Results 2,041-2,060 of 2,163 for speaker:John Cummins

Seanad: Covid-19 (Transport): Statements (26 Feb 2021)

John Cummins: I welcome the Minister to the House. While there are many challenges across the transport sector, not least in aviation, which I know we will speak about soon, but in the coach tourism sector and across the tourism sector as a whole, there are also many opportunities. The upgrade of the N24, which Senator O'Reilly referenced in her contribution, is one of those opportunities I would like to...

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Disability Services Provision (22 Feb 2021)

John Cummins: I thank the Minister of State for taking this matter, which I have had tabled for consideration for several weeks. I am glad to finally have the opportunity to raise it. Notwithstanding the response given to a parliamentary question last week indicating positive news regarding a new multidisciplinary early intervention and respite care centre for children with complex additional needs on...

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Disability Services Provision (22 Feb 2021)

John Cummins: I thank the Minister of State for her confirmation again this morning that the project is to advance as part of the capital plan. As she rightly stated, this is a facility for our most vulnerable young citizens and the timelines that are set down are not adequate, given that this project is to only go out to tender at the end of 2022. It is February 2021 now. I see no reason not to proceed...

Seanad: Councillors' Pay: Motion (22 Feb 2021)

John Cummins: No. We are withdrawing the amendments.

Seanad: Councillors' Pay: Motion (22 Feb 2021)

John Cummins: I welcome my party colleague, the Minister of State, Deputy Peter Burke, to the House. I thank him for his commitment and dedication to resolving this long-standing issue of pay for county councillors. There is cross-party support for this motion, which is most welcome. Although the amendments tabled by the Fine Gael group are not being moved, those amendments are not without merit as they...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: General Scheme of the Affordable Housing Bill 2020: Discussion (Resumed) (16 Feb 2021)

John Cummins: I am first up for Fine Gael.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: General Scheme of the Affordable Housing Bill 2020: Discussion (Resumed) (16 Feb 2021)

John Cummins: I confirm I am in the Leinster House complex. I welcome Mr. O'Connor, Dr. O'Toole , Dr. O'Connell, Mr. Cahill and their colleagues to this meeting. My first question is in regard to Dr. O'Toole's concluding remark in his opening statement that credit market supports such as the shared equity scheme and other interventions may indeed lower credit constraints by facilitating home purchase for...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: General Scheme of the Affordable Housing Bill 2020: Discussion (Resumed) (16 Feb 2021)

John Cummins: There is a third.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: General Scheme of the Affordable Housing Bill 2020: Discussion (Resumed) (16 Feb 2021)

John Cummins: I am sorry to interrupt, but I am conscious I am running out of time. Could Dr. O'Toole address the supply in the UK and the report by the National Audit Office of a 14.5% increase? As he stated, we cannot just take two elements of the scheme and comment on them, we must take all three of them in the round.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: General Scheme of the Affordable Housing Bill 2020: Discussion (Resumed) (16 Feb 2021)

John Cummins: Does Dr. Slaymaker accept that according to the report there was a 14.5% increase in supply? We say supply is the most important element and we have a measure showing that it has been proven to increase supply by 14.5%.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: General Scheme of the Affordable Housing Bill 2020: Discussion (Resumed) (16 Feb 2021)

John Cummins: I am sorry.

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (15 Feb 2021)

John Cummins: I join other Senators in welcoming the news of €16.3 million in funding for maintenance and renewal of the road network in my county of Waterford, which is on top of the €13.8 million given last week by the National Transport Authority, NTA, for active travel measures. It is significant funding which will make a huge difference across our city and county and make the job of...

Seanad: Remote Working Strategy: Motion (15 Feb 2021)

John Cummins: I welcome the Minister of State, Deputy English, to the Chamber. I echo the comments of my colleague on Senator Currie and the fantastic work she did in this area before it was popular to do so. There is no doubt we are in an era of change. Covid-19 has probably accelerated the move towards remote work and remote learning. It has probably accelerated it by several years. It was going to...

Seanad: Mental Health and Covid-19: Statements (12 Feb 2021)

John Cummins: I join my colleagues in welcoming the Minister of State to the House. It is always good to have a constituency colleague in the hot seat. She has a challenging role and I wish her the best with it. There is no question that Covid-19 has had a devastating impact on individuals and families throughout our country. Attention has been paid to our elderly and our young people because they have...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: General Scheme of the Affordable Housing Bill 2020: Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage (9 Feb 2021)

John Cummins: I thank Mr. Quinlan, Mr. Nicholson and all the team at the Department. The legislation is a long time in gestation. It is very welcome that the area is being prioritised. If we are honest, it is probably an area that has not received a massive amount of attention as the focus has been on social housing. The social housing output has been increasing considerably. It takes a long time to...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: General Scheme of the Affordable Housing Bill 2020: Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage (9 Feb 2021)

John Cummins: Mr. Quinlan is correct in his response. The intention is that the cost rental model would be part of wider social housing development. We cannot forget that the goal should always be to have mixed tenure. We saw the problems which existed in the past when we focused on one type of tenure. Let us not forget private development in that context. The mantra that seems to be put forward all...

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Institutes of Technology (8 Feb 2021)

John Cummins: I welcome the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science to the House and thank him for taking this Commencement matter in person. I wish to acknowledge the interest and determination of the Minister in ensuring that Waterford and the south-east region finally achieve the long-held ambition to have a university of international standing. I wish to put some...

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Institutes of Technology (8 Feb 2021)

John Cummins: I thank the Minister and appreciate his comments about wanting to expand the footprint of the campus in Waterford. That is an important commitment that he has put on the record of the House. I look forward to engaging further with him on that process. The Minister mentioned distributed leadership in the context of the headquarters and the new university, which is important. While I...

Seanad: Special Education Provision: Statements (8 Feb 2021)

John Cummins: I put on record my thanks to the Minister of State, her Department and her staff for the significant work and commitment that they have put in, night and day. I know that from the communications that we have had. They have worked to get students with additional needs back to in-person learning in the classroom. I have worked in this area for many years as a secondary school PE teacher. We...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: General Scheme of Electoral Reform Bill 2020: Discussion (Resumed) (2 Feb 2021)

John Cummins: I thank our two guests, Dr. Reidy and Dr. Suiter, for their insightful contributions. They made a good point about non-voted expenditure versus voted expenditure and the committee will have to reflect on it in compiling our report on this legislation. They were quite critical of the heavily prescribed nature of the structure and function of the commission and gave examples of other...