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 assistance and support provided by Ministers of State will be essential to achieve our ambitious targets: accelerating the number of homes available; implementing new programmes of health digitalisation and modernisation and reform of the education sector; supporting Irish businesses not only to find new markets but also to reduce costs; bringing together relevant stakeholders to address the needs around community development and policing; providing more focused leadership in management of immigration; and achieving climate and biodiversity goals by focusing on energy transformation while supporting our rural communities and the agrifood sector to prosper.”
“In relation to the second proposed change, the role of a Minister of State is important in ensuring policy implementation under his or her area of responsibility. With the additional role and responsibility for contributing to Cabinet meetings, it is appropriate that the relevant Ministers of State should receive the allowance relating to the role. The purpose of this amendment is to progress in that context. New ministerial responsibilities at Minister of State level will be delegated to ensure there is an appropriate focus across all Government priorities. Through improved cross-cutting departmental working and promoting simultaneous action, Ministers of State will enable a more cohesive approach to delivering the programme for Government. There are a range of areas on which the Government will focus its attention.”
“This was increased subsequently to 15 in 1980, 17 in 1995 and 20 in 2007. The major consideration for seeking the proposed change to 23, as was the case in 1980, 1995 and 2007, is the increased volume of Government priorities and business. Since 2007, the expansion in ministerial duties has stemmed from the growing complexity of policy issues, the challenges of steering vast Government initiatives and the heightened involvement with stakeholders at all levels, both nationally and internationally. Many of the new challenges we face are cross-cutting and require cross-departmental responses. For this reason, the Government is reorganising some Departments to better address the main issues that have been identified with a whole-of-government approach.”
“In 1977, the provision was replaced by the Ministers and Secretaries (Amendment) (No. 2) Act, which allowed for the appointment of Ministers of State from among Members of either House. Section 2 of the 1977 Act provides for the delegation of functions to a Minister of State. A Government order may be made on the request of a Minister, delegating to his or her Minister of State all the Minister’s powers and duties under a particular Act or, more narrowly, any particular statutory power or duty. This reflects the role of the Minister of State in facilitating the Government to work more efficiently by allowing the appointment of junior Ministers and delegating to them specified functions to progress Government priorities. The 1977 Act set the maximum number of Ministers of State at ten.”
“I move: "That the Bill be now read a Second Time." The purpose of this Bill is to give effect to the decision by the Government to increase the maximum number of Ministers of State from 20 to 23. As the House will be aware, the number has remained unchanged for the last 18 years, since 2007, when Minister of State numbers increased from 17 to 20. The Bill will also allow for the existing allowance for Ministers of State attending Cabinet meetings to be extended to four Ministers of State. At the moment, a maximum of three Ministers of State may receive the allowance for attending Cabinet. In relation to the first proposed provision, the Ministers and Secretaries Act 1924 first provided for the appointment by the executive council of a maximum of seven parliamentary secretaries to act as junior Ministers.”
“The State Claims Agency is currently managing a number of claims for personal injuries relating to alleged exposure to chemical and toxic substances that people suffered while working in the Air Corps. There is ongoing engagement with the State Claims Agency in that context. As a result, it would not be appropriate to comment any further on the matter. The Minister for Defence can give further information about the matter directly to the Deputy.”
“The health and well-being of the men and women in the Air Corps is an absolute priority for me and the Government. While I cannot comment on the details or circumstances of individual cases, the Department of Defence is aware of a matter that was recently settled by mutual agreement between the parties involved and that the State did not seek to restrict the disclosure of the terms of the settlement. An independent reviewer was appointed in 2016 to examine disclosures relating to people's exposure to chemical and toxic substances while working in the Air Corps in Baldonnel. The report of the independent reviewer noted that the Health and Safety Authority was the appropriate statutory body to deal with such allegations.”
“Like the Deputy's, my thoughts are with the woman involved in that case, who went through a shocking series of incidents with that person. I cannot comment directly on the court case. Our thoughts are with her. We need to ensure all legislation we advance is victim-centred. That will be central to the legislation the Minister for Justice advances. I will ask him to respond to the specific questions the Deputy raised in the context of the Government's legislative programme.”
“Ministers in relevant Departments are seeking an early opportunity to restart engagement with unions and employers through the WRC to provide certainty to the sector as soon as possible.”
“I thank the Deputy. The Government recognises the essential work carried out by community and voluntary health and social care organisations and their staff and the reliance of the State on these organisations to deliver important supports and services in the communities we represent. The programme for Government commits to working with the voluntary sector through industrial relations mechanisms and other processes to progress pay issues affecting the delivery of disability services and the long-term viability of organisations within the sector. Relevant Departments have proactively engaged with unions and employers on pay funding in a process facilitated by the Workplace Relations Commission, WRC. Talks at the WRC were adjourned around the time of the general election.”
“I thank the Deputy. I am very cognisant of the need for increased bed capacity and expanded service provision in the mid-west region. I will ask the Minister for Health to respond on specifics relating to timelines. There is consensus across this House on the need for greater investment in the mid-west when it comes to provision of healthcare and bed capacity. That is reflected in the programme for Government. I will get the Minister for Health to respond to the Deputy on the sequencing around that. In the context of the NDP, we want to ensure a greater envelope for healthcare infrastructure in our country. The Minister, Deputy Carroll MacNeill, will be able to provide a direct response to the Deputy around the specific sequencing. The approach from Government is to ensure we respond to the genuine needs reflected in multiple reports.”
“I thank the Deputy. I am familiar with that issue in north County Dublin. The National Transport Authority conducted significant work on a fare determination policy, which the previous Government progressed. I will ask Deputy O'Brien, in his new role as transport Minister, to respond to the Deputy's concerns. He is very familiar with north County Dublin, having previously represented the relevant commuter towns. The wider emphasis is on making sure public transport is more affordable and supporting commuters who come into town. I will ask the Minister, with the NTA, to respond to the Deputy's concerns in the context of overall fare policy.”
“I am aware that an industrial relations process is under way. I am due to be briefed on the matter relating to the technological university and the staff involved and I will come to the Deputy directly in respect of it.”
“I thank Deputy O'Gorman. I made representations, as I know he did, under the previous Government in respect of reading classes and reading schools. We are both active on the case to which he refers on behalf of many parents of children who attend St. Francis Xavier school. I will ask the Minister for Education to respond to Deputy O'Gorman directly. I know how important reading classes are for particular children and their needs. I know this has been reflected to us directly in Dublin West. As stated, I will ask the Minister for Education to respond directly and I will continue to take up the case with her also.”
“I appreciate the difficulties and my sympathies are with the family of Joe Drennan. I cannot imagine what they are going through, particularly in light of what the Deputy outlined. I am not familiar with the specifics around the sentencing. I do not want to comment on specific sentencing relating to the courts system but I will ask the Minister for Justice, who is familiar with the case, to engage with the Deputy and respond to his specific question on legislation. I will ask him to do that quickly, also in the context of the family whom the Deputy met today.”
“It was also raised elsewhere. The Minister will be here to respond to the motion whenever it is taken. In response to Deputy Collins's point on speed limits, the reforms that have been introduced relating to speed limits in this country will make a serious difference in saving lives on our roads. We know that speed is the central factor to so many of the road deaths across the country. That is the reason, when I was in the role of Minister of State for transport, we took on board the recommendation to reduce speed limits, in particular on local, rural roads from 80 km/h to 60 km/h, because it will make a difference and it has an evidence base. There is a role for the local authorities as well to amend speed limits, where appropriate. The outworking of that has to take place. It will be co-ordinated by local authorities this year.”
“I am aware the Labour Party has tabled a motion on housing, so there is an opportunity to discuss housing in the House this week.”
“As the Deputy outlined, it is very clear what the legislation sets out to do. We have Ministers of State in the marine area and in other areas such as older people and migration who are going to be appointed and who want to get down to work. That is the context in which we are bringing this Bill through and trying to accelerate the timeline around it. In response to Deputy Gibney, the Tánaiste responded to her party last Thursday on the ongoing drafting that the Government is undertaking on bringing forward a Bill of our own on the occupied territories. Deputy Boyd Barrett raised the same issue as Deputy Nash, to which I have responded, on the time provided for the Bill. I have no objection to a wider debate on housing policy. I am sure that can be facilitated in the coming weeks.”
“Any policy action we take here is to protect renters but also to make sure we develop more rental accommodation in our country with an increased population. We need to have private investment to accelerate that as well. He is not being honest about that point. Let me be clear.”
“As I said previously, my central point on commencement notices is that we have a strong pipeline in place for supply with commencement notices issuing of 60,000 new homes. Feedback suggests that there is unquestionably significantly more work on site than before, aided by the Government's development levy and water connection waivers, and it is not just a matter of if but a matter of when these commencement notices will translate to real supply. There will be some supply this year and next year but I am talking about the next five years or indeed the years after that. How we develop a housing policy that gets us to between 50,000 and 60,000 homes per year? In response to the Deputy's question on renters, I was being clear to all of the others.”
“It will not improve with the Deputy attacking private investors like he did in his initial contribution. It will not happen if he continues the attack on private investors like he has done in recent years or his constant opposition to lots of constructive proposals that have come from Government such as the Land Development Agency. While the then Minister, Deputy O'Brien, was progressing the planning legislation, the Deputy and his party were central to slowing this down, trying to undermine it and trying to create further barriers to the bureaucracy of planning on which we needed to see progress in recent years. Let me be clear: it will be a bigger role for the State but if we are going to unlock further housing supply, we need to ensure we unlock private investment as well and that is the position of Government”
“How do we address the shortages we have in water infrastructure in towns and regions across our country that will help unlock further housing supply? These are the policy options we are taking, which will involve a bigger role for the State and State agencies such as Irish Water, Transport Infrastructure Ireland, the National Transport Authority, and the Land Development Agency. Central to our policy is the State's role in the provision of housing supply but we are being honest with people. If we want to reach between 50,000 and 60,000 new homes per year, we need to make sure Ireland is an attractive place for private investment as well. If we are all honest about that, we have seen that weaken in recent years, and that has had an impact on the overall housing supply environment.”
“I acknowledge the difficulties many aspiring homeowners face and, again, the many people and couples who were left waiting for bad news at Leixlip over the past number of days, a situation which is reflected across the country. It will not improve if we continue with policies that do not unlock supply. That is why it will be a two-pronged approach from this Government in the policy options we take when it comes to delivering supply. As I have said previously, we need to look at the NDP to accelerate infrastructure delivery in our economy. How do we unlock transport-oriented housing development where we have built transport networks in cities or in urban areas? How do progress current projects where we could unlock further supply?”
“I thank the Deputy for the question. What I said in reply to the other Deputies is that any incoming Government should examine all of the policy options that will achieve the central objective - where I think there is consensus on in this House - how do we increase the overall supply to meet the targets that have been set over a series of years. We are open to constructive feedback and engagement on that. What we have said, as a Government, is that the Minister for housing with others - the Minister for Finance, myself as the Minister for public expenditure, and others - will try to access all options to give that significant uplift in supply that is central to achieving affordability across our economy.”
“She wanted to set up a State construction company, which would take years. It would take years. Let me be clear: our central objective, in any review of housing policy, will be to increase supply and to unlock and address all of the levers of supply which are open to Government to ensure we can drive affordability for young people and to address the severe housing shortage that is there. We will not deliver on housing unless we have a significant uplift of supply across our economy. That means the role of the State will be strengthened. It will be strengthened when this Government reviews the national development plan. We also need to assess how we address other levers of supply - and that is what we will do - while protecting renters and protecting the vulnerable in our society.”
“As I said in response to Deputy Ó Broin, we have said we will conduct a review with the housing agency. There is no predetermined outcome to that review. It will be evidence-based and examine how we protect renters and increase the supply and development of rental accommodation in our economy. That is a necessity to ensure that people who want to rent a home today and future renters in our economy have the opportunity to go on to rent. If you go on to daft.ie or any other sites, it is very difficult in terms of the supply of rental accommodation. We need more homes for the rental supply in our economy.”
“When we see the capital outworking of that, I expect we will see increased allocations for housing and an increased focus in the State's role in housing supply. If we are to deliver 50,000 new homes per year, we are going to need more private investment to do that work and complement the State's role in housing. We all need to be honest about that. The State has a central role, but we need to ensure that we unlock future private investment to drive increased supply across our economy. That means examining all of the policy options that are available to Government to ensure that we drive housing supply and increase affordability for young people in order to give them an opportunity to buy and own their own home. There is a severe shortage of supply for renters in our economy.”
“Work commenced on 60,000 new homes in 2024, an increase of 84% compared to 2023. It equates to work starting on an average of 239 new homes every working day of the year. We are determined that the uplift in supply of recent years must be sustained, with a longer term upward trend maintained. That is why the outgoing Government set new housing targets of over 300,000 new homes over a series of years. I want to be clear in my role as Minister for public expenditure. We agreed to a review of the national development plan to accelerate infrastructure delivery in our economy in water, energy and transport to unlock future supply and intensify the level of housing delivery in our economy.”
“I thank the Deputy for her question. To set out the context on housing supply, it has significantly increased since 2020, with 130,000 new homes delivered in that period. Everyone on the Government benches and across the House was disappointed with the final numbers for 2024, which were less than what we expected. However, it is not true to say that we missed our Housing for All targets. The overall net position over a period of three years shows 29,000, 32,000 and 30,300 units delivered, a combined total that exceeded the overall target over three years. We need to look to the future to drive significant supply of homes across our economy. The volume of homes built in the past five years represents the highest delivery for many years. Notwithstanding the short-term fluctuation in delivery, the current delivery pipeline is very strong.”
“It is important that a new Government with a new mandate assesses housing policy in order that we can increase the supply of both homes that are available to rent and to buy across our country. It is in this way that the Government will take action over the coming months.”
“The people have had their say on that. The Deputy's party's approach is not credible. It would abolish all the supports for first-time buyers, put back the work of the Land Development Agency for years and devise a new pseudo-form of home ownership, where someone would own their house-----”
“Let me absolutely clear. We want to protect renters across our country. We also want to increase the number of rental homes that are available for people who want to rent. Central to that proposition is increasing the number of homes built across our country. The unfortunate reality is that the Deputy's housing policy would result in a complete failure of housing supply if it was progressed.”
“I expect the State's role in that to grow, but we have to secure the investment environment in order to ensure that we have more homes for people to rent, that we can strengthen affordability for future homeowners and that both of these will be part of the overall picture when it comes to housing policy. We have to undertake a review in advance of the legislative timeframe relating to the end of this year. The Minister for housing will co-ordinate matters. The central focus of what we are doing is to protect renters but also to increase the number of rental properties across our country, particularly as we know there is a real shortage of supply.”
“Without landlords and investors, there is no private rental market. Changes to any aspect of housing policy must be looked at in the round. We need a system that increases and encourages development activity and supply, reduces costs for homeowners and renters and provides for stability and certainty for all concerned. That is why we have a record level of capital investment in housing. As Minister for public expenditure, I will undertake a review of the national development plan. In the context of the latter, the role of the State will be strengthened under this Government when it comes to provision of social and affordable homes across our economy. We also have to be honest. Analysis carried out by the Department of Finance shows that in order to build 50,000 homes per year, €20 billion in investment capital will be required each year.”
“The Department of housing has also asked the Housing Agency to undertake a review of the operation of RPZs. It is expected that this analysis will conclude in quarter 1 of this year in advance of the legislative timeframe I have set out. Any potential future policy options or amendments that arise from the review will be brought to the Government and considered carefully under the co-ordination of the Minister for housing. Let me be clear. There is no predetermined outcome to this review. A well-functioning private rental market is a necessity and must work for tenants and landlords. As the Housing Commission noted in its report last year, the available evidence indicates that the impact of RPZs has been mixed. Eight years on, we need to ensure that the system is fit for purpose and protects tenants but that it does not deter landlords.”
“This is not about increasing rents for tenants; it is about increasing supply, which will ultimately reduce rents. It is incumbent on all of us in this House to be willing to examine all policy options and look at different approaches and models, because it is clear that we need to build more homes and increase the pace at which we build them. We fully recognise the need to protect and support renters. That is why we advanced further progress for renters with the renter's tax credit in the most recent budget. It is also why we legislated for tenancies of unlimited duration and restricted the level of upfront payments required from tenants. The Deputy will be aware that RPZs were introduced in 2016. They will be in place until the end of this year. That is why the Department of housing reviewed RPZs last year.”
“I thank the Deputy. We are all encountering many constituents in Dublin and across the country who are facing difficulties with rent rises and accessing affordable homes. That is why housing policy is the single biggest issue for the Government and why we want to take further action in the area of housing. I assure the House that the Government is absolutely committed to delivering more homes for people, either to rent or own, quickly. We are advancing further policy options on how we can do just that. I want to be clear that the Taoiseach stated he is open to the possibility of developing an alternative system to RPZs, which will protect renters but which will also allow people to have a clear, stable environment in which to invest.”
“The programme for Government sets out how this will be a Government that protects our country from the challenges ahead and responds to the needs of our people with a reforming zeal at its core. Every measure is a stepping stone to delivering a better, fairer and more prosperous Ireland, not just for today but also for future generations. The job for all of us in government is now to deliver for the people and ensure this programme is implemented in full.”
“Strong digital government is also seen by foreign direct investors as representing a forward-thinking, innovative country focused on talent creation, with an openness to co-investment, and we must embrace this opportunity in ensuring we develop a more co-ordinated approach to digital policy in order that we can fully leverage the benefits of utilising the most modern technologies. We have seen the strength and agility of our public service in responding to numerous shocks in recent years. We will now move forward to build on this and strengthen our public services further to ensure they evolve to meet the needs of a modern Ireland and all our people. The public services of the future will be designed for and with our public, delivering increasingly effective and integrated public services and ensuring value for money.”
“To overcome any challenges, we need to ensure we protect living standards, as we have seen in the measures taken in previous years with the unprecedented interventions the Government made. We also need to ensure that value for money is at the centre of delivery, and examining how we are spending taxpayers' money and ensuring we get better value for money will be a key mission for me in my role as Minister for public expenditure and in ensuring public money is used efficiently and effectively. We are also expanding the role of digitalisation in my Department, something that features heavily throughout the programme for Government. It is clear that if we harness digitalisation properly, we can provide a much-enhanced service to our citizens while cutting costs and decarbonising our economy.”
“We have also committed to running progressive budgets through the lifetime of the Government and reducing public debt as a share of national income. Other key economic principles we have adopted include maintaining a broad tax base to guard against the need for countercyclical fiscal policy in the event of a downturn and ensuring we implement progressive changes in taxation while the economy remains strong. These fundamental principles we have committed to at Government will allow our country to withstand and overcome the headwinds we face and will ensure we are in a strong position to take advantage of opportunities such as the digitalisation of our economy.”
“We know we face potentially significant headwinds from changes in international trade and moves towards a more deglobalised economic approach. This poses significant risks to Ireland as a small, open-trading economy and prudent, sensible management of our economy is critical. We have developed a strong set of principles in the programme for Government to protect our economy, drive further growth, support enterprise and embrace innovation to enhance competitiveness. I am acutely aware economic growth is essential not only to creating jobs and higher living standards but also to improving public services. This is why we have committed to key principles for managing our economy, including running budget surpluses and funding appropriate levels of current and capital expenditure growth to meet the needs of changing demographics.”
“These include structural changes within my Department, with the establishment of a new infrastructure division to co-ordinate delivery across government. It also encompasses a commitment to completely reviewing the national development plan by the summer to map out a revised blueprint for the delivery of major capital investment for towns, cities, regions and communities throughout Ireland in the next decade. In tandem with transforming infrastructure, the ongoing sensible management of State spending is the primary role of my Department. The Government will submit to the EU a new medium-term fiscal plan, which I and the Minister, Deputy Donohoe, will lead on and which will be published at the same time as the summer economic statement.”
“Inflation has stabilised and the public finances are strong, and we have invested €10 billion in our two long-term funds and will continue to make these investments in both funds. All of this is in our favour to drive forward economic growth and prosperity for our country. We know, however, that our economic success and competitiveness is being stifled by infrastructural gaps in critical areas such as water, energy, housing and transport, and if we can properly tackle and address these infrastructural deficits, we can go a huge way towards unlocking the full potential of our enterprise economy. There is clear prioritisation and the ambition given in the programme is to transform infrastructure development.”
“This is what I will be doing as Minister for public expenditure, infrastructure, public services, reform and digitalisation, working in collaboration with colleagues, and I am pleased the programme for Government places a specific focus on, and is incredibly ambitious about, infrastructure and embracing the digital revolution to radically overhaul and enhance public services delivery. In five years, we want this Government to be defined by its ability to deliver, and my ambition is for this to be the Government that truly makes a step change in infrastructure delivery in particular. Infrastructure has been identified as a critical issue facing our country and economy, but we have reasons to be confident and optimistic for our future. We are at full employment and have a highly skilled workforce.”
“This includes commitments to increasing safety on public transport through the creation of a new dedicated transport security force, providing funding to recruit at least 5,000 new Garda recruits and Garda staff over the next five years, publishing a new rural safety section and enacting legislation to combat antisocial behaviour. I have outlined just a selection of the key measures contained within this document and colleagues will outline others. What will be clear from those who contribute to this debate will be the ambition the programme has at its core in setting out a clear agenda of reform and delivery over the next five years. The job now for the Government is to turn these commitments into actions and deliver for our country.”
“We face significant challenges relating to housing supply and have outlined a significant response, which includes the retention and enhancement of essential housing initiatives such as the first home scheme and the help-to-buy scheme, on which we will build and take further action. Increasing supply is the key to addressing the housing crisis. The Government will pursue every action possible to ensure we drive home ownership in our country and deliver real progress in housing policy, and increasing the number of social and affordable homes will be central to this. A strong set of measures is also contained in the safe and secure community section.”
“We are also eager to reduce energy costs and we detail a range of measures to support households and businesses, as well as more radical and fundamental structural and systematic changes. This includes ramping up investment in our energy grid to make it more resilient and robust. This is a critical issue, the importance of which has been underscored by the impact of Storm Éowyn on so many households and businesses across the country. We also want to reform existing legislation relating to the Commission for Regulation of Utilities and fully and finally unlock our country's offshore renewable energy potential. Housing is the single biggest issue facing so many young people and families throughout our country and the document clearly reflects this across its sections.”
“We outline specific and detailed commitments to support our enterprise economy, unlock opportunities for investment, enhance our competitiveness, cut costs and make it easier for SMEs, which are the backbone of our economy, to trade and operate in our country. This also includes a commitment to create 300,000 extra jobs by 2030, supported by strategic investments, supportive enterprise policies and a focus on fostering a vibrant and competitive economy. We will also publish an action plan for competitiveness and productivity within 12 months in office. In the area of climate, we have set ambitious targets to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 2040. We must also ensure we have the correct mix of incentives and regulations to deliver those aims across all sectors of the economy while also protecting our energy security.”
“In the section addressing investment in our future, we outline our commitments in the areas of education, higher education, children and transport, including reductions in the pupil-teacher ratio and expanding the school transport scheme. We also want to progressively reduce the cost of childcare through the national childcare scheme and explore options to cap costs for larger families, while ensuring childcare providers’ fees are open, transparent, equitable and readily available to all parents. We also commit to the provision of in-school therapies and supports, which I believe can and will bring about an important step change in special education provision in this country and will help to ensure all children can reach their potential in a more caring and nurturing environment.”