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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“Through our Department's goal in building capacity, we are developing a public service that can meet the long-term needs of a changing society. We do this through pay, pensions and HR policies, including legal responsibility for the appointment, pay, superannuation and conditions of all civil and public service staff and boards of public bodies, multi-year public service pay agreements, and a range of policies supporting a more agile and inclusive workforce, such as an apprenticeship programme for the public service. To support effective delivery, my Department is driving an ambitious programme of public service reform through the better public service transformation strategy.”
“This approach is consistent with the work my Department does in progressing and promoting good governance, openness and transparency for the governance of State bodies, the regulation of lobbying, the protection of whistleblowers and through freedom of information. To ensure public expenditure achieves effective outcomes, my Department also monitors expenditure from climate, well-being and equality perspectives, produces expenditure and policy reviews with spending reviews, and produces organisational capability documents to ensure our Departments and offices have the capability to deliver on their objectives. Taken together, these elements form the basis of a public expenditure management system that is robust and has taxpayers' interests at heart.”
“Placing reform at the heart of all we do is something I have prioritised as Minister, and this is reflected in my Department's new statement of strategy. Over the summer, I wrote to all my ministerial colleagues and my Department issued a circular on the key value-for-money obligations that Departments are required to adhere to as they progress their own priorities. I think we can all agree that we need to invest in delivering the public services and infrastructure that people rightly demand, but we cannot do this at the expense of accountability and value for money. This is why I have directed my officials to undertake a review of the public financial procedures to strengthen rules around how public money is used and to place accountability at the heart of decision-making.”
“The medium-term expenditure framework I recently published puts in place a strong architecture to frame our budgetary plans for the coming years. This important framework takes a wider multi-annual view that complements and guides the annual budget cycle, enabling us to anticipate and prioritise effectively for the challenges and opportunities ahead. The framework also provides insights to guide future budgetary decisions. Among these is the importance of capital expenditure in economically strategic areas to support housing delivery and to facilitate future economic growth. The framework also acknowledges that the achievement of policy outcomes requires public expenditure in tandem with other policy levers, including taxation, regulation and reform.”
“It is part of what I set out to the Government last week in the context of actions that will be delivered in the time ahead. Turning to public expenditure governance, a key priority for me and my Department is to promote and support the efficient, effective and sustainable use of resources in line with the annual budgetary parameters to support economic and social progress. This is particularly pertinent now as we focus our efforts on budget 2026. In the lead-up to 7 October, I have been meeting with a range of important stakeholders, from the national economic dialogue to the pre-budget meetings with my ministerial colleagues. It is clear to me the Government has an opportunity to make the right decisions to build further resilience in the Irish economy. This is particularly important given the uncertain geopolitical context.”
“I thank the Cathaoirleach and all the Members of the House for the opportunity to attend today to discuss the important work programme of my Department. I will cover several key priorities and my colleague the Minister of State, Deputy Higgins, who will be shortly, will touch on the elements of the Department's work related to her remit in her closing remarks. My Department operates from the centre of government to drive the delivery of better public services, living standards and infrastructure for the people of Ireland. The remit of the Department encompasses three broader areas: governance and oversight of public expenditure, building capacity across the civil and public service and delivering effectively across key departmental policies. These strategic goals are central to the Department's new statement of strategy out to 2028.”
“We want that work to continue and be complemented by the position we are taking with the European Union on the PEACEPLUS programme and the ten-year trajectory we have set out from a capital perspective under the shared island fund to embed this funding stream for the future.”
“I share the Deputy's ambition and focus on this critical investment to help to build peaceful and thriving communities. The fund helps to deliver economic regeneration and transformation across our island and empowers and invests in young people, embedding partnership and collaboration. The PEACEPLUS programme and the shared island fund have driven progress across many areas and we are seeing the manifestation of that capital investment in the deliver of infrastructure in some instances and also in important community projects. I met Ms McIntyre in some of my North-South engagement and I can see the critical impact the PEACEPLUS programme is having on many communities across our island.”
“PEACEPLUS is funding regional development projects across a diverse range of investment areas, including skills, education, transport, and socioeconomic regeneration. Investments include €165 million to support replacing the train fleet for the Enterprise service and €32 million for a cross-Border water quality improvement programme. In my discussions at the European Council of Ministers, this plays an absolutely essential role for many Border counties and is central to our broader discussions in the context of EU funding to complement the work of the shared island fund.”
“These projects are developed and taken forward in co-operation with counterparts in Northern Ireland and focus on practical cross-Border collaboration in a range of areas, including key infrastructure projects, climate action, tourism, culture and research. In some cases, Departments operate programmes that offer grant and funding opportunities that are open to applications as part of the shared island initiative. In addition to the shared island fund, as the Deputy said, the PEACEPLUS programme has a total value of €1. I billion to fund projects across Northern Ireland and the Border counties of Ireland until 2029. PEACEPLUS is co-funded by the Irish Government, the European Commission, the UK Government and the Northern Ireland Executive.”
“The programme for Government reaffirmed its commitment to the shared island fund and committed to increasing the resources available to the fund by a further €1 billion up to 2035. The shared island initiative is co-ordinated by a dedicated unit within the Department of the Taoiseach, with a focus on fostering co-operation and collaboration across the island of Ireland, aiming to build a more connected, sustainable and prosperous future. The initiative involves working with the Northern Ireland Executive and the British Government and is supported by significant investment from the fund. Funding from the shared island fund is allocated by the Government to Departments and agencies to support the delivery of projects that implement programme for Government priorities on our shared island.”
“From concept to delivery, how can we cut time out of the particular points which are creating excessive delays and impacting on communities that have an infrastructure deficit? That question is central to the work we are doing as part of the review of the national development plan and the accelerating infrastructure task force, as is how we better balance risk to promote delivery.”
“I thank the Deputies for their questions. To speak to Deputy Crowe's point, there has been a significant consultation on Ireland's procurement strategy and we will have a new national procurement strategy in the coming months. The Minister of State, Deputy Emer Higgins, is leading out on that work. Changes are taking place in the EU and we expect them to conclude during Ireland's Presidency of the Council of the European Union in 2026. I agree with Deputy Connolly that we need more balance in the broader discussion around infrastructure delivery and the metric has to be that it can advance and be accelerated while having the appropriate safeguards in place. That is the work we are doing on the project life cycle.”
“If it sits on lists and circles around processes for decades, we cannot embed any investment. Balancing the need for safeguards against the need for delivery will be critical to delivering this Government's infrastructure ambition.”
“I agree. Much work has been done in recent years to embed international best practice into contract management. The wider point has to be acknowledged that if things become too risk averse and no decision is made, then we do not have any delivery and have a long list of hypothetical projects that are not delivered over time. We need a balanced discussion on delivery, in addition to that on risk and cost which is sometimes the broader discussion in this House, the media and elsewhere. The metric has to be delivery and ensuring appropriate safeguards are in place in respect of guidelines and frameworks. Some of the feedback received as part of the infrastructure task force is on balancing risk. The real metric for the future of our economy will be delivery of critical infrastructure.”
“They differ from the CWMF contracts in the pricing structure and the inclusion of incentives to deliver the project on time and within budget.”
“It is a general principle that projects to which the CWMF applies are put out to tender on the basis of a comprehensively defined set of project requirements so that tenderers can provide a lump sum price for the completion of the project. However, major infrastructure projects, due to their scale, duration and risk profile, often require bespoke contractual strategies not catered for under the CWMF. Typically, these projects use standard forms of contracts which are used internationally in order to attract as wide a field as possible to tender. These contracts bear many similarities with the standard form of public works contract, with clearly defined circumstances where the price and date for completion may be adjusted. They typically employ comprehensive change management procedures which are adhered to by both parties.”
“These arrangements sharpen the focus on risk and cost management and reduce the compliance burden on low-risk projects, which brings Ireland into line with leading international approaches to major project delivery. The introduction of the external assurance process and the establishment of the major projects advisory group has improved the governance and oversight arrangements for major infrastructure projects. Standard procurement and contract templates are published under the capital works management framework, CWMF, and apply to projects that are majority Exchequer-funded. There are several cost control review points set out within key stages of a project’s design evolution which utilise standard reporting templates.”
“I thank the Deputy. My Department has implemented several safeguards and strategic frameworks to ensure that large-scale public infrastructure contracts are completed on time and within budget. The infrastructure guidelines published in 2023 set the key requirements for project governance over a project’s life cycle. The guidelines cover the evaluation of projects and their proper planning and management once approval in principle is obtained. The guidelines have replaced the public spending code and, significantly, have reduced the number of approval stages and streamlined the requirements for major projects, while retaining the international best practice governance and oversight arrangements already in place.”
“The external audit will be important in assessing the wider systems processes and compliance with public policy and with the statutory position the NSSO exists within. That work will commence and be completed as soon as practically possible. The tender process is ongoing with this audit for the NSSO. As part of budgetary preparations, we are being clear we want to make permanent, sustained and sustainable changes in the context of budget 2026 to improve public services and living standards and make a difference, particularly targeting supports at families that need them. That is the wider context for budget 2026, with broader economic uncertainty facing the country. That work is ongoing with the Minister, Deputy Donohoe, in preparation for the summer economic statement.”
“The work the NSSO is doing with individuals affected is to ensure they pay the liability at the point of retirement or have a plan in place to pay it over the remaining period in accordance with the rules and procedures that exist for the public service. On pensions contributions, the NSSO is working with anyone who is liable to ensure such contributions are made in terms of recruitment plans. Separately, it is examining the wider group impacted. There might be old payments, particularly for those in a work-sharing pattern. It is assessing that at the moment.”
“Recruitment plans around chargeable excess tax and pension contributions are two separate issues. I agree that what happened is unacceptable. That is why we need a full external audit and that will happen. If someone who has worked in the public service is liable for chargeable excess tax, they have 20 years on a normal basis to spread that liability once they retire. For example, if someone is retired for two years, they have the remaining 18 years to pay that liability of chargeable excess tax if it has not been paid or they have not agreed a plan to pay it over those 18 years. That is within the existing rules. The issue is when that liability is not paid or is not agreed to be spread over a particular period.”
“Work is ongoing with the Office of Government Procurement on a supplementary request for tender, which is expected to issue to the relevant framework members this week, ending 18 July 2025. The procurement process will involve clarification questions to be received within 21 days, with 30 days for tenders to be submitted. Work will commence following the relevant evaluation and contract negotiation process. I expect this external audit to be expedited with all due speed and to be completed as soon as practically possible. The external audit will be submitted to the chair of the board and my Department. Following that audit, I will brief the Government on the findings as soon as they are available.”
“Additionally, I have asked the chair of the NSSO advisory board to commission forthwith an external audit for the board and my Department of the systems and processes in the NSSO for fulfilling its role and responsibilities. The terms of reference have been finalised in consultation with me and my Department. The clear evidence of errors which has recently come to light emphasises the need to validate and provide reassurance regarding whether the NSSO is carrying out its functions in full compliance with public policy and statutory requirements. My Department is actively engaging with the chair to get this external audit up and running as a matter of urgency.”
“As the Deputy said, she is referring to delay in addressing taxes due on retirement and anomalies in deductions of various pension contributions. A review in relation to Ministers who may have been impacted regarding contributions and additional superannuation contributions, ASCs, has been completed. Those identified are being contacted and engagement is ongoing. I understand from the National Shared Services Office, NSSO, that many recoupment plans are now in place. A review of retirees liable for chargeable excess tax and withholding tax is nearing completion and the NSSO has been in contact with individuals impacted. That work is progressing. My Department and the NSSO have put new measures and controls in place to ensure these matters do not reoccur.”
“It has a different remit in the context of reform of infrastructure delivery in the economy and oversight of those reforms and broader infrastructure delivery from the projects and the plan we will set out next week.”
“I might just come in also. The Minister of State, Deputy Moran, just dealt with one part. Part of the work we are doing is to try to accelerate and improve the project life cycle. Be they full schemes or road projects, they are taking far too long. IGEES is deployed across Government Departments, assessing and evaluating some of the policies that have been advanced by Government. It provides external assessment to inform policy decisions we take as part of the budget process. It plays an important role and is deployed across Government, led by my Department. The NDP delivery board has been changed through the accelerated infrastructure task force, which I have established.”
“The Deputy is right. That was an excellent project delivered by Uisce Éireann. His original question connects back to the previous question that was asked. We understand the challenge Uisce Éireann has had each year in knowing its funding position the following year and the effect that has on contractors and their delivery pipelines. We are cognisant of that in the work we are doing as part of the national development plan. In the critical strategic sectors of infrastructure, we will give a longer view for contractors to give the confidence to build a pipeline and expand particular sectors within the economy. Part of what we are doing through the national development plan is to give greater certainty on the project pipeline for the likes of Uisce Éireann and others so they can plan for projects that will come on stream in the medium term.”
“The plan is being worked on by my Department and the Department of Finance and will reflect the strategic choices that will need to be made over the next five years in the context of tax and expenditure to ensure a balanced and sustainable fiscal outlook. The medium-term expenditure framework being prepared by my Department will support the delivery of key social and economic priorities of Government for the period to 2030. Financial planning for capital projects also takes place at the individual project level. My Department, through the infrastructure guidelines, provides the framework through which Departments can plan.”
“This reflects a planned and strategic approach to public capital investment over the next ten years. Planning and prioritisation of the funding will be guided by: the critical priorities for infrastructure investment highlighted in the programme for Government; the capacity of sectors to deliver projects and programmes within the period of the review, while being cognisant of trade-offs within and between sectors such as construction sector labour supply; the cost of proposals in the context of competing priorities and existing levels of capital funding; and the alignment of particular projects with the core focus on housing and competitiveness. The revised national development plan will also form part of our broader structural plan and associated medium-term expenditure framework.”
“The national development plan is the State's medium- to long-term plan for public capital investment. The current national development plan to 2030 provided for public capital investment of €165 billion over the period 2021 to 2030. Government is currently prioritising an early review of this plan, to be published this month, which will set out five-year departmental capital ceilings and additionality to 2030 and overall capital expenditure ceilings for the ten-year period to 2035. The objective of the review is to improve our infrastructure, particularly housing, energy, water and transport. Improvements to these sectors are necessary to deliver on the core ambition for the review to fund the supporting infrastructure to enable the delivery of thousands of additional homes and to boost our competitiveness.”
“Regarding specific operational issues Uisce Éireann has with the offshore islands, the wastewater treatment plants and the underlying infrastructure that all the Deputies referenced, the Minister for housing and Uisce Éireann will be able to respond on those specific details. However, there will be a significant uplift in funding for water infrastructure in the State when we outline the national development plan.”
“I thank Deputy Farrell for raising the issue of offshore islands, Deputy Burke for raising the issue of wastewater treatment plants during the noughties and Deputy Crowe for raising the issue of underlying infrastructure. My first role as part of this is to ensure that commercial State bodies, like Uisce Éireann, are appropriately funded over the medium term. That is something we will address as part of the national development plan to be outlined next week. The second part of my responsibilities is to ensure that when a project is being progressed and has been decided upon, the life cycle of the project can happen much quicker than at present and we can deliver a project from concept to delivery in a much quicker way within our economy because the timelines at present are too slow.”
“The metric will be delivery when funding has been provided over the next number of years so that Uisce Éireann is really enabled, from a funding perspective, to drive the delivery of this infrastructure. The engagement that we all will be having will be on delivery, when we have met the funding need that is required.”
“Water and wastewater infrastructure is critical to deliver the homes that we need and to deal with the broader infrastructure deficit that exists relating to water infrastructure more generally. What we are doing as part of that is prioritising it. The Exchequer funding of what is now Uisce Éireann significantly increased in recent years but we recognise that, to meet the level of ambition we have in housing supply in the economy, but also to address some of the deficits in regions, there needs to be a much greater level of funding given to Uisce Éireann. We are finalising that presently. What will happen in the aftermath of that is Uisce Éireann will be able to update its respective plans and delivery timelines relating to different projects.”
“Regarding sustainable management of water services specifically, I would remind the Deputy that, since 1 January 2014, Uisce Éireann has had responsibility for all aspects of water services planning, delivery and operation at national, regional and local levels, according to the 2013 Act. Uisce Éireann co-ordinates that with the Minister for housing. However, we recognise the funding issue, which has existed and has been publicly articulated this year in particular. Water infrastructure will be a central part of the national development plan, which we will set out next week.”
“While particular allocations are yet to be agreed, investment in water infrastructure is a key priority for the review. As part of the process, Departments have also been asked to consider whether their planned programmes meet the criteria for designated environmental projects to receive funding from the Infrastructure, Climate and Nature Fund. Some €3.15 billion is available from the fund for 2026 to 2030 and is part of the total NDP funding available. In addition, a climate assessment is also being carried out on projects receiving funding as part of the NDP and this will be published alongside the review document in July.”
“In line with the commitment in the programme for Government, my Department has prioritised an early review of the national development plan, NDP, which will be published in July. The aim of the review is to improve our infrastructure, particularly water, energy and transport. Prioritisation of these sectors is necessary to deliver hundreds of thousands of additional homes and to boost our competitiveness. The review document to be published in July will feature annual capital allocations to Departments over the five years to 2030 and overall capital expenditure ceilings for the ten years to 2035. This will be followed by sectoral publications later this year detailing the particular programmes that will be funded from the NDP.”
“Regarding the issue the Deputy referred to in Clongriffin, I have not seen a specific allocation in that regard, except to say we are committed to social infrastructure in our wider national development plan and this will continue over the next five years to give headroom to Departments and Ministers to complement housing delivery and economic infrastructure with the need to build sustainable communities. This is why transport infrastructure is extremely important in parallel as well.”
“If we look at the national planning framework and all the different existing policies, it is about complementing housing delivery with community infrastructure and social infrastructure. We have had significantly increased supports for the development of social infrastructure across the State. In the last Government, we had one of the biggest interventions around developing community and sports infrastructure, for example, which is being seen right across north Dublin and in many other parts of the country. Similarly, there is the work the then Minister Heather Humphreys did at the time concerning the wider social infrastructure across the State. There was a massive uplift in support.”
“It is then a matter for each Department to prioritise the social infrastructure in respect of different communities. We have significant programmes across the State, whether in sports capital, the Department of Rural and Community Development and the Gaeltacht or, indeed, other parts of the Government that provide for significant social infrastructure across the State. Part of the national development plan will be to continue this over the period.”
“Private wires are an essential part of developing the wider need on energy and digital infrastructure. What I was about to say was that some of the lengthy development cycles and regulatory complexity and fragmentation across regulatory bodies is extremely problematic. Too much uncertainty and delay is driven by legal, planning and consenting processes. There is also the issue of capacity concerns in the public and private sectors, as well as the lack of realistic and specific State project pipelines. Additionally, there is some insufficient public acceptance of critical infrastructure to grow our economy. On the direct point made by the Deputy concerning north Dublin, social infrastructure is obviously part of our wider capital allocation that we advance.”
“As I noted, this assessment of barriers is a critical input to the overall objective of this work programme, which is the development of an action plan to accelerate infrastructure provision. I expect to bring an ambitious action plan to Government in autumn, to publish it and move on to the work of implementing the agreed reforms. In advance of this, I can share some of the key themes on barriers to infrastructure that have been expressed by stakeholders through the direct engagement and the public consultation. They are satisfied that infrastructure, once delivered, is of a high quality but the universal view is that the development of infrastructure in Ireland takes far too long. Stakeholders attribute the lengthy development cycles-----”
“At the moment, my Department is finalising the systematic, evidence-based review of the most impactful barriers to the timely development of infrastructure. This review is informed by research undertaken by officials in my Department, contributions provided by the accelerating infrastructure task force, evidence from direct engagement with key stakeholders, which remains ongoing, and the more than 170 contributions received via public consultation between 6 June and 4 July. This is in addition to input sought at the national economic dialogue on 16 June and a consultation event in Athlone on 18 June. I expect to receive an interim report from my officials on the most significant barriers to infrastructure development by the end of July.”
“In April of this year, I announced Government had agreed a series of actions to accelerate the delivery of strategic infrastructure in Ireland. This work, led by my Department, will first identify and assess the barriers impeding the delivery of critical infrastructure across many sectors, including electricity, energy, transport and water. We will then publish an action plan which will target high-impact reform measures to address the barriers identified and speed up the development of this critical State infrastructure. This work is being done because the availability of infrastructure in these sectors is particularly impeding our ability to provide for the needs of a growing population in housing and to improve the competitiveness of the economy.”
“Obviously, the European Commission presented a report in July of last year. The review will be launched this year and finalised next year. That wider evaluation will be essential in order to monitor the transposition of the directive into law in Ireland and in other member states. It will provide an opportunity for a wider input regarding the reforms that may be required as part of the broader EU transposition. From a domestic perspective, we will have a statutory review of the operation of the Protected Disclosures Act. This is due to happen in parallel with the EU review over the coming years. In the context of domestic, international and European legislation, it is important that we have the review. We must also look at the ongoing supports that are available to whistleblowers. That will be essential in the period ahead.”
“Exchequer funding has been given this year to Transparency International Ireland as part of legal advice to be provided to those who want to make a protected disclosure. I welcome that the European Commission has an ongoing review of this, so we will listen to the wider public feedback on the particular domestic regimes that exist in different member states. That will allow any required reforms out of that to occur. I share the broader objectives relating to ensuring that we have a protected disclosure regime which supports and protects whistleblowers. That is my policy interest in this area.”
“Everybody should be protected, particularly when they raise wrongdoing with public bodies. I think we all share that objective across the House. We have two areas of legislation between 2014 and 2022, some of which was the transposition of EU legislation and also policy direction in an Irish context. We have different points now in the context of the European review, which is happening, and the wider review that will happen in the Irish context, on which we would welcome inputs from across the House and from whistleblowers. We have brought through reforms. As a Department, we are funding the supports through Transparency International Ireland, to support whistleblowers making any claims.”
“I would also make the Deputy aware that a statutory review of the Protected Disclosures Act is due to commence and as part of this review a public consultation will be carried out. We would encourage different stakeholders and whistleblowers to participate in this consultation. The Protected Disclosures Act 2014 was amended in 2022 and these amendments sought to address a number of issues that were raised during the 2018 statutory review of the 2014 Act. The upcoming statutory review will provide a valuable insight into the operation of the Protected Disclosures (Amendment) Act and the views and experiences of all stakeholders and whistleblowers will be welcome as part of this.”
“I thank the Deputy for this question. On 3 July 2024 the European Commission presented a report on the transposition of the EU whistleblower directive 2019/1937. This report stated that a review of the directive, which is referred to in Article 27(3), would be finalised no later than 2026. This review or evaluation will assess the functioning of the directive and consider the need for additional measures, including amendments, with a view to extending its scope to further EU acts or areas. Ireland will have an opportunity to input into this review and raise any concerns or emerging issues with the European Commission, through participation by officials in my Department in meetings of the Commission's whistleblowers expert group.”