1. Deputy Mairéad Farrell asked the Minister for Public Expenditure, Infrastructure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation the way in which the projected overspends of his Department will impact the budgets of other Government Departments; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [40817/26]
Sentiment score: 0.01
Will the Minister give us an update on the projected overspends of the Department of education and how they will impact on the budgets of other Government Departments?
Sentiment score: 0.00
That was incorrect.
Sentiment score: 0.00
That mistake was not on my side.
Sentiment score: -0.34
That was not the question I submitted, but I understand it is what the Minister has been told. I do not know if we should skip this question. I might just ask my question and if the Minister cannot answer it is not on him, which is totally fine. I accept that he was not aware. It is a bit of a mess, like this mess. My question relates to overspends in the Department of education and specifically how this will impact on other Government Departments, including Transport, justice and housing. My concern is that this will leave communities worse off in the long run, which is something we do not want to happen. My core question really concerns what looks likely to be cut. Of what those Departments felt was so important to get funding for on budget day, what is no longer deemed necessary? I am aware the Minister was not aware of the question.
Sentiment score: 0.00
I know.
Sentiment score: 0.00
To be clear, the question the Minister received is not the question I was asking. I thank him for the answer, but the issue is that if you look at it in the context of what he is saying here and what is being done, things do not really add up. In January, the Minister said that the Government's massive expenditure on consultancy services was adding cost, delay and significant fragmentation to infrastructure delivery. However, we now hear he is spending €25,000 on a consultancy firm to try to garner public support for his infrastructure plan, all against the backdrop of cutting spending across other Departments. It seems like cuts for everybody except the Minister's Department. If the Minister wants to run an advertising campaign, he should use the policies he has. I do not understand spending €25,000 on a consultancy firm. Does the Minister think his Department should be spending €25,000 on a marketing campaign?
Sentiment score: 0.10
3. Deputy Mairéad Farrell asked the Minister for Public Expenditure, Infrastructure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation if he will report on his visit to the Bilderberg conference in Washington DC in April 2026; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [40659/26]
Sentiment score: 0.01
The issue here is that in the spirit of the Bilderberg conference, which is a secretive conference, the Minister has not given me a full breakdown of exactly what he did and what he was discussing. It is only through a freedom of information request we have an insight into what he got up to. We also need to see it in the context of the time. When fuel protestors were out on the streets demanding the Minister's Government intervene just so they could make ends meet he was in Washington DC spending $760 a night of taxpayers' money on a luxury five-star hotel. While working families up and down the State were unable to afford to fill their tanks with fuel he was spending money on business class flights to the tune of thousands of euro and in total the trip cost the taxpayer €6,800. During a cost-of-living crisis why on Earth should taxpayers fund that type of trip while still not being aware of exactly what was being discussed?
Sentiment score: -0.01
I did not ask the Minister about his discussions with the US Chamber of Commerce. I asked him specifically about the Bilderberg conference. The focus on militarisation was absolutely clear from the agenda, which included discussions on the transatlantic defence industrial relationship, the Middle East and the future of warfare. As he is the Minister for public expenditure I find it concerning he would foster a close relationship with bosses of military companies, which is not in our national interest. I am concerned about the threat to our neutrality from this Government. The Minister will know there are no minutes or media coverage recording what was discussed in these sessions, so I would like to know what was discussed. The public paid nearly €7,000 for this trip and we have a right to know exactly what sessions the Minister attended, who he met and what he discussed.
Sentiment score: 0.05
4. Deputy Mairéad Farrell asked the Minister for Public Expenditure, Infrastructure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation to provide an update on overpayments made by the NSSO to former Government Ministers; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [41064/26]
Sentiment score: 0.01
Have all former Ministers either paid any money owed or set up repayment plans with the NSSO with regard to the pensions overpayment issue?
Sentiment score: 0.00
To be honest, I assumed the Minister was going to tell me that they had all engaged in a repayment plan. Am I correct that 17% have not engaged in a recoupment plan? I have raised this with the Minister numerous times, and I know he is in agreement with me. However, it is outrageous that 17% would not engage in a recoupment plan. This is a time when, as we were just discussing, people are struggling to make ends meet. Ordinary workers who go out and work every day of their lives cannot pay their bills or their rent. We now have a situation where former Ministers did not engage in a recoupment plan to pay money back into the State coffers, when they know this is the middle of a cost of living crisis and they know they were not due this money. We have been talking about this for months on end. I find it shocking. I genuinely thought the Minister was going to tell me they had all engaged in that recoupment plan.
Sentiment score: -0.08
Is the Minister aware of how many former Ministers are in that 17%? My God, this has to undermine public trust and public confidence. If anybody is overpaid anything, they are pursued with legal letters and threatening letters when these things happen through no fault of their own. They are pursued very quickly and in a very difficult way for many people who are not used to dealing with this. We are talking about people who were in a position of power, making decisions over other people’s lives, who now feel they are a class to themselves, and who feel they do not need to engage in the recouping of this money. I understand that the Minister is not aware of each individual case, and that it is done in an independent way. However, can the Minister tell us how many people are involved? This means it is going to be difficult to maintain essential public confidence in public life.
Sentiment score: -0.06