As Minister for public expenditure, I am responsible for setting the overall capital allocations across Departments and for monitoring monthly expenditure at departmental level. Responsibility for the management and delivery of individual investment projects or sectoral policy strategies, within the allocations agreed under the national development plan, NDP, rests with the individual sponsoring Department in each case. Each Minister is also responsible for deciding on the priority programmes and projects, which they can bring to Government. That will be delivered under their remit within the national development plan and for setting out the timelines for delivery. Expenditure is, therefore, allocated and monitored on a departmental basis. In budget 2025, almost €15 billion was made available from the Exchequer for investment in public capital projects, along with €3 billion in funds from the sale of the State's shareholding in AIB in June 2024. This level of expenditure is pivotal in consolidating the progress already made and in supporting balanced regional development to address key infrastructural bottlenecks more rapidly, and lead to further improvements in living standards and competitiveness. Additionally, the recently agreed programme for Government sets out that the Government will prioritise an early review of the NDP, which will be completed in July 2025. The review of this will encompass all public capital investment and will utilise State funds to support increased capital investment levels, including in the west which is centrally important to overall infrastructure development. This review will build on recent actions to improve delivery, including the publication of infrastructure guidance which replaced the public spending code on 1 January 2024. These set the value-for-money guidance for evaluating, planning and managing Exchequer-funded capital projects. It is a significant policy development that allows Departments greater freedom to pursue the delivery of their priority projects. It is also intended to ensure quality delivery can be achieved by agencies without causing undue delays which may impact on projects costs and timelines. I have information on the north west and the west in terms of overall data on infrastructure to which I can return in my next contribution.
Sentiment score: 0.31
From my previous role as Minister of State for the Gaeltacht, I am aware of the absolute need for infrastructure development to unlock economic development in the Gaeltacht region in the context of jobs, etc. I am aware of the difficulties that have been experienced by many residents as a result of the recent storm and, indeed, other storms during the winter period. There has been ongoing engagement across Government on the consequences and on how some of the communications networks collapsed or were seriously impacted upon. The Minister, Deputy Calleary, has been engaging on that matter. Separately, we are aware of the need to ensure that there is greater resilience across the infrastructure network from an energy perspective - the Minister, Deputy O'Brien, is co-ordinating in that regard - and our communications networks. Building greater resilience among communications and emergency networks is central for the future, particularly in light of emerging and changing weather patterns. We must also ensure that we have continued investment in the road and public transport networks. This will be the subject of a new ambition and focus on the part of Government in the context of the NDP review and the need to give an uplift to investment for the west and the north west.
Sentiment score: 0.15
I thank the Deputy. As already stated, the Minister, Deputy Calleary, is engaging directly in respect of communications infrastructure and on the need to ensure greater resilience in our communications networks. That is something that is being pursued. Similarly, when it comes to our energy infrastructure, the Minister, Deputy O'Brien, is directly engaging with the semi-State agencies and the regulators in order that we can build greater resilience into that infrastructure. I am aware that concerns have been raised with TETRA Ireland. The particular consequences there were most acute in the direct aftermath of the storm. Officials in my Department have been engaging on that. I can send the Deputy a note on that specific matter. How that particular communications infrastructure was affected during the storm is a matter of concern to many people in the west and north west, particularly as certain people were put at risk. I acknowledge that this needs to be corrected for the future.
Sentiment score: 0.23
I thank the Deputy. We had an extensive discussion on this yesterday evening. The purpose of the Ministers and Secretaries and Ministerial, Parliamentary, Judicial and Court Offices (Amendment) Bill 2025 is to give effect to the decision by Government to increase the maximum number of Ministers of State from 20 to 23. This number has remained unchanged for the past 18 years, since 2007, when it increased from 17 to 20. The Bill also reflects the increased numbers of Ministers of State attending Cabinet, which is being extended to four. At the moment, a maximum of three Ministers of State may receive the allowance for attending Cabinet. The draft of that Bill was published on Thursday, 6 February. A number of proposed amendments were received by Friday, 7 February. As the Deputy will be aware, we discussed the amendments in the Dáil yesterday evening and the Bill is due to be debated in the Seanad at - I think - 12.15 p.m. today. That is the update.
Sentiment score: 0.14
The Attorney General provides all of the legal advice to the Government and is leading the defence of the specific cases raised by the Deputy. The Government is defending the particular cases so that matter will evolve in the courts. As I said yesterday, we can consider a number of other jurisdictions, such as Finland, where there are 19 Ministries, with a minister or secretary of state underpinning each, or New Zealand, where there are 20 ministers and ministers of state. Many jurisdictions of similar size and similar population to Ireland have a similar number of Ministers of State. This is to reflect three specific roles and responsibilities that are being prioritised. There is a Minister of State for the marine. We heard from Deputy Pat the Cope Gallagher about the importance of that specific role in fishing communities. It was welcomed by Sinn Féin's spokesperson on finance. Deputy Farrell has not identified what role she would remove in order to introduce that Minister of State. Perhaps she can enlighten the House about what Minister of State she would drop to allow for a Minister of State for the marine, which she has welcomed.
Sentiment score: 0.18
The legislation that is currently progressing through the Oireachtas is distinct and different from the specific constitutional questions that are the subject of the two judicial review cases before the High Court. They are being fully defended by the Attorney General. The practice and procedure over many decades has been the attendance at Cabinet of Ministers of State. The constitutionality of that continued practice is being fully defended by the Government and the Attorney General. The legislation that is before us is distinct from that. It relates to additional Ministers of State with new areas of priority and new responsibilities. Sinn Féin's election manifesto reflects the appointment of extra Ministers of State with additional areas of responsibility and priority. It would be interesting to see which Minister of State Sinn Féin would remove in order to allow for the appointment of the Ministers of State it has suggested appointing, because it has not been clear on that and did not refer to any reduction in the number of Ministers of State in its manifesto or which ones it would drop to allow for the those it suggests should be appointed, which it is entitled to do. In that context, it would be interesting to see which Ministers of State Deputy Farrell would remove.
Sentiment score: 0.11
The inflationary shock which started in 2022 was the most significant episode of inflation experienced in Ireland since the mid-1980s. Aware of the challenges that inflation posed for households and businesses, Government provided a series of temporary and permanent cost-of-living packages. The purpose of the supports was to ameliorate the exceptionally high energy bills that were a result of market volatility through one-off energy credits and to offer temporary, targeted financial support to households and businesses while permanent income caught up to higher prices. Government adopted a two-pronged fiscal policy to allow a responsive approach to key economic and social challenges. The policy of separating temporary and permanent spending had three main objectives. First, it ensured the adequate provision of supports for external challenges while continuing investment in core public services. Second, it provided transparency on the costs of responding to external challenges. Third, it allowed funding to be provided for specific, temporary purposes that can be withdrawn when no longer needed. Since 2022, consumer price inflation has fallen significantly and consistently. Headline inflation has been below the target rate of 2% since August last year. The consumer price index and harmonised index of consumer prices reveal a significant stabilisation in consumer prices, with the growth rate down to 1% and 1.4%, respectively, in December 2024. The Government has not announced or committed to any further temporary cost-of-living packages. While the Exchequer finds itself in a favourable position, recent global developments will bring with them a level of uncertainty that will require a planned and strategic approach to investment to ensure our fiscal position remains sustainable. In addition, requirements under EU fiscal rules will necessitate the development of a five-year medium-term expenditure strategy, with no differentiation between permanent and temporary measures. I assure the Deputy that in the context of budget 2026, the Government will give full consideration to that wider inflationary outlook and if it changes, and the most appropriate mechanisms to target and support household living standards. In line with the standard procedures, these will be matters discussed as part of the annual Estimates process.
Sentiment score: 0.15
As stated, we will have a planned approach to this in the context of 2026. In every budget, we publish a distributional analysis. There is a consideration of well-being. A whole range of indices are published by the Departments of Finance and public expenditure. We have committed ourselves to progressive budgeting over the next number of years. We are also committing ourselves to returning to a more standard budgetary process, which is done in parallel with a medium-term fiscal plan, which we have to submit to the European Commission to have that anchor of fiscal discipline. There will be broader discussion on that in advance of the summer period, when we have the summer economic statement and the medium-term fiscal plan. In the decisions we took through the inflationary crisis, there was progressivity at the core, including in the double payments for many specific social welfare payments, like foster carer's allowance, the carer's support grant, the disability allowance, the blind pension, the invalidity pension and the domiciliary care allowance. We are cognisant of the need to target supports. A significant social protection package will be developed within the envelope that is available in budget 2026. Much of that will be to support the families and households to which the Deputy referred.
Sentiment score: 0.17
The Deputy is taking a very negative stance on cuts. Thankfully, we are in a position whereby we are running a budgetary surplus. We will be in a position by means of budget 2026, the summer economic statement and the medium-term fiscal plan to provide additional supports, but through a more regular budgetary process. That means an envelope and support when it comes to the social protection budget, for example. The Deputy referred to energy credits. Perhaps the Social Democrats are opposed to electricity credits. That is fine and that is their position.
Sentiment score: 0.20
The Social Democrats say they are opposed to energy credits, so it is interesting. A lot of the measures we introduced last year were targeted, like the living alone allowance and the qualified child increment lump sum and the working family payment. Some of the progressive measures I introduced with the additional tax credits, for example, were very much targeted at many vulnerable people in our society. That will all be considered in the context of budget 2026. As I have said, progressivity and the distributional analysis will be at the core of how we frame the wider budgetary process. We want to get back to a point where it is done through the normal budget and not through ad hoc changes through the year.
Sentiment score: 0.19