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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“Absolutely. The first step, and Deputy Malcolm Byrne who has been a strong advocate of it is present, is to provide a basis to encourage AI's use. From a system where the digitalisation of public services has been challenging over the past number of decades to one that positively embraces AI, it is people who will provide that interface to both design AI's use in the public service but also to use it. The fact we have had a strong uptake on training is a positive sign. We have really good test cases across different areas in terms of automation in many Departments and agencies. They are being centrally monitored and tracked now and trying to deploy and scale some of what has been developed is an important context.”
“In order to track diffusion of the technology and to understand the types of applications it is being used in, my Department is currently undertaking a comprehensive survey of all public sector bodies to obtain the most up-to-date data on AI adoption across the public service and to catalogue sectoral use cases to support cross-government information-sharing, learning, and strategic and operational oversight. This will also highlight a selection of flagship deployments in high-impact areas and we hope to provide a report on the findings of this survey in the coming months.”
“Since they were launched, very high uptake has been observed with over 5,500 people having completed the course on the use of AI in the public service, and over 10,000 having completed the course on wider AI in the public service. In addition to training, my Department is in the process of establishing an AI advisory unit to provide advice and expertise for public service bodies on how to deploy AI in a way that maximises impact, mitigates risks, and supports integration with existing systems and we are also engaging with stakeholders to determine the feasibility of establishing an appropriate central procurement arrangement for AI. Against this backdrop, adoption of AI is actively taking place across the wider public service.”
“My Department has taken a proactive and co-ordinated approach to supporting the responsible and effective adoption of AI across the public service. A key component of this was the publication of the Guidelines for the Responsible Use of Artificial Intelligence in the Public Service in May 2025, which provide a practical framework to assist public service bodies in designing, developing and deploying AI in a manner that is ethical, transparent and aligned with public service values. Responsibility for applying the guidelines rests with each public service body to embed them within governance arrangements pertaining to relevant work programmes. To build capabilities within the public service, my Department has worked with the Institute for Public Administration, IPA, to develop a suite of training courses on AI in the public service.”
“As with previous agreements, our intention is to ensure that we arrive at one that is affordable and planned and delivers fair pay for public servants. I am absolutely clear about that. I want to see discussions recommence. Exploratory discussions have taken place on two occasions. My officials remain open to engaging. On the issue of the wider workforce and the economy, we want to ensure that we bring forward a tax package in the budget that will support workers and that will reward work in the context of competitiveness and income tax. That is something that we advance, as well other critical priorities around housing and infrastructure delivery and everything else to which the Deputy referred in the context of the cost of living. The trade unions are balloting their members, which is an unnecessary escalation.”
“Having stability, certainty and a planned approach to public service delivery and public service pay has been important in terms of our wider management of the economy. I want to make it clear to any public servant who is watching this that we want to see a new deal and we want to progress those discussions.”
“I fully share the Deputy's reflection on public servants and the huge role they play in our hospitals, schools and members of An Garda Síochána keeping people safe. That is why we want to a new agreement. As with previous agreements, we want to make sure that it is fair, equitable and ensures a fair deal for workers and rewards them for the work that they do every day on behalf of all of us. There have been exploratory discussions. We want further engagement. My officials remain open to progressing those discussions. We want to ensure that can happen without preconditions. We also want to ensure that any talks can progress and that we can try to reach an agreement that we can accommodate in the context of budget 2027.”
“As is always the case, any agreement will have to be balanced, affordable and capable of being accommodated in the context of other expenditure priorities within the fiscal framework.”
“Officials remain available to continue engagement, with Government seeking to progress talks as quickly as possible through constructive dialogue. As the Deputy will appreciate, it would not be appropriate to comment on the detail of discussions, which should remain confidential to the parties. They take place against an increasingly uncertain environment. Suffice it to say, therefore, that in an increasingly uncertain economic environment, a new public service pay agreement can play an important role in providing certainty and stability for public servants while supporting the effective delivery of public services. That is why I believe every effort should be made over the period ahead to engage and try to reach agreement.”
“The Government is committed to continuing to be a good employer and to providing competitive terms and conditions for public servants. This commitment is reflected in the significant investment made in public services in recent years. Since 2020, the public service pay bill has increased by €12 billion, reaching €34 billion in 2026, an increase of 55%. As well as providing for increases in pay rates, this investment has supported substantial growth in the public service workforce, with employment now exceeding 420,000, an increase of more than 70,000 employees since 2020. Against this backdrop, and in advance of the agreement's expiry, my officials met with public service unions and staff representative associations to initiate exploratory discussions on a successor agreement.”
“The Government’s approach to public service pay over many years has been to engage through an established framework of collective bargaining with public service unions and associations. This is a tried and tested approach that has supported sustainable improvements in pay for public servants and orderly management of the public finances, while also facilitating public service reform and changes to work practices. Before expiring at the end of June 2026, the Public Service Agreement 2024-2026 delivered headline pay increases of 9.25% and provided for up to 1% of basic pay costs for local bargaining. Importantly, like previous agreements, the public service agreement was weighted towards the lowest paid, who received increases of 17.3% inclusive of local bargaining. The final increase under the agreement was on 1 June 2026.”
“We should have greater discussion in here around efficiencies and reforms across all expenditure lines. No Department is immune from driving greater efficiencies and improving productivity, outputs and impacts in the context of a significant increase in public expenditure in recent years. Notwithstanding the levy we have introduced to moderate overall expenditure, there should be greater focus on that in the wider discussions and demands we receive across expenditure allocations. The reason we are doing this is to fit the additionality we have provided to education within the wider fiscal framework. I believe we distributed it fairly. We protected health pay, protected social protection rates and the wider social protection budget, protected justice pay and protected key front-line areas in education itself.”
“The reason we have applied a levy for 2027 is to give Departments the space to identify efficiencies and reforms, prepare for them and utilise them through the Estimates process before we agree budget 2027. They will form part of their Estimates and allocations for 2027. That is what we have set out in the past and are setting out today. What will be submitted to me will form the basis of the wider discussion as part of budget 2027.”
“The Deputy is completely misrepresenting what we are doing. I have said efficiencies and reforms will be provided to my Department during the summer. They will inform the Estimates discussions with Departments in the context of a 2027 allocation of over €125 billion. The €7 billion uplift forms the basis of negotiation with Departments, how they identify efficiencies and reforms and how we moderate overall expenditure, with those efficiencies and reforms, across Departments. The Deputy referenced €6 million for the Department of Social Protection. That is in the context of a budget well in excess of €20 billion - I think it is €27 billion. It is a very minor change in the context of a budget that is likely to grow in 2027.”
“My Department wrote to Secretaries General of other Departments following the Government decision, informing them of the need to identify efficiencies and reforms. These proposals have been requested by 17 July. The proposals will form a key part of engagement in the Estimates process for budget 2027. Budget 2026 placed a particular emphasis on achieving value for money. The budget strategy was developed using a whole-of-budget approach, which focussed on the totality of expenditure and linked expenditure and investment to improved outcomes. Part II of the expenditure report 2026 sets out details of reforms and efficiencies across Vote groups.”
“Other Departments have been asked to deliver a levy through the implementation of efficiencies and reforms, with a total of €446 million from 2027. This should be considered through the lens of an overall uplift of €7 billion for expenditure in 2027. It will not impact the 2026 allocations. The delivery of reforms and efficiencies supports adherence to the fixed expenditure ceilings set out in the plan. It reflects the need to moderate the rate of expenditure growth across Departments to facilitate the Government’s decision to reprioritise and provide additional investment to education within the agreed overall fiscal framework out to 2030. It is a matter for each Department to determine how the levy will be applied across Vote groups and to identify the efficiencies and reforms required to ensure this.”
“I thank the Deputy. The Government agreed a medium-term fiscal structural plan in December last year. This set out fixed expenditure ceilings for the period to 2030. It provides for significant uplifts in expenditure over the coming years, with gross voted spending to reach €147.3 billion in 2030. As set out, the ceiling for 2027 will increase to €125.5 billion. This is an uplift of €7 billion on the 2026 expenditure ceiling of €118.5 billion. Delivery of this requires enhanced expenditure control and robust oversight mechanisms. In April, Government agreed that additional funding of €646 million will be provided to the Department of Education and Youth. To accommodate this additional funding, the Government agreed to reprioritise funding from other Votes to deliver on the 2027 ceiling as planned.”
“I appreciate the concerns around the potential. I do not know the specifics of the organisation of gardaí in respect of the different regions. I know this is something Deputy McAuliffe has also engaged on with the Minister for justice around the concerns in Ballymun and elsewhere. The Deputy will be aware that the deployment of gardaí is a specific matter for the Garda Commissioner, but we will reflect the Deputy's concerns, and indeed those of other Deputies, to the Minister for justice, who can engage further with the Commissioner on this matter to ensure that the community Deputy Ellis represents is properly policed and that public safety is upheld as an absolute priority.”
“I appreciate the issue here and the significant issue of people being excluded on the margins, or indeed being taken out of social housing lists, by virtue of income growth. I understand from the Minister, Deputy Browne, that a revised household means policy issued to all local authorities recently around income disregards, once-off income and other changes, but I understand the wider issue. We are all dealing with people's applications for social housing every day. I will reflect the serious concerns of the Deputy's constituents in Cavan and Monaghan, and the need to provide certainty and hope for people around the social housing lists. I know that the Minister of State, Deputy Cummins, is examining that area as well.”
“I absolutely agree that we need to expand catering across all the rail services. The Deputy made a fair point that we should have later trains covering different regions, as happens in other areas. I will ask that the Minister for Transport engage with the National Transport Authority and Irish Rail. With the increased capital investment, new trains and improved train lines, we need to ensure the bandwidth improves throughout the day, and particularly at night so people can leave their cars at home and plan for a train journey later in the evening. That is a sensible suggestion and I will convey it to the Minister for Transport.”
“I thank the Deputy. I appreciate he raised this matter with me during the past week or so. I followed up on it directly with officials this morning to try to get a response and I will come back to him with a comprehensive response.”
“We need to ensure we have a sustainable tax base to pay for public services and for the long-term demographic risks we have in our economy. We have to balance all of those risks in how we decide budget 2027.”
“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. To make permanent reductions in it, that would potentially have to be found elsewhere. The calibration of the wider tax package is a matter for the Minister for Finance with the tax package that will be available. We will set that out in the summer economic statement. We have been clear that we want to have an income tax package for workers. The mix of that is a matter for the Government to decide in advance of budget 2027. The Deputy and I have read the Commission on Taxation report, as has everybody.”
“I thank the Deputy. We want to see the continued expansion of SETU across different disciplines. I have not got an updated brief on the specifics of what the Deputy raised. I will ask the Minister, Deputy Lawless, to come back to the Deputy on the specifics of it and what he has raised.”
“We all want to enhance that amenity and what it means for people across Dublin. However, I am not going to comment on the specifics of zoning except to say that we need to have more zoned land.”
“I thank the Deputy. I acknowledge a lot of the work she has done in the Liffey Valley, particularly when she was on the council. She had a number of initiatives that brought a lot of success for the Liffey Valley. I am not going to comment on zoning proposals. On a general point, we need to zone more land. I am not speaking about the specific area the Deputy referenced but we need to ensure that local authorities zone sufficient land to deliver more homes. Relating to the Deputy's question about the OPW and NPWS, we can ask the Minister of State, Deputy Moran, to engage with his officials relating to the Liffey Valley. With Fingal County Council and South Dublin County Council, there is a need for greater co-operation across some of the shared infrastructures in both local authorities.”
“I will ask that representatives from the Department of Education and Youth continue to engage with the school on the issue the Deputy raised.”
“I thank the Deputy for raising this important issue for St. Corban's national school. As he knows, the primary staffing schedule is designed to operate in a very clear and transparent way, ensuring that all schools are treated equally regardless of their location. With over 3,000 primary schools in the country, it is essential that every school is treated fairly, and that is what the Department is seeking to do. As the Deputy knows, the enrolment of St. Corban's decreased from 498 in September 2024 to 460 in September 2025. The enrolment of 460 is the basis on which the school was allocated teachers. Attrition can happen in the year thereafter and I know it is often in that year that demand can arise.”
“As with Deputy Bacik, my thoughts today are with all the victims of George Gibney, the four incredibly brave and courageous women who gave evidence in the case and indeed everyone who has suffered abuse. I think of the horrendous suffering they endured when they were so vulnerable, but more so I am thinking of the incredible strength the survivors have demonstrated in ensuring justice has finally been delivered. On the Bill the Deputy is seeking to progress tomorrow, the Minister will set out the Government's position on that tomorrow. I think the Deputy will share my view that the Minister is keen to progress changes in this area. He will set out the wider Government position on that tomorrow.”
“They are a central part of Ireland's economic and digital future and a key part of our value proposition for foreign direct investment and associated employment. In 2024, an estimated €104 billion in gross value added was enabled by data centre-dependent sectors. Approximately 170,000 people work in Ireland's ICT sector and 19,000 jobs are directly in data centre operations. The Government is committed to working with key stakeholders to identify and support new approaches to integrating large-scale demand sustainably into Ireland's energy systems, in alignment with decarbonisation and digitalisation objectives of growing our knowledge-based economy. This is being reinforced by unprecedented grid investment. Attacking data centres ignores the huge economic drivers they provide.”
“I thank the Deputy. I share her significant concerns around e-scooters. We have seen the shocking evidence coming from Temple Street and the traumatic brain injuries that have resulted from their use. I have been informed by the Minister, Deputy O'Brien, that a review of regulations is under way, particularly around helmets and high-visibility clothing, with a view to addressing the concerns that have been documented around head injuries and other serious injuries. The Minister is considering a range of proposals in the context of the next road traffic Bill. I agree we cannot leave the regulatory system as it is. We have to take the evidence as it comes. It is shocking across many of our communities. I know the Deputy sees it in Dublin Central as I do in my own constituency.”
“It is just a matter of getting this engagement going over the next number of weeks and ensuring we get an agreement that is fair and supports many of the workers the Deputy referenced, such as nurses, teachers and gardaí. We need to ensure they have a fair deal in the context of a new pay agreement. That is something this Government is committed to delivering.”
“We had the conclusion of the pay agreement with a 1% increase over the last number of weeks. Usually, when there is a conclusion, we engage in exploratory discussions. Typically, in the past, that happened in the December-January period. Obviously, the pay agreement that concluded finished at the end of June. We want to engage in good faith and in a constructive way to ensure we have an agreement we can afford in budget 2027 that supports workers right across the public service. The Government has a strong track record in the expansion and improvement of public services, be it in health, education or disability services. That will continue as part of budget 2027.”
“It reflects a Government that is advancing and expanding public services across the State and ensuring that we are remunerating our public services in accordance with the pay agreements. That is reflected in €12 billion of expenditure around public pay in the health sector, as well as nearly €8.5 billion in education and more than €2.5 billion for the justice Vote group. Those figures reflect the strength of Exchequer support for public services and the public servants who work to deliver across the front line. We are seeking to have those exploratory discussions. Local bargaining has been concluding over the last number of weeks. Again, we want to use the period over the next number of weeks to provide that stability going into 2027 and conclude a new pay agreement.”
“They are intended to provide a forum for both sides to raise concerns and explore respective solutions around the next phase of an agreement, rather than predetermining outcomes before meaningful engagement has taken place. The Deputy asked me what pay offer are we tabling. That is never how pay discussions are concluded or advanced. There has to be wider engagement around what is possible and what the respective asks are on all sides to try to put a structure around a process of engagement, which can take a period of time. I am clear that we want to accommodate a new pay agreement within the budget. We have done that over the last series of budgets and correctly so, given the increased recruitment across the public service. The public pay bill of €31.2 billion in 2026 is a reflection of that.”
“I will repeat what I have said. We have been clear and consistent in our position. We are willing and ready to engage with staff representatives with a view to reaching a new public service agreement. We want to engage now. We want to see a fair, equitable and sustainable agreement to ensure we reward workers across the public service, many of whom have been recruited over the last five years. The Government considers that reaching an agreement as soon as possible is the best way to provide stability and certainty for public servants and ensure we can accommodate a new pay agreement within budget 2027. In the first instance, like other pay agreements, we have sought to have exploratory discussions without preconditions.”
“I want to see services work better for people and that happens through improved recruitment in health, education and disability services and ensuring we deliver for people across our country. It is similar in regard to affordability in housing. That is why we are continuing to protect capital investment in housing and infrastructure so we build more homes and ensure we reduce congestion through our improved transport systems. That will be a key part of budget 2027 as well, how we better deliver infrastructure across our economy and do it a lot quicker.”
“I am not going to negotiate a pay agreement with the Deputy in here. That is not going to work for anybody. What I would say is that our record stands clear. Since 2019, a teacher and a nurse starting their careers in the public service will have seen an increase of 26.9% and 31%, respectively. A clerical officer in the Civil Service will have seen an increase of 32.8%. That reflects a Government that cares about public servants and public services, and it stands through to today and to a new agreement, which we want to reach with public servants across our country. I am absolutely clear about that when I look at how we are prioritising public pay and recruitment in the overall budgetary context, and rightly so.”
“We want to ensure budget 2027 delivers on housing and infrastructure and that we protect the capital investment we have progressed in the last number of years, but also that we make a real impact in improved public service delivery and reduce the cost of living, with a priority around childcare, disability services and other areas as part of budget 2027. We must ensure that everything we decide to do is sustainable, affordable and within the fiscal parameters we have set out in the medium-term fiscal and structural plan. That creates trade-offs where we have to be realistic about what is possible in any budgetary cycle. We want to see an agreement and engagement and I expect that will happen over the next number of weeks so that we can accommodate a new pay agreement in advance of budget 2027.”
“That has built consensus around what is possible and that has formed the basis for an agreement. I say to every public servant listening today: we want to ensure they are paid fairly, equitably and are given a fair deal in the context of a new pay agreement. That has absolutely been the case over the past number of years and nothing has changed in that regard. We want to see the public service unions engage. I think potentially balloting for strike action is unnecessary when we are a Government willing to engage with them. On the general question on the cost of living, we have been clear there will be an income tax package to reward work and support workers across the economy.”
“From 2019 pay has increased for the lowest paid in the public service by 30.7%. I can go through many different areas of the public service where we rightly protected and enhanced the pay of public servants. The Government has been clear that we want to have a new pay agreement. We want to accommodate that in the context of budget 2027. It is important we have industrial peace and are able to plan for a new pay agreement with public service representatives. We have been concluding local bargaining, with which the Deputy is familiar, with many of the trade unions across different sectors over the past number of weeks and we want to have engagement without preconditions. That is what has happened over the last number of agreements. We have had engagement and exploratory discussions.”
“I thank Deputy Bacik. I reject the Deputy's characterisation, which I think is unfair. If she thinks of the scale of public service growth in this country in the past five-to-six years, which this Government took positive action on, we have an additional 70,000 public servants working across health, education, disability services and many other areas of public service, which matter to all of us across our constituencies and we want to continue to build a public service that works and provides better inputs for the people we represent right across the country. That is why the last two pay agreements have delivered fair, equitable and sustainable pay agreements for both the Exchequer and for public servants. That is why we rightly put an emphasis on lower paid workers.”
“That is why the Minister has evaluated this and taken an informed view on progressing it. He has also said that he will keep the operation of the new scheme under review.”
“The Department of justice advanced a review. The Minister, Deputy O'Callaghan, has been informed by it and has taken the respective reforms and progressed them. There is a distinction between how the criminal legal aid system has been working with comparative cases and those who are not on criminal legal aid of five days to three. He is providing for a weighted payment of five and providing the FEMPI restoration accordingly. We all want to see a system that works and is victim focused - that is absolutely the case - but we also need a system that has sustainability of expenditure. When we see the growth of expenditure on the criminal legal aid scheme over the last number of years despite reduced case volume in the District Court, that has to raise legitimate questions from a Government that wants to drive reform.”
“The weighted average number of appearances for cases with criminal legal aid is five, while the weighted average without criminal legal aid is just over three. While cases with criminal legal aid take significantly longer than those without, the outcomes are similar. The reforms the Minister is progressing are to address the structural issues identified during this review. These include unnecessary adjournments resulting from the payment-per-appearance model, and to deliver a reformed criminal legal aid system that works for everybody, is efficient and effective and provides value for money for the taxpayer. It is in that context which he has advanced the reforms and also in which he increased the fee, set a few weeks ago to €520, which provides for the FEMPI restoration.”
“The Department of Justice, Home Affairs and Migration reviewed more than 350,000 District Court cases which took place during 2022 and 2023 and, again, developed reform proposals in that regard. The system being reformed is designed to improve efficiency, reduce unnecessary adjournments, simplify the administration of criminal legal aid, speed up case resolution and enable faster payments to practitioners. Under the new system for cases in the District Court, regardless of the number of appearances, a set fee will be payable to solicitors, replacing the previous appearance-based sliding scale. The review that was undertaken showed that cases with criminal legal aid take an average of 313 calendar days to complete, compared with 133 days for cases without.”
“He has set out very clearly why he was trying to do this. They will also ensure that those accused of crimes are provided with the legal representation to which they are constitutionally entitled. In considering the need for reform, it is important to note that while the volume of criminal cases in the District Court has actually decreased, expenditure on criminal legal aid in the District Court has increased, from €19 million in 2015 to over €41 million in 2025. Every Minister across Government must examine reform and no area of expenditure should be immune from reform or from changing the system to make it work better for people. In the context of reform, it is important that the Minister, Deputy O'Callaghan, has assessed this area.”
“The Minister for justice has introduced an 8% increase in criminal legal aid fees payable to solicitors in the Circuit Court and higher courts from 1 July 2026. This represents total restoration of the criminal legal aid fees under the financial emergency measures in the public interest, FEMPI. As the Deputy described, the Minister has also introduced a fee of €520 for District Court criminal cases under the criminal legal aid scheme. This figure represents the current fee paid for five appearances in the District Court, plus an 8% increase. The weighted average of appearances by a solicitor in criminal cases that are legally aided is five. Many cases require fewer appearances to be concluded. The objective of these reforms by the Minister, Deputy O'Callaghan, is to make the system more effective and efficient.”
“We see populism and NIMBYism on the ground and then waffle and rhetoric in here. You need to get real, Deputy McDonald, in terms of honesty around housing policy. We need to provide supply-side alternatives.”
“We must have an honest conversation about how we improve supply across the housing system. For the Deputy to oppose housing every day and every week in her own constituency and then to lecture the Government on not doing enough shows a complete contradiction in Sinn Féin policy.”