While it will take several weeks to assess the estimated €14 billion in funds, he reiterated that it will not be allocated for day-to-day spending.

Chambers, a Fianna Fáil TD, noted that although a final decision might not be reached by Budget Day on October 1st, it will follow shortly after. He emphasized that the focus will be on strategic long-term investments.

“We’ll be laying out the principles of how we manage that final allocation, whatever it ends up being,” he explained. “It will take months to finalize the amount, but we’ve made it clear that it won’t be used for daily expenditures.”

He stressed that the government should chart a course that enhances the economy’s long-term productive capacity and addresses infrastructural and other economic gaps, which will be evaluated in the coming weeks.

Though the exact timeline isn’t fixed, Chambers confirmed: “It may not be by Budget Day, but definitely shortly after.”

Chambers also criticized Sinn Féin’s proposal to spend €1 billion of the funds on projects in disadvantaged areas. He argued that Sinn Féin’s proposal contradicts their regular criticism of the economic policies that generated these funds.

“We’ve consistently supported disadvantaged communities,” he said during a Fianna Fáil event in Killiney. He pointed to the work done by Minister for Education Norma Foley in the DEIS scheme and other community-support initiatives.

He added: “Sinn Féin Is merely talking about how to spend the proceeds of an industrial policy they criticize every day. They oppose the enterprise policy that has led to these surpluses and the opportunity for further investment.”

Chambers concluded by asserting that when it comes to economic policy, voters in the next election will likely want to see continued investment in the state, in contrast to Sinn Féin’s approach, which he characterized as more focused on criticizing and, in some cases, dismantling the state.