The Big Déise Interview - Minister John Cummins: 'I can see the full picture of what is going to happen in Waterford'
Minister of State John Cummins. Photo: Joe Evans
Although a first-time TD, Minister of State for Local Government and Planning John Cummins is no new kid in politics.
He followed in his father’s footsteps and was first elected to Waterford City Council in 2009 at the age of 21.
The younger Cummins was elected as mayor twice, once at the end of his first term and then again following his reelection and after the amalgamation of the two councils to form Waterford City and County Council in 2014.
The then councillor retained his seat in the 2019 local elections but contested the 2020 general election and was beaten.
Nevertheless, it was onwards and upwards, with Minister Cummins' election to the Seanad, where he became the spokesperson for housing, local government and heritage.
Then he successfully contested the 2024 general election.
“To be honest, I was blown over by the huge support. To get over 10,300 number one votes, it was a fantastic endorsement of the work I have been doing and my team has been doing, and the party have been doing across Waterford. And it has certainly been a whirlwind since then," said Minister Cummins.
Straight out of the gate, he was assigned to the negotiation team for the Programme for Government.
And from there, he was made the Minister of State for Local Government and Planning.
“It is a huge honour to be in the role I’m in. I love my job. I love assisting people, and I love influencing decision-making, and that’s why I get up out of bed every single day and work exceptionally hard."
But according to the new Minister of State for Local Government and Planning, it is not just he who has moved up in the world, but Waterford too.
“All of the jigsaw pieces and I have done interviews like this over the last 10 years where I have said I can see the full picture of what is going to happen in Waterford over the next decade or more and it is about getting those jigsaw pieces in place and we are now seeing that jigsaw come together with all of the investment being made," said Minister Cummins.
But most of you, dear readers, would have something (or many things) to say about that.
So, when the Minister for State sat down with the Waterford News and Star this week, we asked him about some of the issues that matter most to the people of the Déise.
Perhaps top of your list would have been the airport meeting last Wednesday, which did not go as smoothly as everyone had hoped.
However, Minister Cummins said there were positives from the meeting.
He said everyone now knows what they need to do, and there is engagement with the Department of Transport.
The Minister said the project must go through a series of gateways in the expenditure code, and that we can “argue the process” but it won't get the job done.
"That is frustrating, but it is a pathway to deliver this project, so that is what I am interested in doing. It’s getting through those gates to ensure that this project is delivered for the people of Waterford and for the people of the south east."
Minister Cummins said he wanted to assure the people of Waterford that the extension of the runway at Waterford Airport is in the Programme for Government, and he will work to ensure it is delivered.
“It’s a government commitment in the Programme for Government. It’s there because I ensured it was there. It was in my party’s manifesto, and as I said, I was a member of the negotiation team,” said Minister Cummins.
Last month at the official opening of St Otteran’s Integrated Healthcare Hub, the Minister for Health, Jennifer Carroll MacNeill, said that she hoped the recruitment for 24/7 cardiac care would be completed by the end of the year.
Cardiac care at UHW has been a long time in the making, and people are rightly concerned.
According to Minister Cummins, it was always going to be a long process.
“We have made huge progress in terms of cardiac care. I have always said it will be built incrementally.
“We went from having a situation where we had one cardiac cath lab delivering 9am-5pm cover five days a week to 8am-8pm five days a week, a second Cath lab, and a refurbished original lab now delivering care 8am-8pm seven days a week.
“That weekend care cannot be underestimated,” said Minister Cummins.
He said the staff needed are highly skilled and very sought after, but that 24 hour cardiac care is a priority for the Minister for Health, in line with the Programme for Government.
“We are very clear, this will happen at UHW,” said Minister Cummins.
The airport and cardiac care aside, there have been some major developments in Waterford, especially over the last few weeks.
One such achievement was the installation of the Sustainable Transport Bridge, a process that enthralled locals and visitors alike. And the naming of the bridge has captured the imagination of even the most casual observer.
We asked the Minister of State if he had any hopes for the name for the bridge, and he said that was a matter for the council.
But he did say the project has been “transformational” for the city and region.
“It has been a sight to behold to see the crane come in and lift the four sections. I can remember when the drawings were presented first in relation to the project, and we were arguing over getting the funding.
“And there were many points along the line where people said we wouldn’t be able to knock the flour mill. We wouldn’t be able to carry out the CPOs, and we wouldn’t be able to get Government support for the project. But all of those hurdles were jumped,” said Minister Cummins.
He said that perhaps the project has felt a little “removed” in the city, because most of the work is being done on the Ferrybank side.
“But what the installation of the bridge has done is brought the project to the southside of the river for everybody to see,” said Minister Cummins.
Another development finally realised was the turning of the sod on the new engineering building at SETU. Minister Cummins said it was wonderful to see all those involved with SETU direct and lead the university.
He said the turning of the sod was a great to see as was the awarding of two new programmes, veterinary medicine and pharmacy studies.
He also said it was positive that the Irish Strategic Investment Fund is partnering with the Frisby Group to develop the old glass factory site, and he said the IDA are also working to help create jobs to complement the work at the university.
The Minister said such developments keep talent in the south-east region and attract new talent.
“I have and will continue to work very closely with Veronica and Paddy and the entire leadership team to build further infrastructure and course development at SETU," said Minister Cummins.
When asked about the current uncertainty around student fee increases, the Minister said no decision has been made on that.
But he said there have been reductions in the contribution fee over the past few years.
“There is a clear commitment in the Programme for Government to reduce the student contribution charge and the overall cost of going to school, and we have made huge strides in that at primary and secondary level,” said Minister Cummins.
If you visit Waterford Courthouse any day of the week, there will be a criminal court sitting, and a cursory glance at social media will tell you that crime is a major concern for people living in Waterford.
In 2021, Waterford became part of a pilot programme to replace the Waterford Joint Policing Committee with a Community Safety Partnership. The JPCs brought together the gardaí, councillors, TDs and other stakeholders, like the PPN, every quarter to go over the local crime statistics as well as raise concerns of the community. The press covered these meetings with the hope that the public understood the crime in the area and what was being done to tackle it.
We asked the minister if he thought the abolition of the JPCs had left a gap in the public’s access to crime information.
The Minister said he sat on his local JPC in his time as a councillor, and they were “not perfect”. The new partnerships, he said, add a practical level to crime prevention and addressing harm in communities.
“I think the Community Safety Partnerships do, over and above the JPCs, is say not just crime but overall safety is not just the responsibility of An Garda Síochána. It is the responsibility of so many stakeholders, and having all of those stakeholders in one room together is what is important,” said Minister Cummins.
The Minister also said the Community Safety Partnerships use, in part, funding from the proceeds of crime. That means the partnership can identify the needs of the community and use money collected for harm to be used for good.
“It’s a good model and it will take time to embed in,” said Minister Cummins.
Part of the new Minister of State’s portfolio is a national review of local government. Anyone who regularly attends council meetings will tell you that councillors have, for some time, been concerned about their diminishing power.
We asked if that was something his department was looking at changing, Minister Cummins said a new Local Democracy Taskforce has been set up to look at “rebalancing of power between the executive and the elected members”.
“It is the elected members who stand before the people every five years and get elected. They have reserved functions, but are there reserved functions that are not being used? If they aren’t being used, why aren’t they being used?
“Are there reserved functions there in name only, and in reality, they can’t exercise those reserved functions? Can we unblock those?
“So, those are all of the things that the taskforce will be examining, and I look forward to bringing forward those changes to government because I understand local government. I served in local government for 11 years,” said Minister Cummins.
One example we put to the minister was from earlier this year when the Dungarvan-Lismore District Council held a special meeting on the Scart Mountain windfarm planning application. Councillors were greatly concerned that, should the project go ahead, it would be devastating for the area. But, as it is a strategic infrastructure of national importance, it is up to Coimisiún Pleanála on whether it will go ahead, not the local authority.
The council and its elected members can only make recommendations, despite being the people who know the county best.
Minister Cummins said he is legally precluded from commenting on individual applications.
But he did say: “I don’t think we are ever going to be in a situation where councillors will be making decisions on individual planning applications, that wouldn’t be appropriate. But as is the case with any member of the public, they are fully entitled to make their views known on any planning applications," said Minister Cummins.
