Jack Chambers (Dublin West, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

It is great to be here to engage with the committee on our first annual progress report. I congratulate the Cathaoirleach and Leas-Chathaoirleach on their election to the roles.

Like the Minister for Finance, I welcome the publication of this document, which is the first of its kind under the new European fiscal framework. It is an important document for the future economic health, strength and resilience of our country. Replacing the SPU, the annual progress report will become an integral part of our annual budget cycle into the future. It outlines progress and forecasts against the medium-term plan we submitted to the European Commission last October.

The 2025 progress report contains the economic and fiscal information for 2024, 2025 and 2026. As my colleague outlined, it acknowledges the potential challenges the international trade environment poses for our economic model. That said, Ireland has weathered several challenges over recent years. Throughout Brexit, the pandemic, the war in Ukraine and the cost-of-living crisis, we have demonstrated our resilience and ability to adapt to changing global circumstances. Our country remains in a strong economic position in the face of those challenges. That strong economic position has allowed for increased investment in public services and infrastructure, with a focus on delivering our economic, social and broader climate ambitions and allowing for continued growth and full employment.

The annual progress report forecast horizon this year reflects a strategic approach, giving time to develop a comprehensive multiyear view of macroeconomic, tax and expenditure projections by July of this year, as set out in the programme for Government. It reflects the important considerations required on the scale of funding needed for the next five years to deliver investment in public services, alongside managing our economy through changing international trading conditions. Taking a wider multi-annual view, it complements and guides the annual budget cycle, enabling us to anticipate and prioritise effectively for the challenges and opportunities that are ahead.

As well as delivering the medium-term fiscal and structural plan, my Department is working on the expenditure framework for the medium term, which will set out how the country can manage Government spending over the next five years. It will highlight the choices and trade-offs required to best support a growing and changing population and strengthen our enterprise sector. Key inputs to this work include the finalisation of the national development plan, NDP, review. High-quality infrastructure is critical for enhancing our competitiveness, attracting foreign direct investment and supporting our domestic enterprise sector. It is vital that we ensure increased investment across economically strategic areas, such as water, electricity and transport, to deliver on our housing challenge, alongside the delivery of services that improve the lives of people across the country. To deliver the NDP review and support accelerated infrastructure delivery, I have established a new infrastructure division in my department. This division is working with deployed sectoral experts and an accelerating infrastructure task force, which I am chairing, to identify the barriers that are delaying project delivery and the solutions to overcoming them.

The national economic dialogue, which took place on 16 June, had good engagement from across sectors. In parallel to this, consultations are under way on the national development plan, the priorities for investment and on how we can remove the barriers to infrastructure delivery and yield strengthened outcomes.

Direct feedback from stakeholders and the public is invaluable to the Minister for Finance and me when we look at the economic and social context as we build our plans. The first outputs of this infrastructure reform work programme will be ready next month.

The May Exchequer return figures demonstrate sustained high levels of investment in the delivery of public services. Our voted spending to date this year is just under €42 billion. This is in line with the amount profiled by Departments to be spent at this stage of the year and is an increase of 8.1% on spending this time last year. It reflects the priorities of budget 2025 and the Government’s commitment to continued improvements in infrastructure and strengthened public services. My Department will continue to work to ensure that value for money is at the heart of all decision-making. Among other measures, we brought a memo to Government this week outlining critical roles and responsibilities around value for money, underpinned by legislation. This sets out the rules, guidelines and frameworks which underpin the very best value on the investment of taxpayers’ money, ensuring that it is outlined clearly to everyone responsible for spending and oversight. This supports economic growth, enhances our competitiveness and delivers better quality of life outcomes. My officials are reviewing and modernising the public financial procedures and the practice of accountability for public expenditure across the Civil Service and public service. This review will look at what supports and structures can assist in delivering improved performance. With respect to the annual progress report and medium-term plan, I will continue to work with the Minister for Finance and his Department in how we frame fiscal parameters for budget 2026. We look forward to engaging with the committee today.