public from across the country to feed into this work. I hosted events during this consultation period, including a regional event in Athlone. The actions selected represent a transformative approach to streamlining development processes and significantly reducing delivery timelines, ensuring a more efficient and timely delivery of critical infrastructure nationwide.”
“I thank Deputy McCormack for his question. Last week, the Government published the accelerating infrastructure report and action plan. This 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 identified as major barriers to achieving Ireland’s housing, energy and climate objectives. The report is evidence-based. It has been built on the research and analysis of my Department, the views received during the public consultation and stakeholder engagement undertaken by my Department over the summer and the expert input and advice from the members of the accelerating infrastructure task force.”
“On the latter point, I am following up on that with Irish Water in the context of wastewater treatment plants. There has been a funding increase. I can get a specific answer to the question for the Deputy. I am aware of the importance of the issue to local towns and villages in County Galway. To the other point on resilience of critical infrastructure, a recent Cabinet committee meeting focused on the learnings from Storm Éowyn, the greater prevalence of storms and the impact this is having on basic infrastructure. It is a critical point of co-ordination across government on building better resilience into our basic infrastructure systems and also ensuring response in respect of community resilience. There is a strong focus on co-ordination in the work the Minister of State, Deputy Moran, is doing as well.”
“Similarly, there is work happening on other infrastructure across many Departments. This is agreed at a sectoral level. The wider funding arrangements are clear in Project Ireland 2040, as is ensuring balanced regional development.”
“I am familiar with those elements of the west of Ireland, in Galway, Mayo and elsewhere. The west is being prioritised in many of the projects set out in the sectoral investment plans. There is the social and affordable housing delivery we want to ramp up in the context of the housing sectoral plan that the Minister, Deputy Browne, has published. The transport sectoral plan will significantly enhance public transport and there address road infrastructure projects across the west, which have been waiting for years. There is also the resilience the Deputy mentioned in the context of storms and other issues. The Minister of State, Deputy Moran, through the work the OPW is doing, is front-loading a lot of the capital investment in flooding and other areas to make sure we build greater resilience.”
“It committed €275.4 billion up to 2035, the largest and most significant capital injection in our economy in the history of the State. Arising from this, €19.1 billion in Exchequer capital investment will be provided in 2026. On budget day, Ministers set out the capital projects and programmes that they will prioritise within their allocation in 2026. In recent weeks, Ministers have developed sectoral plans for priority investment programmes. Many of these projects relate to the west, including the Uisce Éireann upgrade of water and wastewater treatment plants in Lough Mask and Claremorris in County Mayo, 35 social and 310 affordable housing units in Crowne Square in Galway, new transport infrastructure with Bus Connects Galway and the Galway city ring road. I can list many more.”
“More broadly, the achievement of balanced regional development is a key priority of this Government in Project Ireland 2040, which includes the national planning framework and the national development plan. Since Project Ireland 2040 was launched in 2018, the Government has overseen the delivery of many impactful NDP projects across the country, including in the west of Ireland, for example, the enterprise centres in Boyle and Tulsk in County Roscommon and Belmullet and Swinford in County Mayo, the N59 Moycullen bypass, the Salmon Weir bridge in County Galway, the Killaloe bypass in County Clare, the heritage and tourism projects in Portumna, Galway and Aghleam, Mayo and many other capital projects. The NDP review 2025 was published on 22 July 2025.”
“As part of the budgetary process each year, my Department sets out overall expenditure ceilings for each ministerial Vote group. These are 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 each Minister to assign funding as appropriate at programme and subhead level for their Departments and the agencies under their remit, accounting for the demands for services in different areas and regions, having regard to demographics and other relevant factors. Within this process, both current and capital expenditure are allocated on a departmental rather than geographic basis.”
“That is why I stated that to give an accurate picture would require a detailed analytical assessment. Pay and pension provisions are subject to different arrangements across different grades, pay scales, premium payments and superannuation payments. In the context of the Deputy's question, we have not been able to put a number beside the information he has requested. That would be an important consideration.”
“The annual pay bill is estimated to be approximately 14.4 billion for core civil service and departmental staff. I have been told that this increases to approximately £18 billion when the wider public services are included. Total public expenditure for the Northern Ireland Executive is estimated at €32 billion in 2025. I have set out some high-level data from the team who assessed the Deputy's question. It would require a lot more specific and micro-level data to answer it, however.”
“Such an exercise constitutes a complex and substantial analytical undertaking requiring access to detailed, contemporaneous micro-level data on the pay structures and pensions of both current and former employees in order to accurately assess the full costs. It also involves a range of assumptions in relation to the pay and pensions policy implications. My Department does not have access to the required level of detailed data relating to the remuneration and pension arrangements of public servants in Northern Ireland to set out that context. I have some macro data here. We know that the total size of the public service of Northern Ireland, inclusive of civil service, health, education, police and local government employees, is estimated to indicate approximately 227,500 in October 2025.”
“This will fall to be paid over the next 70 years or so. Northern Ireland’s pay and pensions are subject to different arrangements, with different grades, pay scales, premium payments and superannuation payments. An assessment of pension costs requires individual member data along with detailed data on the varied pension scheme rules and entitlements by sector, for example, the civil service, health, education and local authority sectors. Such an exercise constitutes a complex and substantial analytical undertaking.”