I am here today in Seanad Éireann to present the Appropriation Bill 2025. The Appropriation Bill is a key component of the annual financial process and although it is technical in nature, it is of primary importance to the whole-of-year budgetary framework and must be concluded by both Houses of the Oireachtas before the end of this year. The Appropriation Bill has two crucial functions. The first is to legally authorise the expenditure which has taken place throughout 2025. The Appropriation Bill 2025 provides thi…

I echo what everyone else has said and wish everyone a happy Christmas. I thank all of the staff in the Houses of the Oireachtas who do an incredible job. They work long hours and nights. I hope everyone has a fantastic break. To echo Senator Davitt, it is always enjoyable to come into this House. The soothing atmosphere in this House is always welcome compared with other debates we have, inside and outside. I thank the Members for their support today. In response to Senator Andrews's contribution, the housing budg…

I thank the Deputy for raising this issue. I know it is something he has raised on many other occasions in relation to the Appropriation Bill. In terms of the wider practice, it is a Vote listed under my Department and it is also a Vote that can be used by other Government Departments in the context of the fund during the particular year. It is the only Vote operated in which the Oireachtas has waived its right to know precisely what the money has been spent on. It has always been the custom and practice not to dis…

I thank Deputy Ó Snodaigh. My understanding is that when auditing the secret service Vote, the Comptroller and Auditor General does not examine it in detail or comment on it for the Oireachtas. Instead, his office departs from the usual certification regarding the correctness of accounts and simply certifies that the amount shown in the account is supported by respective certification by the responsible Ministers. That is accepted as part of the wider discharging of responsibilities. The statement of internal finan…

The wider structure of the Vote is still a matter-----

I am informed "Acht Leithghabhála" is not the correct citation in Irish for the Bill. What has been used since 1923, which is the Short Title of the Bill, is the correct one. More generally, I defer to the Deputy's interest and knowledge of the language. When I was Minister for the Gaeltacht, he showed a interest in and passion for it, and I respect that. We obviously have a thread here, whereby this has been in consistent use for 100 years. I am told the Deputy proposed a similar amendment in 2023 and the Departme…

I move: "That the Bill be now read a second time." I am pleased to introduce the Appropriation Bill. The Bill is an important annual financial legislative instrument which must be enacted before the end of the year in order to give effect to the authorisation of voted expenditure through 2025 and to allow for the continuation of expenditure into 2026. The Bill has two primary functions. The first is to provide legal authorisation for all the expenditure that occurred in 2025 on the basis of the Estimates voted on b…

Gabhaim buíochas leis an Teachta Farrell. Last week, the Government published the Accelerating Infrastructure Report and Action Plan. It is a comprehensive programme of actions designed to speed up the delivery of critical infrastructure across the State. This action plan responds to well-documented challenges of lengthy development timelines, fragmented processes and rising costs. These have all been identified as major barriers to achieving Ireland’s housing, energy, and climate objectives. The report is evidence…

The first aspect is on the actions which relate to reform and the majority of them fall in 2026. We have tried to front-load the interventions and actions we make so we can see the benefits of having legal reform, regulatory reform and simplification, better co-ordination delivery and improved public acceptance. They are the four areas identified. Most of those are to be progressed in 2026. We have already set out the national development plan review, which the Deputy will know about, and sectoral plans have been p…

We have fronted up an investment and taking the investment profile over the next five years, it means we will be one of the biggest investors in infrastructure per capita in Europe and have about 5% GNI*. We have responded to that around the investment piece. However, there is a well-documented need and an evidence base to drive reform and infrastructure delivery and that is why there needs to be much more balance around regulation. We need to cut some rules, regulations and processes which are not adding value but…

As the Deputy is aware, the Protected Disclosures Act 2014 is Ireland's national whistleblower protection law. Significant amendments to the Act were signed into law in July 2022. The amended Act gives effect to EU Directive 2019/1937 and provides for the establishment of the Office of the Protected Disclosures Commissioner within the Ombudsman's office. As Minister, I am obligated to commence a statutory review of the Act no later than five years after the date of enactment, which is July 2027. That review must be…

I have had limited engagement on this matter with counterparts at an EU level. The directive has been transposed. Our Presidency in 2026 will allow opportunities for engagement on it. In the context of the review that will be happening in parallel, there will be a greater opportunity to take wider European feedback on this issue. We transposed the directive and legislation was enacted in 2022. Ultimately, I want to make sure, as I am sure we all do, that we have a system that works. It is timely to have a review th…

I will, of course, listen to and engage with whistleblowers. The review is really important, which is why we are bringing it forward from 2027 to 2026 to ensure we have broad feedback. They system I want to see operating is one that works for whistleblowers. As I said, we will be able to advance that next year.

The independent review panel on senior public service recruitment and pay determination processes was established in March 2022 and its report was published in June 2023. It found that pay determination of senior posts should consider best practice in terms of openness, transparency, accountability and the need for an objective evidence-based methodology. To this end, it recommended that an independent body be established to give independent advice to the Minister on remuneration arrangements for senior posts in th…

On a wider point, the budgets we implemented this year and in recent years are progressive. That is reflected in the SWITCH model the ESRI has around low-income deciles. The two lowest income deciles have been where the concentration of supports has been in terms of our response from a social protection perspective and the changes around income tax I made as Minister for Finance. We received recommendations from the independent senior posts remuneration committee. It is important we have a structured way to set sal…

The Deputy saw the recent budget and the intervention we made around child poverty. It was a significant intervention on child poverty, the biggest in years. That was the child support payment and it was done with the engagement of the sector. We want to address the issues with child poverty in our country. The facts are clear about the €300 million-plus expenditure on child poverty measures next year to try to narrow the gap. The Government, led by the Taoiseach and his Department, has put a real focus on child po…

Ultimately, we want utilities that have strong leadership and that are matched with the market median so we build an economy and State which can address child poverty and give people the support they require.

Last week, the Government published the accelerating infrastructure report and action plan. It is a comprehensive programme of actions designed to speed up the delivery of critical infrastructure across the State. This action plan responds to well-documented challenges of lengthy development timelines, fragmented processes and rising costs. These have all been identified as major barriers to achieving Ireland’s housing, energy and climate objectives. The report is evidence-based. It is built on the research and ana…

I appreciate the Deputy's advocacy for the Navan rail line. We have been there and have had extensive engagement with the Deputy's constituency on it. The Minister, Deputy Darragh O'Brien, has published the transport sectoral plan, which sets out the funding allocations for the next five years. He is keen to advance a lot of the ambition we have in the regions on rail infrastructure in particular. We have an allocation of €24 billion in the next five years for capital investment in transport infrastructure and ther…

The Single Public Service Pension Scheme is a statutory public service career-average defined benefit pension scheme. It was established under the public service pensions Act 2012. The provisions of the scheme are clearly set out in law. All new-entrant public servants hired after 1 January 2013 are members of the single scheme. The introduction of the scheme is instrumental in ensuring the sustainability of public service pensions, particularly in the context of improved life expectancy and rising public service e…