John Cummins (Waterford, Fine Gael)

I thank the Senator for his remarks. I appreciate them. As he knows, it is an area I know well from my 11 years having served on local authorities and the five years I sat on the Oireachtas joint committee with the Senator. I am being honest here.The performance by some local authorities in this space is unacceptable to me as Minister of State. I have had the honest and frank conversations. I have called out the best and worst performers in that NOAC report, but there are plenty in the middle as well that also need to up their game because an average relay time of 35 weeks at a time of such need for the public outside of these Houses of the Oireachtas is unacceptable. Local authorities have to drive efficiencies and performance in this space. They need to reduce their relay times. While they must ensure, obviously, that those properties are to an acceptable standard as per the regulations, if it is a weigh-up option between going over and above what is required and taking an extra 20 weeks to do so or doing what is required under the regulations and getting someone into that property at a time of such need, for me, the latter is my priority and that of the Minister, Deputy Browne. It is a message that I am delivering and will continue to deliver in local authorities around this country because it is what the public and politicians in this House and chambers around the country expect. I will support them in that.