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 importance of having …
TDs / John Cummins
John Cummins
Minister of State at the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage
Portrait: © Houses of the Oireachtas (Oireachtas (Open Data) PSI Licence) · source file
5
questions asked
Oral and written, to government departments
74,724
words spoken in the chamber
74,684 as a minister, 40 as a TD
361
votes recorded
Each Yes, No or Abstained in a recorded vote
3
topics asked about
Across 2 departments
From the Dáil chamber only: committee meetings are not in this archive.
What they ask about
The subject headings the Oireachtas filed their questions under.
Who they ask
The departments their questions were addressed to.
Month by month
Low months are usually recesses, when the Dáil does not sit. The archive runs to 22 October 2026.
Questions asked 5 in all
Dec 2024Oct 2026
Contributions to debates 264 in all
Dec 2024Oct 2026
Show as a table
| Month | Questions | Contributions |
|---|---|---|
| December 2024 | 0 | 0 |
| January 2025 | 5 | 0 |
| February 2025 | 0 | 4 |
| March 2025 | 0 | 6 |
| April 2025 | 0 | 5 |
| May 2025 | 0 | 18 |
| June 2025 | 0 | 25 |
| July 2025 | 0 | 13 |
| August 2025 | 0 | 0 |
| September 2025 | 0 | 2 |
| October 2025 | 0 | 34 |
| November 2025 | 0 | 19 |
| December 2025 | 0 | 1 |
| January 2026 | 0 | 18 |
| February 2026 | 0 | 19 |
| March 2026 | 0 | 21 |
| April 2026 | 0 | 11 |
| May 2026 | 0 | 31 |
| June 2026 | 0 | 8 |
| July 2026 | 0 | 19 |
| August 2026 | 0 | 0 |
| September 2026 | 0 | 6 |
| October 2026 | 0 | 4 |
Debates they spoke in most
Plus 162 contributions in the regular slots, such as Leaders' Questions and Priority Questions. Speech from the chair is not counted.
Asked about similar topics
Not enough questions on record to compare.
Party, constituency and offices
- constituency Waterford 29 November 2024 to now
- party Fine Gael 29 November 2024 to now
- office Minister of State at the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage 29 January 2025 to now
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 of over 70% when com…
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, including in County…
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 stakeholders. As the Deputy wil…
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 trying to progress the …
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 that go with that, con…
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 in politics, progress…
Yes, we do.
The Deputy's time is up.
Settle down, settle down.
Half a billion is not billions.
Ah, stop.
That is an outrageous statement.
They are available for self-builds too.
I thank Deputy Gould for the question.
Addressing vacancy and dereliction is a key priority of the Government. The vacant homes action plan published in January 2023 set out a range of actions to be taken to return vacant and derelict properties back to use as homes. The 2025 progress report shows significant progress has been made and it is available on the Department's website.
The CPO activation programme encour…
It is certainly my expectation that the report will be published this month. That is what my officials advise me.
Local authorities have a role in pursuing the owners of vacant and derelict properties. They can issue notices and where those notices are not acted upon, the properties are included on the register and levies are applied. The Deputy will be aware that in yesterday's budget announcement, a derelict prope…
To be honest, that is just a bluff of a response as well because the Deputy is well aware that the organisation and role of local authorities in this is important. He knows about the schemes, including the vacant property refurbishment grant, the repair and leasing scheme and the buy and renew scheme.
I did not interrupt the Deputy.
All the schemes that are in place are to bring those properties back into use. What we announced in the budget yesterday was a derelict property tax-----
Once again, I did not interrupt the Deputy.
With all due respect, I did not interrupt the Deputy so I would appreciate the courtesy of allowing me to reply.
We are introducing that tax as the stick that will come if the carrot of those schemes has not been used. CPOs have a role to play. The issuing of the notices and instructing the owners of those properties to bring them back into use and activate them is also a tool some local authorities are using to goo…
No problem.
No problem.
As the Deputy will be aware, I have no ability as Minister of State with responsibility for planning to place a pause on any type of planning application, be that for housing, wind energy, infrastructural projects or any other type of development. The 2006 wind energy development guidelines will remain in force pending the finalisation of revised guidance, which is currently subject to a focused review by my Departme…