Results 1,001-1,020 of 9,898 for speaker:Jack Chambers

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Departmental Staff (18 Feb 2025)

Jack Chambers: The gender breakdown in my Department at the grades specified by the Deputy is set out in the table below: - Male Female Secretary General 1 - Assistant Secretary 4 4 Principal Officer 34 28

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Office of Government Procurement (18 Feb 2025)

Jack Chambers: The Office of Government Procurement is responsible for establishing central purchasing arrangements for commonly required goods and services across 11 master categories of expenditure (Professional Services, Banking and Insurance, Consultancy and Advisory, Electricity and Gas, ICT, Facilities Management, Office Supplies, Travel Management, HR Services, Fleet, and Corporate Office Support...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Civil Service (13 Feb 2025)

Jack Chambers: I respectfully disagree because we have a blended working evaluation model and that is providing significant insights and evidence. It was published by my Department in July last year and is designed to assist organisations in effectively assessing the impact of blended working on the ways people work. The model provides for a mechanism for continuous improvement. This enables...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Flood Relief Schemes (13 Feb 2025)

Jack Chambers: It is on a public infrastructure Act.

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Programme for Government (13 Feb 2025)

Jack Chambers: I thank the Deputy. The Government has committed to €165 billion in capital investment through the national development plan published in 2021. As a percentage of national income, annual capital investment is now among the largest in the EU. In 2025, €15 billion will fund vital infrastructure in areas such as housing, transport, education, enterprise, sport and climate...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: National Development Plan (13 Feb 2025)

Jack Chambers: It is an absolute priority. On the specific items or examples the Deputy has raised, I have met with the chair of the OPW, along with the Minister of State, Deputy Moran, as regards the specific concerns relating to particular projects. In certain instances, members of the public have been extremely concerned, as indeed I think anyone in the political system is, about particular cost...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: National Development Plan (13 Feb 2025)

Jack Chambers: I thank the Deputy and I welcome that. The Minister of State, Deputy Moran, and I are happy to work with everyone on a constructive basis on the common objective across our respective responsibilities in the Department. I take very seriously the concerns that have been articulated relating to value for money on particular projects, well-documented ones, many of which were unacceptable in...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Civil Service (13 Feb 2025)

Jack Chambers: The Government has committed to review the Blended Working Policy Framework for Civil Service Organisations to consider how the implementation of this approach best delivers public services. My Department will consider the commitments and actions set out in the programme for Government which fall under its remit, including the commitments and actions relating to blended working. The...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Civil Service (13 Feb 2025)

Jack Chambers: The blended working policy framework encourages all individual Civil Service organisations to carry out regular reviews of their own blended working policies in consultation with all stakeholders, including employee representative groups at a local level. The current blended working policy framework for the Civil Service organisations recognises as well that employers require flexibility at...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: National Development Plan (13 Feb 2025)

Jack Chambers: The previous Government committed to €165 billion in capital investment through the national development plan, published in 2021. As a percentage of national income, annual capital investment is now among the largest in the EU. In 2025, €15 billion will fund vital infrastructure in areas such as housing, transport, education, enterprise, sport and climate action. An additional...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Departmental Functions (13 Feb 2025)

Jack Chambers: First, we will review the national development plan to identify a new ambition and focus on overall delivery. What we have set out previously, for example, in regard to the state aid case concerning Apple, is that the strategic priorities of our economy are housing, water, energy and transport infrastructure. The other pillar is health digitalisation. That has been a missed opportunity for...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Programme for Government (13 Feb 2025)

Jack Chambers: I acknowledge the contribution many section 39 workers make in disability, health and social care organisations across our country. As the Deputy will know, there is an industrial relations process in that regard. This is being co-ordinated by the Department of children and disability, which has many section 39 workers under its direct remit. My own Department is engaged with the...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Departmental Functions (13 Feb 2025)

Jack Chambers: I propose to take Questions Nos. 70 and 77 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 by delivering projects as early as possible and within budget. Extra emphasis has been given to my Department through the placing of a real focus on infrastructure...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Departmental Functions (13 Feb 2025)

Jack Chambers: We are scoping out the overall staffing needs of the division but, to be clear, the overall intention and policy focus in the establishment of this division is not to shallow out or undermine the expertise or delivery systems we have within existing Departments. This is very much to complement and enhance delivery systems, to focus on barriers to delivery and to progress the overall reforms...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Cost of Living Issues (13 Feb 2025)

Jack Chambers: 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...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Programme for Government (13 Feb 2025)

Jack Chambers: I thank the Deputy. The programme for Government states that this Government will undertake a programme of workforce planning to identify the optimal staffing model within the public sector to meet the needs of our changing demographics. In considering the approach to this, I will have regard to the responsibilities of other Ministers in relation to relevant issues such as recruitment in...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Programme for Government (13 Feb 2025)

Jack Chambers: I can revert to the Deputy on the specific background to the figures and I am happy to do that. On the overall point, as our demographics change and our population grows, we want to make sure - similar to the Deputy's party - we have increased numbers of people working in the public service and that it is in a place where people want to join it and it is an attractive place to work. That is...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Legislative Measures (13 Feb 2025)

Jack Chambers: 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...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Cost of Living Issues (13 Feb 2025)

Jack Chambers: 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...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Cost of Living Issues (13 Feb 2025)

Jack Chambers: 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...