Results 1,441-1,460 of 2,180 for speaker:John Cummins
- Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Septic Tanks (11 Jul 2023)
John Cummins: I thank the Minister of State. My concern is with the timeline for the review, which has been going on for quite some time. It was my understanding that the review was completed. In his response, the Minister of State cited that 98% of all systems are now registered with local authorities, but the question is what percentage were registered before 1 February 2013. I would argue that it...
- Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (12 Jul 2023)
John Cummins: This morning I welcome the announcement that the sports capital and equipment grant programme will open to applications next Monday, 17 July. The programme has a few new features. The maximum grant available for local projects will increase from €150,000 to €200,000. The maximum grant for regional projects will increase from €300,000 to €500,000 and there are...
- Seanad: Wildlife (Amendment) Bill 2016: Motions (13 Jul 2023)
John Cummins: I thank the Minister of State for his work on this legislation. I put on record my thanks to my Fine Gael Seanad colleague, Senator Kyne, the former Minister of State, who put a significant amount of work into this legislation at the front end of the process. As evidenced by what has happened in the past hour, a significant amount of work has been done by the Minister of State's officials,...
- Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (26 Sep 2023)
John Cummins: I welcome the announcement made last week on the extension of the first home scheme to self-builds, which will be fantastic assistance to many young people looking to build their first home in rural Ireland. The issue of construction inflation has meant that many projects that were initially estimated to be of a certain budget, with mortgages approved for a certain figure, have gone much...
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Review of National Planning Framework and Climate Targets: Discussion (26 Sep 2023)
John Cummins: I thank the representatives of the four organisations for being with us today. We are on the right track in terms of the National Planning Framework, NPF. Ms O'Connor is right about the cycle and getting to the point we are at. We have the NPF, the regional spatial and economic strategy, RSES, and the county development plans but it has taken quite a number of years to get to the point we...
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Review of National Planning Framework and Climate Targets: Discussion (26 Sep 2023)
John Cummins: Yes, but is it accepted that just zoning a piece of land does not necessarily mean it will be built on?
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Review of National Planning Framework and Climate Targets: Discussion (26 Sep 2023)
John Cummins: What is the average conversion rate for planning? I ask this notwithstanding that we have put in an instrument, the residential zoned land tax, to try to bring forward many of these lands. In my estimation, though, we are probably looking at a maximum of 25% to 30% conversion, although it will be different in every area. Zoning and delivery are two different things.
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Review of National Planning Framework and Climate Targets: Discussion (26 Sep 2023)
John Cummins: However, that is what is happening.
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Review of National Planning Framework and Climate Targets: Discussion (26 Sep 2023)
John Cummins: No, I get the point. So, in short-----
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Review of National Planning Framework and Climate Targets: Discussion (26 Sep 2023)
John Cummins: -----Ms O'Connor's answer is "No".
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Review of National Planning Framework and Climate Targets: Discussion (26 Sep 2023)
John Cummins: I think that is a valid point concerning the servicing of land. We do have much land that is zoned but not serviced. This is a problem for the local authorities. If land is not serviced, or readily serviced-----
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Review of National Planning Framework and Climate Targets: Discussion (26 Sep 2023)
John Cummins: I know; that is correct. What about the difficulty now for some people in the context of the residential zoned land tax? If we were to take a farmer looking to offload a parcel of land, because he or she does not want to be caught by the tax, there is an issue in servicing that land or with the cost of servicing that land and that does not bring that land bank into use for development purposes.
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Review of National Planning Framework and Climate Targets: Discussion (26 Sep 2023)
John Cummins: Sure.
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Review of National Planning Framework and Climate Targets: Discussion (26 Sep 2023)
John Cummins: Is it serviced or serviceable?
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Review of National Planning Framework and Climate Targets: Discussion (26 Sep 2023)
John Cummins: I am not suggesting zoning an inordinate amount of land, but I am putting a point to Ms O'Connor regarding the data that emerged from the 2022 census, notwithstanding the requirement to have compact growth. We are seeing a prime example of such a context on the north quays in Waterford city, where the NTA has been involved in the context of the public transport network. This is an...
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Review of National Planning Framework and Climate Targets: Discussion (26 Sep 2023)
John Cummins: I am sorry-----