John Cummins

With all due respect, I did not interrupt the Deputy. Nobody here has a monopoly on compassion when it comes to the difficulties and challenges being faced by individuals and families regarding the shortage of housing supply, whether social, affordable or rental. At my constituency offices in Waterford city and Dungarvan, I deal with constituents in the exact same way as do other Deputies. The Min…

They are not listening.

Deputy Clendennen has engaged with me on this matter. He has made the point fairly and forcefully that we should not have a cliff edge with Shannonbridge. We have provided €1.7 million to Offaly County Council over the last number of years and that will be the case this year. I have asked my officials to engage with Offaly County Council and with Longford County Council. Deputy Carrigy has also be…

The Minister has outlined the broad thrust of the Bill and I am now going to focus specifically on its provisions. The Bill contains 31 sections. Sections 1, 3, 4 and 25 contain standard provisions dealing with the definitions, Short Title, commencement, collective citations and construction of the Bill. Sections 2, 9 and 23 provide for the repeal of the RPZ provisions and make consequential tec…

It is Waterford, which is very dependent on tourism.

I am not nodding.

I am sorry but, just because the Deputy is saying I am nodding, it does not mean I am. I know he is saying that for the camera but I am not nodding.

I thank Deputy Gould for raising this very important matter. I am happy to have the opportunity to discuss the regeneration on the northside of Cork city on behalf of the Minister, Deputy Browne. The regeneration of social housing is a matter, in the first instance, as the Deputy knows, for local authorities. It is their responsibility to identify an opportunity to advance regeneration programmes…

What I said in my response was that the current programme runs until 2028 and they are the projects that the council have put forward for the regeneration, which encompasses 121 units that have been completed, 165 units that are on site, and 127 units that are in pre-construction phase. We in the Department will always assess any application that comes in from local authorities, be they turnkey ho…

We would have more if the Deputy did not object to them.

Stop objecting to them.

Stop objecting.

One of them. What about the other ten or 12?

How did that go in Berlin?

Deputy Ó Broin has no respect for the Chair or this House.

I thank Deputy Gogarty. The Government, as he said, recently published its new housing plan, Delivering Homes, Building Communities, which aims to deliver 300,000 new homes by the end of 2030. Under pillar 1, it says that to increase the supply of additional housing, action 4.8 commits to increasing the number of development types that are exempt from planning, in order to ensure we have the flexi…

I welcome the Deputy's comments in relation to this proposal, which is being advanced by Government. I expect to have these domestic exemption regulations before the joint Oireachtas committee around Easter time and enacted and enforced thereafter. I have never once said that this is a solution to the housing crisis. This is about providing options for people where they feel it appropriate. There …

I note the Deputy's comments but, for the avoidance of doubt, unless there are explicit exemptions, the rules are the rules around planning. We have indicated our intention to bring forward this proposal. We have not set out the exact parameters of that. The current rules in regard to planning are the current rules until they are exempt. I indicated that to the joint Oireachtas committee when I wa…

I thank the Deputy for raising this matter. Delivering Homes, Building Communities 2025-2030 is Ireland’s new housing plan. It is a wide-ranging action plan, focused on housing supply and targeting homelessness. The plan is centred on eight priorities, one of which includes increasing skills and supporting the adoption of modern methods of construction, MMC, in the residential construction sector,…

I thank the Deputy. I note the comments from the Minister, Deputy Browne, about the developer-provided infrastructure element and the commitment Deputy Cahill has shown in raising constructed wetlands consistently in this House. There is a very good example of it in my constituency in Dunhill, County Waterford. In relation to the modular systems, we are going to provide planning exemptions to all…

I have been consistent on exempted development regulations and the provision of modular units. I never once said this is the solution to the housing crisis. This is about providing options for people. Who is it for anybody in this Chamber to try to dictate to people who may wish to put in a modular home if they believe that is appropriate for them? Everything we are trying to do in terms of plann…

I thank the Minister for bringing us through the progress that has been made on water service delivery, including the record levels of investment in the water sector. I welcome the opportunity to speak on water again this week. I will focus on water quality and policies. Water is our most valuable resource. It is vital to our health, our economy and our environment. Securing a safe and reliable wa…

I will have my office circulate them.

This is promised legislation.

Of course I have read it.