I propose to take Questions Nos. 84, 132 and 136 together. I thank the Deputy and the other Deputies who have also raised this matter. As Deputy O'Callaghan will be aware, we are committed in the programme for Government to updating the ethics in public office legislation. This follows a wide-ranging review of the legislative framework for ethics in public life that my Department undertook during the term of the previous Government, the report and findings of which were published in February 2023. The report's recommendations include that the legislative framework for ethics should be underpinned by a set of integrity principles, that disclosure requirements should be strengthened to improve transparency and that consideration should be given to whether the regime should encompass more officeholders. The report also recommends a strengthening of the Standards in Public Office Commission, SIPO. Certain more recent recommendations around ethics will also need to be considered in the context of the reform agenda. The House will understand that this is a complex area that requires consideration before a scheme is brought forward. There are broader operational and policy considerations I want to explore and get right as the new Minister in the Department. I am conscious that this represents an opportunity to make real, meaningful and positive change to our current regime. I want to ensure that happens in a coherent way from a policy perspective and that it is also user-friendly from an operational perspective. I am examining all the outstanding policy issues, including those I have outlined, and I am engaging with officials to determine the most appropriate way forward to meet the commitment in the programme for Government. My ultimate goal is to create a fit-for-purpose and easy to understand ethical framework that contributes to the quality, efficacy and transparency of our system and positively builds on the strength of our existing framework.
Sentiment score: 0.39
I thank both of the Deputies. I am in the Department a number of months and my commitment is to bring forward a general scheme but I want to make sure that, as I am advancing that, I examine the long history to this which has been referenced. The history has been too long. Deputy Connolly referenced 2009 and Deputy O'Callaghan referenced other time points. I want to bring forward a general scheme that can be examined by Members to try to strengthen the framework that is there. I am committed to doing that but I have to make sure I construct a scheme which responds to the need for a strengthened body underpinned by integrity principles and improves the transparency, which I have referenced. My commitment is to progress that. Deputy Connolly asked me about this in April and I am committed to working through that and to bringing forward a scheme. When I am in a position to give a specific date on when I can publish it, I will bring that to House. I am currently examining the respective policy considerations and the decision points that have to be made for a scheme and then it will be drafted and published, as is the normal practice.
Sentiment score: 0.37
Deputy Connolly listed a broad range of policy areas which have to be considered in the context of a scheme which will be brought forward-----
Sentiment score: 0.00
-----and that is what we are doing. That is what we will do. I will publish a scheme in light of that. That is what I am committed to doing. The programme for Government is clear on the need to update the ethics in public office legislation and my commitment will be to bring forward a general scheme. When it is ready, I will publish it and it will be for all Members to feed into how we can ensure that it is a strengthened piece of legislation. Obviously, there will be a pre-legislative scrutiny process around that. That is what I am working through at the moment and I am committed to doing that.
Sentiment score: 0.25
I have established the accelerating infrastructure task force to support the immediate work programme of the new infrastructure division in my Department, which is to identify and propose measures to address barriers to the delivery of strategic infrastructure across Ireland. This issue is key priority for me and the Government. The work programme for the task force and the new division will focus on many critical infrastructure areas in terms of the electricity and energy, transport and water sectors, as these three key elements are required to underpin the development of all other economic and social infrastructure, including healthcare, housing and childcare facilities. The specific issue of childcare policy and places to which the Deputy refers is a matter for my colleague, the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality. The wide-ranging work of the accelerating infrastructure task force is accelerating the project life cycle which should support the underpinning of better social infrastructure, including childcare. For the Deputy's information, the role of the task force, which I chair, is primarily focused on cross-cutting policies. Specifically, it will provide strategic guidance and expert input to policy proposals to speed up infrastructure delivery. It will provide guidance and advice to officials to ensure that barriers to infrastructure delivery are identified accurately and represent the most impactful barriers impeding timely and effective delivery. It will also provide guidance and advice on the development of a small number of high-impact reform items that are robust, achievable, time-bound and rigorously focused on addressing the challenges identified. These reform actions will be brought to Government for approval. The task force will oversee the subsequent implementation of these reform actions through challenge meetings with the Departments and agencies responsible for implementation. Furthermore, the existing Project Ireland and national development plan set out national strategic outcomes which emphasise the importance of access to quality childcare, education and health services and aim to ensure that the co-ordination and provision of childcare places, primary and post-primary schools places and health infrastructure are consistent with the objectives of the national planning framework. Therefore, the ongoing review of the national development plan will consider the programme for Government commitments on childcare. The broader references are there in terms of State involvement in the provision of childcare.
Sentiment score: 0.32
Looking at the past number of years and the overall support given in terms of childcare affordability, we have made significant strides which have helped many families throughout communities. We also need to work with many of the SMEs and childcare providers, many of which are in the constituency Deputy Currie and I represent, on some of the challenges they have reflected to us as part of the budget process. That is why the broad work of the infrastructure division is to ensure the national development plan's strategic outcomes are underpinned with accelerated delivery. We are advancing that through the reforms that will be stood up from the infrastructure task force and also the additionality that will be made available in the context of the review of the national development plan. A central and pressing focus in our economy right now is that we have serious constraints in energy and, in particular, water. Without those two fundamentals, we cannot deliver the homes and social infrastructure we require or the investment opportunities that will bring broader employment growth and prosperity for the future. Of course, there are other objectives in the national development plan, which I share. The broad outworking of this work will strengthen the provision of childcare.
Sentiment score: 0.31
First, the cross-cutting work of the infrastructure division and the task force is to cut through some of the processes in place in every Department which affect delivery of infrastructure - economic or social. Second, there is a review of the national development plan. That is a bilateral engagement involving all Ministers on what their priorities will be for the next number of years. Obviously, there will be an additional envelope available and work has commenced on that. I have been meeting Ministers bilaterally to discuss what their priorities are and what is deliverable over the next number of years around capital allocations. The Department of Children, Disability and Equality have put forward a variety of prospective priorities when it comes to children, disability and equality and we are working through those on a whole-of-government level. We will be able to set out the allocations for those in July.
Sentiment score: 0.04
I propose to take Questions Nos. 89, 112, 147, 153 and 156 together. The programme for Government sets out the clear ambition to prioritise the delivery of transformative, critical and growth-enhancing infrastructure over the next five years. To support these goals, Government has prioritised an early review of the national development plan, which is being led by my Department. From February, officials in my Department set about identifying the parameters, priorities and critical milestones for the review. This was done to support the ambition of the review to improve our infrastructure, especially housing, water, energy, transport and health digitalisation. In early April, I secured Government approval to commence the review process following which Departments were written to, to advise on the Government's approved approach to the review. The core focus of the review will be to ensure that supporting economic infrastructure can be prioritised to deliver the tens of thousands of additional homes that are required and to support our broader competitiveness. Throughout April and early May, Departments have prepared their funding submissions and this has been followed by bilateral engagement between my Department and individual spending Departments to assess investment plans and programmes. This series of bilateral engagements commenced at official level and is currently continuing and has commenced fully at ministerial level. Alongside the review 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. An amount of €3.15 billion is available from the fund out to 2030 and is part of the overall funding envelope. In addition, a wider assessment is being carried out around the climate impact of the funding as part of the NDP and that will be published alongside the review document in July. I am also launching a public consultation on the review which will be open for submissions until 26 June. The consultation is an opportunity for individuals, Members or, indeed, organisations to share their views on national priorities for public capital investment. I will also be chairing a session on infrastructure prioritisation and delivery at the national economic dialogue, where interested stakeholders will have the opportunity to share their views across many sectors. Intensive engagement at both official and ministerial level has commenced and the intention is to publish a review document in July that will feature five year capital allocations to Departments over the period 2026 to 2030 and overall capital ceilings to 2035. While particular allocations obviously have yet to be agreed, the objective is to support what is set out in the programme for Government and, in particular, the delivery of thousands of additional homes and to boost our overall competitiveness.
Sentiment score: 0.33
I thank the Deputies for raising those issues. I am not going to get into the distribution of different projects or priorities today. I will say, however, that one of the areas of emphasis in the review of the national development plan is transport infrastructure. I am engaging with the Minister, Deputy O'Brien, on that. The focus is to identify what projects can be delivered. I know there is a great deal of interest in Meath in the particular project Deputy O'Rourke referenced. There are many projects in other parts of the country that are critically important in terms of both the delivery of public transport and helping to fulfil broader climate objectives. Deputy Farrell is absolutely right that there is a particular deficit regarding infrastructure objectives in parts of the west. The continued uplift we are giving in the context of the renewed national development plan will help support infrastructure objectives for the west of Ireland. We are reviewing the national procurement policy presently. The Minister of State, Deputy Higgins, is leading out on that work, which we will be progressing over the coming months. That will dictate the overall framework about how procurement decisions are made across Government contracts.
Sentiment score: 0.19
I thank the Deputies for their respective contributions. On Deputy O'Rourke point on the need for much more additional headroom for Meath County Council, the new national planning framework provides additional headroom to local authorities to zone more land to drive increased housing supply. The current baseline position is not at all near what we require to deliver the quantum of housing we in this House all want to see delivered. The need to accelerate the outworking of that will be really important in the period ahead. I take the Deputy's other point on the opportunities around transport-oriented development. In response to Deputy Farrell, the Department has been very clear around the programme for Government commitment on an earlier view of the national development plan. There is a very strong team in the investment office within the Department that has been ready to conduct this work. We have received submissions from all other Departments around the priorities and the extensive uplift they all want. We have to manage and co-ordinate that. There is always more ambition than there is possibility around what can be allocated, but we are working through that. The Deputy is right that we need to make sure there is a focus on basic infrastructure, particularly water, energy, and, in certain instances in rural Ireland, transport, in order that we can meet the broader industrial opportunities that are there if we invest and accelerate the deliver of that. I appreciate the contributions of the Deputies in respect of this matter.
Sentiment score: 0.39
I thank Deputy Ó Cearúil. In line with the commitments made in the programme for Government, I recently announced a series of actions to accelerate the delivery of strategic infrastructure in Ireland, including the creation of a new infrastructure division in my Department. Initially, the infrastructure division will focus on the preparation of a systematic, evidence-based assessment of the barriers impeding timely infrastructure development. To undertake this work, experts from key State agencies have already been redeployed to my Department and are working with civil servants on this task. Over the coming weeks, the infrastructure division will engage with key stakeholders to gather the evidence necessary to identify the most critical barriers to development that might potentially cause delays. This will be combined with a consultation and public engagement in June to gather the broader views of stakeholders across our economy. The team will also examine what reforms have been successfully introduced in other jurisdictions that may be applicable in Ireland. I expect to provide a report to Government by the end of July on what have been identified as the most significant barriers that are slowing infrastructure development. The results of this analysis will inform a focused plan on high-impact reform measures that Government will consider for implementation. On cost overruns, delivering value for money is central to my Department’s approach to infrastructure delivery and is achieved though clear frameworks and guidance. The infrastructure guidelines, the code of practice for the governance of State bodies and the public financial procedures clearly set out accountability and decision-making responsibilities. This guidance provided by my Department outlines clear established roles and responsibilities to mitigate against waste and improve value for money. The guidelines will also ensure value for money is embedded at every policy stage, which will ensure a transparent approach and the use of corrective mechanism where required. My Department intends to fully review the public financial procedures. This review will help us to further strengthen and clarify our robust expenditure management framework and provide efficiencies in the delivery of infrastructure. Furthermore, it will set out clearly the roles and responsibilities of the various actors across the system in the delivery of value for money. Through strengthened governance, Departments are being reminded that spending decisions must consider quality, expertise, and long-term impact to avoid superficial or low-impact investments.
Sentiment score: 0.37
I thank both Deputies. In response to Deputy Ó Cearúil, there will be significant private sector input into the work programme and the development of the reforms. We have six external experts on the accelerated infrastructure taskforce. That is to drive accountability and also an economy-wide engagement on how we can cut through unnecessary process delays and red tape which is impeding infrastructure delivery. As I said, I will have a report on that work by July. The outworking of that will be ensuring that we drive delivery and accountability around that over the period ahead. In response to Deputy Byrne, I welcomed his involvement and presence at the launch of the use of AI in the public service guidelines. It is really important that we complement the use of AI in terms of the future of public services and delivering better services for citizens. As the Deputy knows, in the guidelines that we have issued, it is a matter for each competent authority to work with each individual on the responsible use of AI while also trying to encourage the use of AI across the public service. I am sure the Deputy can engage with the Houses of the Oireachtas on how it can develop mechanisms for the appropriate use of AI by Members of the Oireachtas if that is something he wants to advance.
Sentiment score: 0.34
When one looks at the national planning framework and the strategic objectives that are set out there, balanced regional development is central. As part of the overall review of the national development plan, we are looking at critical, growth-enabling infrastructure priorities around the country and how we disburse the capital allocations. That will be really important in the separate work of the review of the national development plan but clearly, the outworking of the reforms we are advancing is to ensure delivery but also to empower agents to accelerate their respective projects where the pipeline has been too elongated and complex over the last number of years. What we are trying to do is have a cross-cutting reform to support the delivery of many of the projects that the Deputy referenced.
Sentiment score: 0.25