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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“The review of the national development plan published in July represents the largest capital investment and injection in our economy in the history of the State. As part of the NDP review, the Government agreed substantive annual sectoral allocations for 2026 to 2030 and overall Government capital ceilings to 2035. The review sets out total public capital investment of €275.4 billion to 2035. This comprises €202.4 billion in Exchequer voted capital from 2026 to 2035. Of this, €102.4 billion is being allocated for the next five years, which is an additional €24 billion on what was previously allocated. A further €10 billion in equity and fund releases is being provided for strategic megaprojects in water, energy and transport. This brings the total additional capital investment to €34 billion for the period to 2030.”
“The relevant Minister of State, Deputy Higgins, is doing extensive work on procurement reform. She has led extensive engagement across the country with SMEs and businesses on how we can have better engagement in the tendering process to have more competition and participation by SMEs. There are reforms happening at EU level as part of that too. All elements of streamlining are our focus so as to deliver infrastructure better across our economy and also provide value for citizens regarding what is delivered. The Minister of State, Deputy Higgins, is advancing procurement reforms, which we hope to publish by the end of the year.”
“It is important to balance that with the concerns the Deputy has raised over the need to deliver quicker. A bigger part of the infrastructure conversation is the need to address risk aversion in decision-making, whereby we have lists but not delivery. Better risk appetite regarding capital infrastructure will be a part of the reforms we will have to introduce.”
“I have set out the position. Very few Ministers are directly sending items for procurement or are directly involved in the procurement process. When this emerged, the facts were established. The signage is being replaced at no additional cost. Ensuring value for money and financial management are critical in all elements of public expenditure management. At a wider level, we are reviewing public financial procedures to strengthen accountability and fiscal discipline across government when it comes to the medium-term fiscal and structural plans. Public servants take this very seriously. To give balance to much of what is said here, there are many good projects delivered by people who believe in our public service and do deliver, in many cases on budget and on time, across many sectors in our economy.”
“Following the change of name of my Department upon the formation of the Government, a procurement process was undertaken to replace the Department’s signage at the Government Buildings complex. After the new signage had been installed, it was noted that one word had been misspelt. The external supplier of the signage confirmed that it made this error when producing it and has replaced the signage at no additional cost. The Department of Finance undertook the procurement on behalf of my Department in the context of shared facilities services between the two Departments. While we have not yet received an invoice, the quoted price for the original design, manufacture and installation of the external signage at the entrances was €8,460, excluding VAT.”
“We will be able to detail actions that will make a genuine difference and practical steps we can control within internal systems in government and the State, and then ensure we promote reform. Reform is as important as the allocations around expenditure policy. The obsession in this House is often who gets what and how much. Reform is the most important aspect of resolving issues with infrastructure delivery and rebalancing excessive regulation that is not adding value and is holding back growth. That is what I intend to do.”
“I agree the proposals need to be practical, quick and make an impact on the wider delivery of economic and social infrastructure. The guidelines the Deputy referred to, which have multiple gateways, need to be reformed and changed. There is too much circular analysis, which in many instances does not add value and adds time. That is why there is going to be change. Some of the reforms we will be introducing will be practical steps that will reduce the time and help deliver infrastructure better. The Deputy is correct that when developing a site, there should be better intensification and use of it, particularly if it is a hospital site that has only a limited amount of land available and potential future needs.”
“Increasing the risk appetite is critical if we want to deliver more social and economic infrastructure. It is a matter of backing public servants to make the decisions and get on with doing what we know is required, be it in terms of healthcare infrastructure or water, energy, transport and housing infrastructure across our economy. There are too many constraints that promote a culture of risk aversion. Risk aversion permeates the system, and that is why we have long lists and not delivery now. Part of what we are doing in our infrastructure reforms is cutting a lot of that out, addressing and reforming internal systems and really focusing on delivery. We will be able to set out the detail and the timelines that will shorten as a result of the changes we are going to make.”
“I know the critical need to deliver more beds in the mid-west region. Following the HIQA report, it is important that we do that in the context of the new allocation to the Department of Health and as part of the national development plan. I agree with much of what the Deputy has said. The guidelines, as they are, are probably too conservative and there is a need for reform. That is why we want to go higher, bigger and quicker when it comes to infrastructure and planning for it, be it in the context of bed capacity, social infrastructure or critical economic infrastructure. Rebalancing regulation and removing some of the barriers, steps and internal systems will all be part of the report. These are practical steps that narrow timelines but also rebalance risk.”
“It will outline a series of targeted, high-impact reforms designed to address all the identified barriers and to deliver critical infrastructure more quickly across the economy with a clear focus on reducing timelines and improving outcomes.”
“Based on this consultation and research, we published the report on the emerging themes on the barriers to infrastructure in July. The report identified 12 key barriers to the timely delivery of infrastructure, spanning the regulatory environment, planning and legal frameworks, and internal government systems. It highlights the urgent need for infrastructure delivery systems that are fit for purpose, efficient and economically viable. The infrastructure division, in close collaboration with the task force, is now preparing the final report and an action plan to address these barriers. I will present this report to Government in the coming weeks.”
“This includes six independent experts with extensive infrastructure delivery experience, alongside six ex officio members drawn from commercial State bodies at the forefront of infrastructure development, as well as representatives from the local government sector. The new division has recently undertaken a major exercise to systematically identify the most important barriers impeding the timely delivery of capital projects. As part of this work plan, officials met with over 50 key stakeholders involved in the development of infrastructure in our country and received nearly 170 formal responses to a public consultation exercise that was conducted in parallel. This was complemented by engagement events, including a session at the National Economic Dialogue and a regional event in Athlone in June.”
“In line with the commitments made in the programme for Government, a new infrastructure division has been established within my Department. Led by a deputy secretary general, this division is focused on how the delivery of critical infrastructure across the State can be accelerated. It comprises a blend of experienced civil servants and sectoral experts with direct experience in infrastructure delivery, many of whom have been redeployed into my Department from key State agencies. The work of the infrastructure division is supported by the accelerating infrastructure task force, which I chair.”
“Trying to attract more international contractors will be critical so we have a broader transformation of public transport investment over the coming years. That will be a priority as part of the capital plan and it is also a priority in the existing national development plan.”
“The Deputy and I are in agreement in lots of areas. DART+ West is a project that is not caught in the paralysis, the delays and bureaucracy. It is one that we can try to commence quickly. Where we have opportunities on public transport, we should be using the increased capital allocation from a transport perspective to get projects moving. The Minister, Deputy O'Brien, is working on the sectoral investment plan for the Department of Transport, working with TII and the National Transport Authority. DART+ West is a really good example of a project we need to advance over the coming years. A critical part of the transport sector investment plan will be setting out the timeline for that and putting the detail around that so we give clear certainty to the market about our intent.”
“An additional 35,000 places under the national childcare scheme are being supported in that context. We want to complement many of the smaller childcare providers that have developed their own capacity in communities across the country. Obviously, the State will be doing more and the sectoral investment plan for childcare will put the detail on that and provide the specific allocations. We have a wider vision on childcare in the programme for Government whereby we want to make progress across successive budgets when it comes to the affordability initiatives but also the capital allocations, which will be set out in the coming weeks.”
“I thank the Deputy. We both share the same constituency with a lot of young families. I share her objective of ensuring we develop more places and more opportunities to have childcare facilities and affordable childcare across our community and indeed in communities across the country. The Minister, Deputy Foley, is working with her allocation of €795 million over the next five years. Obviously, that includes children, equality and disability. She is working on a on a multiyear sectoral plan to set out specific steps and overall allocations in respect of some of the childcare schemes the Deputy referenced. As part of the budget, we agreed to continue. Obviously, the increased demand for childcare across our economy has had to be funded in the context of budget 2026.”
“There is a detailed map of each of the projects relating to each of the specific and strategic outcomes. It is important to balance the conversation. We need to accelerate delivery, and we are fronting up on doing an extensive amount more on capital investment in our economy, but a huge amount has been delivered. We are seeing that in our school system in terms of social infrastructure. We are also seeing it with a lot of the public transport projects and continued investment in the road network, as well as the delivering of outcomes for bed capacity in our health system. We need to balance the conversation. A lot of infrastructure is being delivered but we want to do more and do it quicker.”
“Considerable progress has been made on a range of projects across the country under this objective since the 2021 review, including, for example, planning permissions for nine bus corridors under BusConnects Dublin; final network details for BusConnects Cork; planning permission for BusConnects Galway; planning implementation for BusConnects Limerick; and work is now ongoing on BusConnects Waterford. Over €320 million has been invested in walking and cycling projects through the active travel infrastructure programme. Full lists of projects and programmes for each of the ten strategic outcomes are regularly published by my Department. The capital investment tracker provides a composite update on all major investments where there is an estimated project cost of over €20 million.”
“Given the nature of this strategic priority, many projects take a number of years to fully deliver. Transport has been highlighted and focused on as a critical growth-enabling area in the national development plan review. A total of €22.3 billion was allocated to the Department of Transport for the 2026 to 2030 period. A further €2 billion was allocated to support low-carbon transportation projects, including projects such as MetroLink, under the national development plan review.”
“The Government has allocated €795 million to the Department of Children, Disability and Equality and €9.25 billion to the Department of Health for the 2026 to 2030 period. A range of projects have already been delivered under this since 2021, including, for example, a €6.9 billion investment in capital infrastructure for primary and post-primary schools resulting in 1,200 projects completed, many of which are in the Deputy's constituency; the establishment of 18 Sláintecare healthy communities in disadvantaged areas under the healthy Ireland framework; the Sláintecare healthy homes scheme, from which 4,500 people benefit; and the ongoing work in communities from a public health perspective. National strategic outcome 4 relates to sustainable mobility and a commitment to a more environmentally sustainable public transport system.”
“Following the agreement in July of this year of the national development plan review, gross capital ceilings for all sectors have been set out to 2030. While the Government has prioritised investment towards the critical growth-enabling sectors of housing, energy, water and transport, all Departments are now tasked with developing sectoral plans for the upcoming five years out to 2030. These plans will detail priority projects to be progressed, and Departments must ensure these are affordable within the overall capital expenditure ceilings, as agreed by the Government. These plans will be published in the coming weeks. The Deputy referenced strategic outcomes 10 and 4. Strategic outcome 10 refers to access to quality childcare, education and health services.”
“I propose to take Questions Nos. 5 and 33 together. As Minister, I am responsible for setting overall capital allocations across Departments and for monitoring the relative expenditure and delivery at departmental level. In the national development plan review 2021, the Government originally committed €165 billion in capital investment for the period from 2021 to 2030, and subsequently agreed to additional funding of €2.25 billion in March 2024 for the period from 2024 to 2026. The revised national development plan, published in July, sets out €275.4 billion in public capital investment to 2035, which is the largest and most significant capital injection in our economy in the history of the State.”
“-----many of the IGEES reports are published. I am not sure if the Deputy read the medium term expenditure framework. It is a comprehensive, cross-cutting cross-government report as a five-year backward-looking analysis on expenditure trends to inform expenditure for the next five years. It informs a lot of the work that we undertook as part of budget 2026 and will inform the medium-term structural and fiscal plan with the Minister, Deputy Donohoe.”
“It has been the most extensive detailed piece of work across many of the economists in the Department, looking at the expenditure trends for the past five years and at how we make the policy choices and trade-offs over the next five years, acknowledging some of what was referenced in the Department of Finance report yesterday in terms of changing demographics, the impact of climate change and-----”
“I started listing a number of them that have been published. As I said, there have been 59 papers published since 2024. I am happy to send to the Deputy a list of the ones we have published. Indeed, what has informed most of the work in the Department was the medium term expenditure framework, which did an expenditure analysis of the overall expenditure trends across Government. I am not sure if the Deputy has read it. It looked at the-----”
“I could list many publications from this year, such as the well-being framework. They complement the medium-term expenditure framework, which was an extensive piece of work by the central expenditure division.”
“In 2025, we have had the Intergenerational Dependence on Social Housing working paper from the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage; the Review of Social Housing Delivery and Spend from my Department in January; the Supply and Demand of General Practice in Ireland report, which was published by the Department of Health; the Analytical Paper on the School Meals Programme, which was published in July; the Spending Review: Disability Residential Services report; and the Focused Policy Assessment: HSE Adult Disability Day Services report. I have a long list here which I can send to the Deputy of many papers published by IGEES, which is co-ordinated by my Department, as part of its work across government around spending reviews, value for money and providing policy analysis. There have been extensive publications.”
“I reject that analysis. Much work across government and in the public service is delivering a significant number of projects on time and on budget. Flippant remarks about particular projects undermine the core work of many people who work across our system. It is important to balance the Deputy's remarks in that context. Since 2024, approximately 59 publications have been authored.”
“This is communicated through a range of publications including the annual expenditure report and the public service performance report, as well as our expenditure and policy evaluation papers across a range of topics. In preparation for budget 2026, my Department undertook several pieces of analysis to support resource allocation. The public service performance report was published in June and it detailed how Departments performed against targets set in the Revised Estimates process. We published the national development plan review in July. We spoke about that previously. Importantly, we published the medium-term expenditure framework in September. This is a multiyear public expenditure planning exercise which supports assessment of the resource implications of future policy decisions over the period from 2025 to 2030.”
“Alongside this, individual Departments have responsibility for evaluating the efficiency and impact of their own programmes and policies. Since 2024, approximately 59 papers have been published by Irish Government Economic and Evaluation Service, IGEES, staff across government. During 2025, it produced policy analysis and expenditure evaluations on a broad range of topics, including disability services, social housing, migration and labour market trends, statutory sick leave, well-being, education, transport and youth participation. This analytical research has continued to play a key role in supporting evidence-based policymaking. In addition, my Department continues to ensure evidence and analysis is at the centre of policymaking within the budgetary process.”
“I thank Deputy O'Callaghan. Securing value for money is an ongoing priority for the Government. It is at the heart of all decision-making at every stage of policy or programme lifecycles. It is about securing the efficient and effective use of public resources and improving living standards and infrastructure for the people of our country. Policy analysis is a core component of public expenditure management and value for money frameworks. A wide range of policy and expenditure analysis is undertaken and published by Departments annually. These can take the form of staff papers, focused policy assessments, spending reviews and analytical notes, among others. My Department plays a central role in this process by regularly analysing expenditure trends and policies.”
“We need to prioritise domestic simplification and reform to do things quicker, to develop and facilitate economic growth and, ultimately, to deliver infrastructure quicker and build more homes. That is the central metric which will underpin all the work on infrastructure. We will set out the detail around that when it is published in the coming weeks.”
“That is why we have corrected that around having over 5% GNI* allocated for critical infrastructure, which is one of the highest levels of infrastructure investment across EU counterparts. It did not take any article in any newspaper for me to prioritise infrastructure delivery. Since the brief was allocated to my Department, we have stood up a task force, developed an evidence base and published the report in July on the evidence base, which is now informing the various reforms which we will introduce and set out in the coming weeks. That is about cutting unnecessary processes within government and the State. We have a complicated structure of regulation in our economy which needs simplification, and not only at EU level.”
“The response to it around the infrastructure report which we publish involves practical actions which will demonstrate shortening of timelines for critical infrastructure and other infrastructure across our economy. On the point about housing, water and wastewater treatment plants are central to the delivery of new homes and many of Irish Water's capital projects are taking far too long. We have secondments from Irish Water and the task force in my Department. They make a positive contribution to the whole area of reform.”
“There are extensive actions across every barrier and the plan is to have the majority of the practical actions being delivered in 2026. Every action we take is about shortening and truncating timelines for the development lifecycle of critical infrastructure, which is simply taking too long. That means we need to increase our risk appetite. We have too much process and too many decision-makers and there is risk aversion across our systems. Secondly, within government, where we can control processes or procedures, that means we cut unnecessary levels of process which do not add value but simply add time. We have had a forensic assessment of this in recent months.”
“It provides greater certainty for key strategic projects such as MetroLink, the greater Dublin drainage scheme and the eastern and midlands water supply project, as well as the prioritisation of funding for critical infrastructure, such as electricity, water, and transport to help the supply of new homes and economic competitiveness.”
“The third heading is internal systems, such as how the Government allocates funding and develops a credible project pipeline; the rules applied to the development of projects; and how contractors are procured to undertake the works necessary for a project. The task force is providing strategic guidance and practical insights into the development of actions to address these barriers. This work is also informed by extensive engagement in the economy with delivery bodies, regulators, and industry representatives, as well as international best practice. Some reforms had already been introduced when we published the NDP. We have given funding certainty of €102 billion from 2026 to 2030, which is €34 billion over the previous allocation.”
“The first is the regulatory environment, including the growth and complexity of legislation; policy statements and strategies; how consents, licences and permissions for development are obtained; the timelines for these processes, engagement between the regulatory bodies and project developers; and consistency across regulatory bodies. The second heading is the planning and legal systems, including the increasing role that the courts play in infrastructure projects; the cascading consequences from these decisions through development cycles; and the impact that the uncertainty in planning and legal decisions are having on projects.”
“My Department is currently finalising the completion of a report and action plan on accelerating infrastructure delivery in our economy. It will be brought to Government in the coming weeks. It will set out a series of high-impact reforms targeted at the most significant barriers to the timely delivery of critical infrastructure. These reforms will have a clear focus on reducing timelines and significantly improving outcomes. They will be targeted at the most impactful barriers to infrastructure delivery as outlined in the report published in July. This report identified 12 barriers to the effective delivery of infrastructure in our country. The most significant barriers identified are broadly categorised across three headings, which were set out in the report.”
“What happened to Ashling Murphy in Offaly was shocking. I know how difficult this continues to be for her family and indeed for the wider community. I want to speak more generally to say that the removal of criminals and those who are a danger to public safety is always a priority for the Minister for justice. In the free movement regulations of 2015, there is a mechanism through which that can occur. There is a particular threshold and bar which is set for the utilisation of that directive. That is co-ordinated by An Garda Síochána working with the Irish Prison Service relating to any individual.”
“I thank the Deputy. What is really important in aviation in particular is that safety comes first. I have not seen the particular report referenced but I will ask the Minister for Transport to respond to the Deputy's particular questions and the concerns raised by workers. Safety would come first in any framing, or agreement, of a contract or indeed the operational work around that contract. The Minister for Transport will be able to respond to the Deputy's concerns comprehensively. We are in a new contract with Bristow relating to the coast guard which will serve us over the next number of years. I can ask the Minister for Transport to respond to the Deputy's question.”
“It is important that any deficiencies found are responded immediately to by respective contractors to protect the safety and well-being of residents.”
“The safety and well-being of all residents in IPAS centres is of the highest priority for the Government and for the Minister, Deputy O'Callaghan. All issues relating to fire safety are taken extremely seriously. When any inspection identifies issues, including those relating to fire safety, a formal process is immediately triggered to bring about a resolution. A written report is provided to the contractor within 14 days detailing all deficiencies. They are contractually bound to respond within a further 14 days on remedying particular problems. Where issues relating to a contractor's track record are of concern, a follow-up inspection is scheduled around the remedial works. I can ask the Minister for justice to send a more detailed submission to the Deputy. What was set out in The Irish Times , I think, is a point-in-time assessment.”
“I will ask the Minister for Health, the National Immunisation Office and public health officials to respond to the Deputy's specific question relating to the learnings from Scotland.”
“I thank the Deputy for raising this important issue. As he knows, the National Immunisation Office in the Department of Health takes a very much evidence-based approach to vaccination programmes. There has been some work on RSV relating to certain groups and it is free for babies, according to the Minister of State, Deputy Butler. Any expansion of that should be examined by the National Immunisation Office, where appropriate. I know it is continuously ambitious in terms of broader vaccination. It is hugely important for managing overall public health and acute presentations that occur in our accident and emergency departments and in terms of using overall bed capacity in our hospital system.”
“The Deputy is correct that they are critical to ensuring we build more homes across communities and I will ask the Minister, Deputy Browne, to respond on the specific plant.”
“I thank the Deputy. He is correct that some of the delivery of projects has been too slow. That is why projects like Carrignavar and others need to be accelerated over the coming years. We have prioritised putting €12 billion into water and wastewater infrastructure over the next five years. The Minister, Deputy Browne, is finalising the capital investment plan and the sectoral plan for water and wastewater infrastructure so that many of the projects on lists can be delivered. They are the foundation for building more homes in the villages and towns right across our country. That plan is due to be published in the coming weeks. Work is ongoing between the Department of housing, the Minister and Irish Water to put that together over a five-year period and put the capital investment beside a lot of the projects that are referenced.”
“That is why the work the Minister for Transport is doing around the sectoral investment plan will significantly improve public transport but also ensure we continue the acceleration and build out of our national roads programme, which is critical for economic growth and development. It is also critical for the daily lives of many people who live in the commuter belt in Kildare. I will ask them to respond to the issues the Deputy raised.”
“I thank the Deputy. I discussed it there with the Minister, Deputy Heydon, as well. I acknowledge the significant pressure it puts on families, particularly in the commuter belt in south Kildare and elsewhere, who are reliant on coming to Dublin early in the morning. I will ask TII and the Minister for Transport to better resource the response, if that is an issue, so that when a particular accident arises, it can be responded to quicker. Obviously, there are particular accidents that arise where the scene has to be preserved. That has an inevitable impact on displacement of traffic. As a Government, we are committed to being more pragmatic on our roads building programme. It is something that is important for the commuter belt and regions across our country.”