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Tánaiste Micheál Martin tells Ben Scallan he “takes issue” with IFAC’s suggestion that the Budget isn’t serious.
Enterprise Minister Peter Burke tells Ben Scallan that “the landscape is littered with NGOs” that don’t represent the public’s views, and he adds that the Government will be “forensically” looking at groups that receive State funding in the context of #Budget2025.
Agriculture and Fisheries Minister Charlie McConalogue defends increasing the total fisheries budget by €7m to a new total of €177m in #Budget2025, arguing that “it’s a very significant investment”. Question by Ben Scallan. Question by Ben Scallan.
Gript’s Ben Scallan asks Public Expenditure Minister what “lessons” exactly have been learned from successive cost overruns on State projects. #Budget2025
Just 4 months ago, 33-year-old Jack Chambers (a medicine graduate) was appointed Finance Minister of Ireland. Ben Scallan asks what it was like to head right into #Budget2025 having just taken up the job. Chambers replied that the €13bn in Apple money was a “challenge”.
Gript’s Ben Scallan asks how the State will avoid cost overruns on the Dublin Metro. Ministers Eamon Ryan & Ossian Smyth reply that projects like the National Broadband Plan are on-budget because they “balanced risk” between the State & the contractor as part of the agreement.
It was recently revealed that the OPW’s modular homes for Ukrainians had doubled in cost from €200k to €436k. Housing Minister Darragh O’Brien said that this doubling in cost “frustrates” him, adding that ‘lessons should be learned’. Question by Ben Scallan.
Integration Minister Roderic O’Gorman announced “additional funding” to help “receive and accommodate” asylum seekers in #Budget2025. Asked how much the State has spent already on asylum accommodation since the start of the Ukraine war, he replied: “I can get that for you.”
Minister Heather Humphreys denies that the government announcing the biggest Social Protection budget ever right before an election is an attempt to buy votes: “It’s about supporting people.” Question by Ben Scallan
The Small Firms Association, which seeks to represent Irish small businesses, tells Gript ahead of the budget that in recent years businesses have been hit with an “avalanche of regulation”.
Robert Tyler of New Direction says that the West needs to be “confident” and “stand up” for it’s “values” against those who would welcome it’s decline.
Recently Taoiseach Simon Harris and Housing Minister Darragh O’Brien said that there’s a link between housing issues, homelessness and immigration. Minister Roderic O’Gorman pushed back on this notion, but refused to outright say his colleagues were wrong.
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