There is a donation of service and there is a commercial value to be placed on that. That is a matter that will be determined in time by the Standards in Public Office Commission. I hope it does its work expeditiously. I maintain it is a fiction that this donation of a service that has a commercial value, which is a donation, was given to Fine Gael Dublin Central, because that would potentially have implications for the second candidate's returns. That may need to be reviewed. The Taoiseach said earlier he believes…

I congratulate the Minister on his appointment and look forward to engaging with him in his position as Minister for Finance. I also extend my congratulations to the Minister of State, Deputy Carroll MacNeill, on her appointment and look forward to working with her. I want to establish with the Minister the cost to the Exchequer of extending the reduced 9% VAT rate on electricity and gas bills, and indeed to establish if this is something the Minister is considering in continuing to support those who are finding it…

I believe that because of the arguably short-term thinking of the Government, once the €4 billion in once-off measures melted away in January, families started to feel the pinch. We know that the families who are most exposed to energy poverty are those on low incomes, lone parents, older people living alone and people who are living in rural areas. The final electricity credit will be paid out in March. We need to think quickly and in a very holistic fashion about how those families are going to be supported beyon…

We have a cost-of-living crisis and inflation is high. One of the perverse things is that when inflation is high and goods and services are more expensive, the Exchequer is laughing all the way to the bank with increased VAT returns. It is important to reflect on that and to pass back as much as possible of that increase, or bonanza, to those who need it most by way of an extension of measures like those that were originally introduced in April, such as the VAT reduction on energy bills, and further extended in the…

On a point of order-----

The Minister has said he will make a further statement in relation to his 2016 statement to the Standards in Public Office Commission, SIPO. When does he plan to do that? Has he made that request directly to the Ceann Comhairle?

It is a point of order.

If the Minister could clarify, it would be helpful to move this section of our business on.

The Minister did indicate that he was prepared to answer my question.

I refer to my direct question as to when he intends to make a statement and if he has made the request-----

I have no doubt that the Minister would be happy to answer that very clear question.

I am seeking an update on when the Minister plans to publish legislation informed by the review of the Freedom of Information Act that was initiated back in September 2021. We are a year and a half out from the commencement of that review and we have yet to see a draft Bill. The then Minister, Deputy Michael McGrath, indicated to me late last year that the review was at an advanced stage and would be concluded in early 2023. We would appreciate an update on progress, therefore.

In the open review and the general review after that there were a total of about 2,400 responses received. That is an indication of the public interest in freedom of information, FOI, legislation and greater moves towards transparency. The Minister will accept that the FOI system needs to be modernised. Would he agree as well that the default position of Departments and agencies should be to publish online and make available to the public as much information as possible, outside of personal information? That has be…

The Minister is right that the deliberative process is important but far too often we see peculiar responses coming from Departments where they are hiding behind the deliberative process and where there is no reason in this wide world why they should not be more open. It depends on the particular request made but there is far too liberal use of the black marker and there are some extraordinary circumstances that are not justified. I hope the review will be conscious of that. There are many additional bodies that ar…

I raise the operation of the inflation co-operation framework, an important innovation introduced by Government last year to assist contractors carrying out NDP projects and, more generally, capital projects with rising inflation in terms of energy and materials. Will the Minister of State give an update on the additional cost of that and if the framework will be reviewed in 2023?

Does the Minister of State have a figure for the additional cost across government given the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform has been renamed the Department for the delivery of the NDP, as well as having special responsibility in that regard? What is the additional cost, outside of what was agreed? The responsibility lies 70:30 in favour of the State. It is important to put on the record the additional cost involved. There is no doubt this was an important innovation. The difficulties contractors found …

I find it extraordinary that neither the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform or the Office of Government Procurement is collating those figures centrally. It would be an important public policy measure that the Department would collate all the figures from the relevant agencies and spending Departments, at least to inform a review of the operation of the framework in 2023. This is about making sure the projects we depend on for the development of the economy and society are delivering but also, crucially, a…

The Minister is selling us a narrative that suits his own ends, but what are the facts? Is it not a fact that there has been a breach of both the donation and expenditure rules that everyone in this House is bound by? The Act insists that no expenditure can be incurred at an election except by the agent or his or her nominee. The SIPO guidelines point out that it is an offence for a candidate or anybody else, including, for example, "a local branch of a political party", to incur expenses or make payments in connec…

I congratulate the Taoiseach on his accession again to that office. I wish him and his ministerial colleagues well in their endeavours. This year, we mark the centenary of the State. The Labour Party has always sought to put our country before the short-term interests of the party. Rarely has this been to our electoral reward. We helped to shape the institutions and stability of a young State under threat. In 1932, the transfer of power to Fianna Fáil, as mentioned earlier by the Taoiseach, was made possible by the…

I appreciate the opportunity to speak on this important debate. It is important that we have the opportunity to make statements and have a debate on this very important social issue we have been grappling with for quite some time. I also wish the Minister of State, Deputy James Browne, the Minister and all their colleagues a happy Christmas. I thank, as other colleagues have, all the staff in this institution, and the Minister's staff in the Department, who he has kept especially busy over the past period. The Mini…