Results 2,001-2,020 of 2,156 for speaker:John Cummins

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: ^ General Scheme of Electoral Reform Bill 2020: Discussion (Resumed) (30 Mar 2021)

John Cummins: It is Mr. Ó Broin's understanding. It would be very important for this committee to have a "Yes" or "No" answer to that question because my understanding from my analysis of the platform is that it is possible.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: ^ General Scheme of Electoral Reform Bill 2020: Discussion (Resumed) (30 Mar 2021)

John Cummins: I thank Mr. Ó Broin.

Seanad: Covid-19 Vaccination Programme: Statements (29 Mar 2021)

John Cummins: I will make one very brief point and ask a question regarding long-term illnesses such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, COPD, diabetes and cystic fibrosis. I understand some of those cohorts have been split in two, which has resulted in some confusion. A person from counties Kilkenny or Wexford might attend a consultant in counties Kildare or Dublin. Where will a person who falls...

Seanad: Residential Tenancies Bill 2021: Committee and Remaining Stages (29 Mar 2021)

John Cummins: On the proposal to extend the emergency provisions until October or December, both the Minister of State and the Minister are on record, in the Dáil and in this House last week, regarding the openness of the Department to consider a further extension, after July, should we find ourselves in circumstances that require it. When the Minister for Health was in the Chamber earlier, he...

Seanad: Residential Tenancies Bill 2021: Committee and Remaining Stages (29 Mar 2021)

John Cummins: To respond to the points just made, some people, albeit not in this House, have suggested that the Government should ignore the Attorney General and allow this to be tested in the courts. The Government must ensure that any legislation which passes is proportionate, legal, constitutional and not open to challenge. The Attorney General has been quite clear in his advice to the Government...

Seanad: Residential Tenancies Bill 2021: Motion for Earlier Signature (29 Mar 2021)

John Cummins: I move: That, pursuant to subsection 2° of section 2 of Article 25 of the Constitution, Seanad Éireann concurs with the Government in a request to the President to sign the Residential Tenancies Bill 2021 on a date which is earlier than the fifth day after the date on which the Bill shall have been presented to him.

Seanad: Residential Tenancies Bill 2021: Second Stage (26 Mar 2021)

John Cummins: I thank the Minister of State for his presentation of the Bill to the House and for the urgency with which he and the Department have brought it before the Houses. I suspect there will be some criticism of the decision made last week by the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Housing, Local Government and Heritage to waive the pre-legislative scrutiny process but it is important to state that...

Seanad: Residential Tenancies Bill 2021: Second Stage (26 Mar 2021)

John Cummins: I do not know what the Senator is referring to.

Seanad: Residential Tenancies Bill 2021: Second Stage (26 Mar 2021)

John Cummins: Next Monday.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: General Scheme of Electoral Reform Bill 2020: Discussion (Resumed) (23 Mar 2021)

John Cummins: I confirm that I am in Leinster House. It is easy to say that this is the most important legislation that will come before the committee, but I believe that it is because having a secure, comprehensive and accurate electoral register is fundamental to democracy and that without it, we are at nothing. The current register is wholly inadequate. I have beside me a portion of the 120 letters...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: General Scheme of Electoral Reform Bill 2020: Discussion (Resumed) (23 Mar 2021)

John Cummins: Does Mr. Sunderland believe that it is proportionate in the interests of the integrity of having a secure, comprehensive and accurate register? That is the question. Is that Mr. Sunderland's view? Is that the view of the commission?

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (22 Mar 2021)

John Cummins: I echo many of the comments my colleague, Senator Dolan, made on the outdoor recreation infrastructure scheme announced this morning by the Minister, Deputy Heather Humphreys. In my county of Waterford, €370,000 has been allocated to upgrade and enhance a section from Clonea Road to Ballynacourty, a spur off the Waterford greenway, which is a fantastic amenity that I think everybody...

Seanad: National Development Plan: Statements (22 Mar 2021)

John Cummins: I will try to make six minutes into two minutes. I thank the Minister. I will try to be brief and confine my points. The national development plan in the context of the national planning framework is very important for areas such as County Waterford, which is identified as one of the strategic areas in the national planning framework for population growth of 30,000 to 35,000 between now...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Waiver of Pre-Legislative Scrutiny of Residential Tenancies Bill 2021 (16 Mar 2021)

John Cummins: I confirm that I am in Leinster House. I agree with much of what the Chair and Deputy McAuliffe said. I know it is Cheltenham week but I am not willing to gamble with protections for renters. We have protections in place. If we do not waive this pre-legislative scrutiny, we risk these protections. I am not willing to take the chance of people being left in a legislative lacuna where...

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (12 Mar 2021)

John Cummins: In December, I raised on the Order of Business the matter of Waterford City and County Council's application to the urban regeneration and development fund, and I do so again this morning to highlight the necessity of Government support for what I believe will be a transformative regeneration project for Waterford city centre, focusing on 22 projects across the Viking triangle and cultural...

Seanad: Family Leave Bill 2021: Second Stage (12 Mar 2021)

John Cummins: Before I start, I had better assure my Government colleagues that I have not joined the Opposition benches; it is just the seat I have been assigned. I welcome the Minister to the House. It is the first time I have had the opportunity to engage with him on legislation and I join with others in complimenting him on bringing forward this Bill, which is going to have a positive and profound...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: General Scheme of the Affordable Housing Bill 2020 (Resumed): Land Development Agency (9 Mar 2021)

John Cummins: To confirm, I am in Leinster House. I will begin by thanking Mr. Coleman and his growing team at the LDA for their presentation and for the work they are doing. Mr. Coleman probably addressed a lot of the negative commentary in respect of the LDA, which I believe has been unjustified, in the first round of questioning. One element he did not get to address, which I would like to give him...

Seanad: Private Rental Sector: Motion (8 Mar 2021)

John Cummins: I second the amendment. I do not propose to stand here for six minutes and pretend there are no issues in housing; there are. Likewise, I do not propose to say there are sufficient affordable homes available for working families and individuals because there are not. Equally, however, I do not propose to sit here for the next two hours listening to Sinn Féin pontificate about...

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Water Quality (5 Mar 2021)

John Cummins: I thank the Minister of State for his attendance and his continued work across his portfolio. The issue I raise this morning relates to the estimated 11% of Irish people who get their water from private water supplies. As the Minister of State will be aware, varying levels of grants are available under the rural water programme for the carrying out of works to private water supplies, be...

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Water Quality (5 Mar 2021)

John Cummins: I welcome the changes that were introduced last year. They were a recognition of the real costs involved. I also welcome the review. I hope what I have suggested in terms of inserting the "and-or" clause in recognition of the higher costs for treatment, in particular in areas where water quality is poor, will be fed into the review. I also hope the review will have a successful outcome....