Results 1,521-1,540 of 2,156 for speaker:John Cummins

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Housing Provision for Older People: Discussion (10 May 2022)

John Cummins: I agree with Ms Timmons. When we think of older persons accommodation we think straightaway of the bungalow but that is not necessarily the most appropriate land use. We have excellent schemes and St. John's College in Waterford is one of those. There is a scheme in Manor Hill, Waterford, that consists of 71 units to be delivered through the repair and lease scheme, which will be...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Housing Provision for Older People: Discussion (10 May 2022)

John Cummins: It is slow though.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Housing Provision for Older People: Discussion (10 May 2022)

John Cummins: We need to have that mix. It has to be that.

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (4 May 2022)

John Cummins: Let me continue on the theme of higher education, as raised by my colleague, Senator Malcolm Byrne. I wish to mark and acknowledge the occasion yesterday in the south east when the Minister visited the campuses of the new South East Technological University, SETU. The sense of positivity and optimism among the staff and students was palpable. There are many people who have worked for...

Seanad: Planning and Development (Amendment) (No. 2) Bill 2022: Second Stage (6 Apr 2022)

John Cummins: I welcome the Minister of State, Deputy Burke, to the House. I thank him and his officials for bringing forward this short but important and complex legislation. It is important in the context of regularising and, in the case of unauthorised development, remediating developments such as quarries that may have cropped up over the course of a significant period of time without planning...

Seanad: Planning and Development Act 2000 (Exempted Development) (Number 2) Regulations 2022: Motion (30 Mar 2022)

John Cummins: I move: That Seanad Éireann approves the following Regulations in draft: Planning and Development Act 2000 (Exempted Development) (Number 2) Regulations 2022, a copy of which has been laid in draft form before Seanad Éireann on 23rd March, 2022.”

Seanad: Planning and Development Act 2000 (Exempted Development) (Number 2) Regulations 2022: Motion (30 Mar 2022)

John Cummins: I welcome the Minister of State, who is here in place of the Minister of State, Deputy Peter Burke. These are very important regulations as continue to grapple with the pandemic, though the severity of it is less. It is an important and prudent move by Government to ensure we can continue to provide testing and vaccination centres to the public. As the Minister of State rightly indicated,...

Seanad: Regulation of Providers of Building Works and Building Control (Amendment) Bill 2022: Second Stage (30 Mar 2022)

John Cummins: I welcome the Minister of State to the House. It is a significant and lengthy Bill that runs to 65 sections, as he referenced. That is why he has not managed to get through all of his speech thus far. The Bill and its provisions are contained in the Housing for All policy document produced by the Government. It is an important measure to put the register on a statutory footing....

Seanad: Regulation of Providers of Building Works and Building Control (Amendment) Bill 2022: Second Stage (30 Mar 2022)

John Cummins: Next Tuesday.

Seanad: Support to Ukraine: Motion (30 Mar 2022)

John Cummins: I thank my Fine Gael colleagues for their work on this Seanad Private Members’ motion, which we hope is as broad and encompassing as possible in condemning the unacceptable aggression by Russia on Ukraine’s sovereign territory. There is no question that this invasion is an unprovoked attack on Ukraine's people and an outrageous and immoral breach of the most fundamental and...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Social and Affordable Housing: Discussion (Resumed) (29 Mar 2022)

John Cummins: I welcome the witnesses. I wish to put on record my thanks for all the work that is done right across the country by all their employees, both in the local authority sector and within the AHB sector, on delivering much-needed homes for individuals and families. I have a few questions. I will start with the LGMA. The eligibility threshold for the single-stage approval process was...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Social and Affordable Housing: Discussion (Resumed) (29 Mar 2022)

John Cummins: There are many examples of schemes in that territory that absolutely could go through the single-stage approval process. I hear many people criticise the four-stage process, saying it adds significant delays. Deputy Ó Broin referred to it just a short time ago. There is, however, a mechanism for those smaller schemes and it is not being used by the local authorities. They must start...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Social and Affordable Housing: Discussion (Resumed) (29 Mar 2022)

John Cummins: After six months. A unit is completed and sits there for six months, so I-----

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Social and Affordable Housing: Discussion (Resumed) (29 Mar 2022)

John Cummins: If there is some confidence in that respect, there should be something to give comfort on the back end. That is the appropriate way to go about this. I turn to the AHBs and the Housing Alliance. I think some people would be surprised by the number of AHBs there are. I believe the last count, or the returns for the end of quarter 3 of last year, showed there were 450 AHBs in the country....

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Social and Affordable Housing: Discussion (Resumed) (29 Mar 2022)

John Cummins: It is an interesting area in which to get answers.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Social and Affordable Housing: Discussion (Resumed) (29 Mar 2022)

John Cummins: Maybe six. Is that what the alliance is suggesting?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Social and Affordable Housing: Discussion (Resumed) (29 Mar 2022)

John Cummins: Mr. Taaffe might regret telling us that.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Social and Affordable Housing: Discussion (Resumed) (29 Mar 2022)

John Cummins: I will take up where Deputy McAuliffe left off in regard to AHBs. Other European countries were cited in the context of cost-rental accommodation. Is it true to say that in those European countries, cost rental would not be solely in the remit of AHBs and that low-cost ethical funds are providing cost-rental accommodation as well?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Social and Affordable Housing: Discussion (Resumed) (29 Mar 2022)

John Cummins: It would not be the sole provider.