Results 181-200 of 9,462 for speaker:Jack Chambers

An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (10 Jun 2025)

Jack Chambers: Deputy Neville is correct. We need to see a specific focus on basic, strategic infrastructure in the review of the national development plan. That is why the Government has set out prioritisation around transport, energy, water and housing in particular. I am familiar with Leixlip as it borders my constituency. Clearly the area has grown significantly, with infrastructure that was built...

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Departmental Staff (10 Jun 2025)

Jack Chambers: My Department has not employed any civil servants to carry out the duties of qualified architects or quantity surveyors during the years in question.

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Civil Service (10 Jun 2025)

Jack Chambers: As per Department of Finance letter of 10 December 2010, Government policy continues to be that starting pay on recruitment from open competition for all posts within the public service should be at the minimum of the relevant salary scale. All competition notices, advertisements and information booklets must specify that starting pay will be at the minimum of the scale. Such notices and...

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Civil Service (10 Jun 2025)

Jack Chambers: I am informed by publicjobs, the centralised provider of recruitment and selection services in the civil and public service and a body under the aegis of my Department, that the latest open Executive Officer campaign was launched in June 2024. According to publicjobs, 812 applicants have been panelled to date for multiple locations, with 482 having been assigned already. A further 106 are...

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Mining Industry (10 Jun 2025)

Jack Chambers: The Minister for Climate, Energy and the Environment is responsible for the oversight and regulation of mineral exploration and mining activities in Ireland. Under the Minerals Development Acts, royalties from mineral extraction are negotiated on a case-by-case basis. The Minerals Development Act 1940 Section 26 (2) (c) provides that: “unless the Minister, with the concurrence...

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Civil Service (10 Jun 2025)

Jack Chambers: I am informed by the Public Appointment Service (PAS) that the AP 2024 competition was launched on the 4 October 2024, and the first panels were formed on the 15 April 2025. The assignment of candidates from these panels has commenced in recent weeks. The panels from this competition are expected to remain open until the 12 December 2025. AP 2024 Open ...

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Capital Expenditure Programme (10 Jun 2025)

Jack Chambers: I propose to take Questions Nos. 434, 435 and 437 together. As Minister for Public Expenditure, NDP Delivery and Reform I am responsible for setting the overall capital allocations across Departments and for monitoring monthly expenditure at Departmental level. The responsibility for the management and delivery of individual investment projects or sectoral policy strategies, within the...

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: National Development Plan (10 Jun 2025)

Jack Chambers: 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...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Expenditure Reviews (29 May 2025)

Jack Chambers: 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...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Expenditure Reviews (29 May 2025)

Jack Chambers: 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...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: National Development Plan (29 May 2025)

Jack Chambers: 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...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: National Development Plan (29 May 2025)

Jack Chambers: 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...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Expenditure Reviews (29 May 2025)

Jack Chambers: 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...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: National Development Plan (29 May 2025)

Jack Chambers: 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. ...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Childcare Services (29 May 2025)

Jack Chambers: 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...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Childcare Services (29 May 2025)

Jack Chambers: 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...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Childcare Services (29 May 2025)

Jack Chambers: 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....

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Ethics in Public Office (29 May 2025)

Jack Chambers: 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...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Ethics in Public Office (29 May 2025)

Jack Chambers: 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-----

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Ethics in Public Office (29 May 2025)

Jack Chambers: -----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...