Results 1-20 of 2,457 for speaker:John Cummins

Seanad: Housing Finance Agency (Amendment) Bill 2025: Committee and Remaining Stages (22 Oct 2025)

John Cummins: I thank Senator Conway. Unfortunately, I have to oppose the amendment he has tabled as local authorities are subject to an annual borrowing cap of €118 million, which is set by the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage, and reserving €300 million, or 20% of the proposed €1.5 billion as is set out for in this legislation, for smaller authorities would...

Seanad: Housing Finance Agency (Amendment) Bill 2025: Committee and Remaining Stages (22 Oct 2025)

John Cummins: I thank Senators for their attention to this albeit short but important Bill over the past couple of days to ensure that we have an increase in the statutory borrowing limit from €12 billion to €13.5 billion, which I am advised will facilitate the construction of an additional 5,500 homes by approved housing bodies across the country. It is a very significant albeit short piece...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Traveller Accommodation (21 Oct 2025)

John Cummins: The Housing (Traveller Accommodation) Act 1998 provides that the role of my Department is to ensure that there are adequate structures and supports in place to assist housing authorities in providing accommodation for Travellers, including a national framework of policy, legislation and funding. The Act provides that housing authorities have statutory responsibility for the assessment of...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Traveller Accommodation (21 Oct 2025)

John Cummins: Budget 2026 provides an allocation of €34 million for the delivery of accommodation and supports for the Traveller Community. The Revised Estimates Volume (REV) for Public Services (REV) will be published later this year providing further details on the 2026 allocations for my Department, including for Traveller accommodation.

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Departmental Data (21 Oct 2025)

John Cummins: Local authorities are under a statutory obligation to levy rates on any property used for commercial purposes in accordance with the details entered in the valuation lists prepared by Tailte Éireann under the Valuation Act 2001, as amended. The levying and collection of rates are matters for each individual local authority. Information in relation to the collection of commercial...

Confidence in the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade: Motion (15 Oct 2025)

John Cummins: I have known Simon Harris since we were both approximately 19 years of age. Even then, before he entered politics, you could tell he was someone different, someone with a genuine desire to make a difference. It has always been obvious that Simon got involved in public life because he cared and was committed to helping others. As Minister for Health, Simon Harris took on one of the...

Reform of the Defective Concrete Redress Scheme: Motion [Private Members] (15 Oct 2025)

John Cummins: I thank colleagues for their important contributions here today. I echo many of the comments made by the Minister, Deputy Browne, when he emphasised this Government's commitment and determination to tackle the challenges faced by homeowners living with the scourge of defective concrete blocks. I cannot imagine what it must be like for people to see the home they have built, and all the...

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: Wind Energy Guidelines (15 Oct 2025)

John Cummins: My Department is currently undertaking a focused review of the 2006 Wind Energy Development Guidelines. The review is addressing a number of key aspects of the Guidelines including noise, setback distance, shadow flicker, community obligation, community dividend and grid connections. My Department, in conjunction with the Department of Climate, Energy and the Environment (DCEE), which has...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Local Government and Heritage: Planning and Development (Exempted Development (Act of 2000)) Regulations 2025: Discussion (14 Oct 2025)

John Cummins: I am joined by Mr. Brian Loughlin, assistant principal officer in the planning division, Mr. Paul Hogan, assistant secretary in planning, and Mr. Bill Callanan, from the environmental policy section of the Department of agriculture. I thank the committee for affording me the opportunity to present these proposed regulations. The Planning and Development (Exempted Development (Act of...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Local Government and Heritage: Planning and Development (Exempted Development (Act of 2000)) Regulations 2025: Discussion (14 Oct 2025)

John Cummins: These exemptions were introduced in 2018. In the period up to the end of 2024, which is the latest data we have, there were 1,457 notifications from developers intending to avail of the exemption. That equated to 3,429 houses across the country. A significant number of dwellings have been provided as a result of the exemptions that are in place, removing the need for people to go for...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Local Government and Heritage: Planning and Development (Exempted Development (Act of 2000)) Regulations 2025: Discussion (14 Oct 2025)

John Cummins: That is something that I will keep under review. The existing regulations had an end date of 2025. In amending that, we are trying to give certainty to 2028. As I said in my opening statement, these guidelines will have to be transferred under the 2024 Act and at that point, I will be able to remove the end date and keep the overall regulations under consideration in that space.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Local Government and Heritage: Planning and Development (Exempted Development (Act of 2000)) Regulations 2025: Discussion (14 Oct 2025)

John Cummins: Nine is the total that can be converted under the existing regulations. We are giving certainty to the sector now by extending it out to 2028 and those are the regulations that have been in place since 2018. In 2022, we included former pubs into the exemption, which has been hugely successful. Nine is the number. We can keep it under review in the context of the 2024 Act and bringing in...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Local Government and Heritage: Planning and Development (Exempted Development (Act of 2000)) Regulations 2025: Discussion (14 Oct 2025)

John Cummins: Of course.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Local Government and Heritage: Planning and Development (Exempted Development (Act of 2000)) Regulations 2025: Discussion (14 Oct 2025)

John Cummins: Yes.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Local Government and Heritage: Planning and Development (Exempted Development (Act of 2000)) Regulations 2025: Discussion (14 Oct 2025)

John Cummins: The Deputy might help me in going back through some of those because there was a lot in there. The first question was on animal housing. The rationale is that the direction of travel is that we require more space for animals than what was there. These have not been updated in the past 24 years. It is a reasonable increase in terms of the space requirement that would be there. There are...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Local Government and Heritage: Planning and Development (Exempted Development (Act of 2000)) Regulations 2025: Discussion (14 Oct 2025)

John Cummins: They do not change. They are in the existing regulations, which have been working well up to now. I do not see any need to change them. On slurry storage, it is about the efficient management of slurry and manure on farms to ensure that they are used when it is the most appropriate time for them to be used. It is also about farmers having adequate capacity on their farms. It could be...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Local Government and Heritage: Planning and Development (Exempted Development (Act of 2000)) Regulations 2025: Discussion (14 Oct 2025)

John Cummins: Everything that is constructed for slurry storage capacity has to be done in accordance with Department of agriculture guidance that is in place. This is regardless of whether a farm is availing of a TAMS grant. That is there. On the nitrates regulations that are in place, there are setback distances in the same way there are for the housing of animals. With water quality in general, the...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Local Government and Heritage: Planning and Development (Exempted Development (Act of 2000)) Regulations 2025: Discussion (14 Oct 2025)

John Cummins: I had a judgment to make in relation to coming before the committee with the regulations that are before us. I could have waited until that process was fully completed, sought a meeting in the committee, which has a busy schedule, and then brought it before the Dáil and the Seanad. I am trying to move things along. I do not believe that everything has to always be done sequentially....

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Local Government and Heritage: Planning and Development (Exempted Development (Act of 2000)) Regulations 2025: Discussion (14 Oct 2025)

John Cummins: Will the Deputy say that again?