Minister denies Occupied Territories Bill 'shelved to appease US'

Vivienne Clarke

Minister for Public Expenditure Jack Chambers has denied reports that the Occupied Territories Bill will be “shelved” in a bid to appease the United States.

Speaking on Newstalk Breakfast, Mr Chambers said that the Programme for Government set out the position for the Bill. “We've said previously that it requires substantive amendments to be compliant with the EU and with our own constitution.

“The Programme for Government commitment is clear on progressing that legislation and the drafting work is continuing between the Department of Foreign Affairs and the Attorney General's office.

“The Bill, as it was previously drafted, requires substantive amendments to be compliant with European and national law, and that's why that work is ongoing between the Department of Foreign Affairs and the Attorney General's office, and the Programme for Government commitment on that is clear in the context and the work that has to happen on that particular piece of legislation.”

When asked about the potential impact of US tariffs on Ireland, Mr Chambers said it was too early to say what the immediate impacts could be when it comes to corporation tax receipts.

“This is where, I suppose, the tail effect of this will go on for a significant and extended period. For example, we may have continued strong receipts through this year, but we know there's downside risks into the coming years, and that's why the medium-term fiscal plan, which both myself and the Minister for Finance, Paschal Donohue, will be coordinating, would be really important that we don't add excessive amounts to our expenditure base or cut taxes when there's a medium-term risk."

Mr Chambers added: "We need to be very careful in how we calibrate all of our taxation expenditure and we need strong budgetary guardrails and fiscal discipline over the coming years. I've been absolutely repeating that since I've entered in as Minister for Public Expenditure. The focus for me is actually on capital expenditure and when you speak to any economist and people who examine the Irish economy, we need to protect capital investment to unlock economic growth for the future in strategic areas like water, energy, transport, and housing.

"And we know that some of the blockages in those particular areas are actually restricting investment decisions presently, and we need to make sure that competitiveness and investment in capital investment to the Irish economy actually drives infrastructure delivery, which allows us to diversify and embrace new economic opportunities.”