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Coalition discuss NDP review spending allocations

Coalition discuss NDP review spending allocations

RTÉ News​6 days ago
Coalition leaders met last night to finalise additional spending allocations for the Review of the National Development Plan.
The plan, due to be announced on Tuesday, will contain spending of €97bn between 2026 and 2030.
That includes an additional €20bn of new funding which has been financed by the sale of AIB shares and back-tax paid by iPhone-maker Apple.
The meeting last night was attended by Taoiseach Micheál Martin, Tánaiste Simon Harris, Minister for State Sean Canney, Minister for Public Expenditure Jack Chambers and Minister for Finance Paschal Donohoe.
The review will contain spending on housing, water, energy and transport.
Next week Minister Chambers will tell Cabinet colleagues that there is uncertainty around global trade and that the threat of tariffs by US President Donald Trump poses "significant risk".
He will say that the best way to safeguard the economy and increase competitiveness is to address the country's infrastructure deficits.
Uisce Éireann has said it needs an additional €2bn on top of €10.3bn already allocated for capital spending.
ESB Networks says it needs an additional €1bn in equity as part of its €13.4bn spending plan.
It is understood there will also be funding for Eirgird, the body which operates the electricity grid.
Tuesday's publication will set out departmental capital ceilings up to 2030 and overall capital investment until 2035.
Government Ministers will outline the specific programmes and investment they will prioritise as part of Budget 2026 in October.
The publication of the review follows weeks of bilateral meetings and engagements between different Government departments and Minister Chambers' Department of Public Expenditure, as well as a public consultation.
Ministers will also be briefed on work being progressed to reform the country's delivery systems so that project life cycles can be reduced and better value for money can be achieved.
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Ireland faces 15% tariff reality as EU-US deal takes shape
Ireland faces 15% tariff reality as EU-US deal takes shape

RTÉ News​

time3 hours ago

  • RTÉ News​

Ireland faces 15% tariff reality as EU-US deal takes shape

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Miriam Lord's Dáil end-of-term awards: from cute hoors to rookie errors and good operators
Miriam Lord's Dáil end-of-term awards: from cute hoors to rookie errors and good operators

Irish Times

time4 hours ago

  • Irish Times

Miriam Lord's Dáil end-of-term awards: from cute hoors to rookie errors and good operators

School's out for summer. Some TDs are skipping lightly home with their end-of-term report cards. Others are losing their schoolbags and hoping nobody notices. It's no big thing this year. Continuous assessment is how it goes in politics; and where the class of 2025 is concerned their Dáil and Seanad journeys are just beginning. The general election may have happened last November, but business in both Houses of the Oireachtas only started in January. Business proper took months to get going thanks to the mammoth opening schmozzle over independent deputies who signed up to support the Government muscling in on the Opposition's speaking rights. READ MORE The row derailed Micheál Martin's big day in the Dáil when his election as Taoiseach had to be abandoned amid chaotic scenes in the chamber. The rules were tweaked to allowed these independents, along with government backbenchers, a chance to table questions to the Taoiseach directly after the Opposition's slot. 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This didn't stop the Taoiseach striking a deal with Lowry and his group of Regional Independent TDs who became, in the words of Mary Lou McDonald, 'the wobbly leg of the Coalition stool'. Taoiseach Micheál Martin struck a smart deal with independent TDs. Photograph: Dara Mac Dónaill Micheál bagged a cohort of supporters with benefits who will remain loyal once they are minded, further cementing his government's grip on power. As he will probably bow out at the next election, if not before, the Lowry stroke won't come back to bite him. As to the kingmaker formerly known as the disgraced deputy for Tipperary North, he's thrilled with himself. He couldn't look happier if he was giving the two fingers to that Dublin socialist, Paul Murphy. 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He revealed that student fees 'as things stand' were likely to go up by a whopping €1,000. Chaos ensued. It could have been worse for James as angry constituents piled around the country with complaints about higher fees. But when Fine Gael began muttering about the increase, pressure eased on the Kildare North TD. Amid talk of a rift between the two coalition parties, the FF deputies circled the wagons around James and rallied to his defence. (Even if they were privately raging.)

Fianna Fáil decision on presidential candidate a long time coming
Fianna Fáil decision on presidential candidate a long time coming

Irish Times

time4 hours ago

  • Irish Times

Fianna Fáil decision on presidential candidate a long time coming

So what's going on in Fianna Fáil when it comes to the presidency? Is the party going to have a candidate, or not? When will it decide? And who might it be? Taoiseach and party leader Micheál Martin has been studiously ambiguous for months on the subject. The only thing he has been clear about – as he confirmed again this week – is that he will not be a candidate. Other than that, there's been a lot more questions than answers. Meanwhile, there has been an avalanche of speculation about potential candidates. It started with former taoiseach Bertie Ahern . The former minister Mary Hanafin is openly seeking the nomination, while Donegal TD Pat the Cope Gallagher has also been mentioned, as has – just this week – Eamon Ó Cuiv, the former minister and grandson of the party's founder (and former president) Éamon de Valera. None have received much enthusiasm from either the party's TDs or the wider organisation. Will Fianna Fáil and Sinn Féin abstain from the presidential race? Listen | 40:42 Elsewhere, the name of the Northern academic Prof Deirdre Heenan has been floated – reported this week as a 'front-runner' – as has the former leader of the SDLP, Colum Eastwood. More exotically, the former Ireland footballers Niall Quinn and Packie Bonner have been mentioned. Joe Duffy has ruled himself out. Michael Flatley has very much not – his lawyer told the judge in a long-running court case involving the former dancer that he intends to make a bid for the presidency. READ MORE Pick your own name and throw it into the mix; sure, everyone else is doing it. The lack of any direction from the party leadership has led to a sort of open season for anyone to propose themselves or someone else. Some of these are credible possibilities; many are not. So what's happening? After several in-depth conversations with a series of senior party figures, all conducted on the condition that they would remain anonymous, it's possible to say three things with confidence about Fianna Fáil and the presidency. Fianna Fáil will probably – but not certainly – run a candidate The idea that the party has to run a candidate, especially if Sinn Féin runs its candidate, is one that is forcefully rejected by all sources. Fianna Fáil will make its own decision on its candidate, without reference to the existing or likely field. The question will be whether it has a viable contender that it can get behind, not a certain winner but a real contender, not what other parties are doing. The example of Gay Mitchell, who, despite being the representative of a then-dominant Fine Gael, bombed in the 2011 election, is much cited. Sources agree that the party would like to run a candidate, but would prefer not to run a candidate than run a poor candidate. The decision will not be finally made until September and the principal decision-maker will be Martin The Taoiseach has said he will consult the parliamentary party, but nobody is under any illusion about who gets the final say. His dominance of the party is such that any decision he makes – including not to run a candidate, a possibility which sources say he is quite comfortable with – will be accepted, even though some grumbling is inevitable, whatever happens. He may well spend time during August pondering the question, but not all of it. The eventual candidate, if there is one, is very unlikely to be any of the names floated so far Despite the claims made for some of the potential candidates, sources say with certainty that none of them has captured Martin's imagination. And several of them are not taken seriously at all. Martin retains, it is said, an open mind but it is felt unlikely that a current or even retired politician will be selected. The 'help wanted' sign is still on his door.

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