The Finance Bill will be brought forward to ensure it is passed before an imminent general election, Minister for Finance Jack Chambers has said.
The Bill will go before the Oireachtas on November 5th. In normal circumstances it would take until the end of November or the beginning of December to clear all stages.
“That’s clearly not going to happen. I’ll be updating the schedule and sequencing of the Finance Bill following the discussion of the party leaders and the main priority is to make sure that all of the measures in Budget 2025, supporting workers and the cost of living package, are progressed properly,” Mr Chambers said.
The three party leaders will sit down on Monday night to discuss a potential general election date, with November 29th and December 6th seen as the most likely contenders. Once the date is announced, the Finance Bill will be sequenced to ensure that it is completed and becomes law before the Oireachtas is dissolved.
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“I’m open and prepared to do that to ensure that all the measures announced in Budget 2025 are enacted. Separately, where there is now a consensus that the election will be held this year, the Finance Bill can be sequenced”.
Mr Chambers, who is also the Fianna Fáil director of elections, said the three Government parties will be putting forward separate manifesto and there will be no electoral pact.
“You will see clear differentiation and prioritisation through our manifesto which we will set out in the election campaign,” he said.
“I’m really ambitious around growing our representation around the country particularly on the big challenges of the last four and a half years. Fianna Fáil in Government took on the housing portfolio because it is the single biggest issue facing families in this country.
“We took on the challenges in health and education. Advancing public services was a key priority for us along with strengthening the enterprise economy ensuring that we can grow employment and build prosperity for the future.”
He paid tribute to retiring minister Heather Humphreys describing her as a “great loss to Irish politics”.
When asked if the large number of retiring Fine Gael TDs presented an opportunity to Fianna Fáil, he responded: “Fianna Fáil, when it comes to the next election, we have a high level of incumbency. We have very strong tickets for the country where we are targeting additional seats. We want to put forward our own agenda.”
Mr Chambers turned the sod on the 24-bed single room in-patient unit at St Francis Hospice in Raheny. The hospice has been given planning permission and will cost €29.8 million of which €9.8 million will come from Government funding.
Construction will start in the new year and should be completed by the end of 2026.
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