John Cummins

It is some stretch.

As it is my first time speaking after the Christmas break, I wish all Deputies a happy new year and a productive year. I thank everyone who has contributed today to what is a very important debate on water services. Our water infrastructure is part of our shared fabric as a society and it is rightly the subject of extensive democratic scrutiny both from the Oireachtas and our regulatory bodies. S…

I move: That the proposal that Dáil Éireann approves the following Regulations in draft: Planning and Development (Exempted Development (Act of 2000)) (No. 2) Regulations 2025, a copy of which has been laid in draft form before Dáil Éireann on 9th December, 2025, be referred to the Joint Committee on Housing, Local Government and Heritage, in accordance with Standing Order 103(5), which, not la…

Exactly.

They do not like it, do they?

Shout, shout, shout.

They do not like the truth.

They do not like the truth.

I thank the Deputy for raising what is a very distressing situation for the homebuyers who entered into contracts and indeed paid significant deposits for the purchase of 16 homes at Ringfort development in Rathmolyon, County Meath. I have read news reports as recently as this morning about this case. My deepest sympathies go out to those families. I understand the frustration they are facing. For…

As I said in my opening reply, I have great sympathy for those who are trying to purchase homes here and across the country. That is why the Government is putting supports in place like the one the Deputy mentioned, to support homebuyers in purchasing their first home. I would love to be able to solve this matter for the individuals and families in question. As he will appreciate, contractual and …

I thank the Deputy very much for raising this important matter. It gives me the opportunity to update the House on behalf of the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage. The Government fully understands and acknowledges the difficulties that homeowners and residents of many apartments and duplexes are facing and the stress that is caused when defects arise in their properties. The Gov…

Owners and renters deserve better. There is no question that these properties should not have been built to the standard that they were. They should have been built to a higher standard; that is a given. That is why the Government has committed to putting a significant remediation scheme in place to support the owners and renters in those properties to improve them and bring them up to an acceptab…

I thank the Deputy for raising this important matter. It gives me an opportunity to respond on behalf of the Minister for Health. The neuro-rehabilitation strategy implementation framework was launched in February 2019. The overarching aim of the strategy is the development of neuro-rehabilitation services to improve outcomes for people by providing safe, high-quality, person-centred neuro-rehabi…

The Deputy has articulated very well the importance of this service to her community in Louth and the entire north-east area of the country. There is a commitment in the programme for Government to ensure the continued roll-out of the neuro-rehabilitation strategy, and community teams form a critical element of that. Budget 2026 has invested significant additional moneys in this area. That will ha…

I thank Deputy Gogarty for raising this matter, which I am taking on behalf of the Minister, Deputy O'Donovan. Government investment in sport is essential to increase participation levels in all sports across all sectors of society. The allocation for the sports programme in budget 2026 is over €290 million, an increase of just under €60 million or 26% compared to the 2025 allocation. When the nat…

I thank Deputy Gogarty. It is obviously an exceptionally important project for his area that he has campaigned for over a significant period of time. I acknowledge the people that were previously involved, including his own dad, as he mentioned. Sport is really important, as are pools. I come from a sporting background myself in that I am a qualified physical education teacher. I understand the i…

I thank Deputy McGettigan very much for raising this important matter, to which I am responding on behalf of the Minister for Health. Improving access to home support is a priority for the Government. The overall budget for home support in 2025 is circa €838 million. This is the largest allocation ever for home support. It is an increase of nearly €122 million on the previous year and an increase …

As I said in my opening statement, budget 2026 will increase the number of hours provided for home support to 26.7 million, which is significantly more than what was provided in 2025. Nonetheless, I acknowledge the points the Deputy has raised. The Minister of State with responsibility for older persons and housing, Deputy O'Donnell, is committed to ensuring that where there are gaps in provision,…

It is not. It is true.

Yes.

I thank Deputy O’Hara for raising this important matter, which I am taking on behalf of the Minister of State, Deputy O'Sullivan, and the Minister, Deputy Browne. The bogs at Ardgraigue, Barroughter and Cloonmoylan are special areas of conservation in the Deputy's county of Galway. I reaffirm the Government's commitment to protecting Ireland’s valuable peatlands and to working with all stakeholder…

All I can do is take back what the Deputy has said to the Minister of State, Deputy O'Sullivan, and the Minister, Deputy Browne. I cannot give an indication of whether an application, if made, would be accepted. That would have to go through, I assume, an assessment process. It is not within my remit so I am not fully au fait with the process that would be involved. I re-emphasise that we are try…

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 memories th…

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 toughest jobs i…

Yes, we do.