Ministers to be warned over spending amid economic uncertainty

Irish Times

5 days ago

Cabinet Ministers are to be warned of their responsibility to ensure value for money when they authorise the spending of public funds this year.
In the midst of a period of global economic uncertainty, Minister for Public Expenditure
Jack Chambers
is to remind colleagues they will have to stay within the
budgetary ceilings
set for them in 2025.
The
Fianna Fáil
Minister will tell Cabinet on Tuesday that a total expenditure ceiling of more than €100 billion was announced as part of
Budget 2025
covering all Government departments.
He will say all Ministers must be prudent with public money. The responsibility for staying within budget will be extended to agencies that come under the responsibilities of their departments.
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The memo will be received as a warning shot to Ministers and their departments about breaching spending ceilings. While some sectors, especially health, have spent more than was allotted in their vote, it is understood there will be less tolerance for departmental overspending during 2025.
The Government is also poised to give a green light for a multibillion dollar blueprint aimed at dramatically changing the face of Dublin city centre within a decade.
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Taoiseach
Micheál Martin
will bring a memo to Cabinet seeking approval for a 10-year roadmap that will include an ambitious regeneration of the social housing stock, 1,000 extra gardaí on its streets, as well as a project to change the historic GPO building into a major hub on O'Connell Street.
The roadmap, prepared by senior civil servants, is based on the work of the
Dublin city Taskforce
, the body established to examine potential rejuvenation mechanisms.
There have been calls to revitalise the city centre over many years amid rising concerns over public safety, crime, antisocial behaviour, drug-taking, litter and no-go areas. Those concerns came to a head during the riots that occurred around the O'Connell Street area of the north inner city in November 2023.
The Taoiseach will seek approval to set up a 'special purpose vehicle' under Dublin City Council to implement the plan . A project management office will also be established.
The historic GPO complex will be revamped as an ambitious flagship project with cultural, retail and office elements, the memo will outline.
The
recommendations of the taskforce report
in October 2024 included the rejuvenation of O'Connell Street and its surroundings, the regeneration of social housing complexes, putting high-density accommodation into derelict sites, and stationing 1,000 more gardaí in the area.
Mr Martin will also brief Cabinet on a group asked to implement a report on conveyancing on probate. Its main recommendation was to reduce the processing time for probate to eight weeks and to fully implement e-conveyancing by 2027.
The group was asked to come up with a practical way of implementing the recommendations and is expected to do so by December.
Minister for Health Jennifer Carroll MacNeill will seek approval for new legislation ensuring a minimum standard of patient safety in Irish hospitals.
The Patient Safety (Licencing) Bill 2025 will require public and private hospitals to operate to minimum core standards.
Minister for Higher and Further Education James Lawless will bring a progress report on policy aimed at delivering 750 public sector apprenticeships each year.
Significant progress has been made, the document will say, with registrations rising from 67 in 2022 to a projected 554 in 2025.
Mr Lawless will also bring a memo that changes the standards of State-supported student accommodation. The model will provide for the greater use of shared facilities such as twin rooms, communal kitchens and shared bathrooms replacing the current reliance on individual en-suite units.