Minister of State for Planning & Local Government and Waterford Fine Gael representative, John Cummins TD has expressed his shock and sadness relating to the fire at the old Jute Factory site in Waterford City overnight. Waterford Fire Services have brought a major fire which broke out at the commercial premises in Tycor on Saturday evening, May 9th under control. The building has been extensively damaged and fire services operations continue at the site this morning, as memb

Minister of State for Planning & Local Government, John Cummins TD has welcomed this morning’s announcement that over 24,000 Waterford schoolchildren are set to benefit from €4,025,765 worth of funding under the 2026/27 Free School Books Scheme. 24,254 students at both primary and post-primary level across a total of 96 Waterford schools will benefit from the scheme. 13,965 children at primary level across 76 Waterford schools will avail of €1,095,600 of Government funding –

Minister of State for Planning & Local Government, John Cummins TD has welcomed continued growth in housing delivery across County Waterford, as new figures show local completions increased by 7.3% in the first quarter of 2026 compared with the same period last year. More than 1,000 new homes have also commenced construction in Waterford over the last twelve months, underlining sustained momentum in housing supply across the county. Nationally, Central Statistics Office (CSO)

Minister of State John Cummins has today welcomed the funding announced for Waterford City and County Council to progress work to get interim flood relief measures in place in Passage East and Tallow, as well as approval for a flood study in Colligan and approval for a flood wall at Duckspool, Dungarvan. The funding of €141,525 will support the local authority to carry out the assessments required on the properties and businesses to provide protection barriers in Passage and

Minister of State for Planning & Local Government, John Cummins TD has welcomed news that 12 new special classes will be in place across a variety of Waterford schools for the 2026/27 academic year. An additional 32 special classes have been sanctioned by the Department of Education today, bringing to 464 the overall number of new special classes sanctioned for mainstream schools nationwide for 2026/27. In Waterford, new classes will be established in the following school

Minister of State for Planning & Local Government, John Cummins TD was joined by Fine Gael colleague, Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Martin Heydon TD in Waterford on Thursday, April 26th for a series of engagements at local level. The first stop on the day was to Dunmore East, as a meeting was held between the respective Ministers and the Dunmore East Harbour Master at their offices in the East Waterford village, to discuss a number of issues. From there,

Minister of State for Planning & Local Government, John Cummins TD has welcomed news that housing commencement figures in Waterford have exceeded 1,000 units in the last 12 months. Recent figures published by the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage have outlined that a total of 1,039 homes commenced construction in Waterford in the period from April 2025 to March 2026. The number of homes commenced in Waterford during this period is the fourth highest in

Minister of State for Planning & Local Government, John Cummins TD will today turn the sod marking the official commencement of works on a major upgrade to a water treatment plant in Ballinamuckin West Waterford. The €29.5 million water treatment plant will deliver a safe, robust, and resilient drinking water supply for homes and businesses across Dungarvan and the surrounding areas. Minister Cummins said: “This investment will make a real difference to daily life for peo

• New landmark aviation operations officially launched at Waterford Airport Minister of State for Planning & Local Government, John Cummins TD has welcomed the official commencement of Search and Rescue aviation operations by Bristow Ireland Ltd, at an official launch event held at Waterford Airport this afternoon. The commencement of this landmark 10-year contract will provide for the day and night-time operation of four helicopter bases served by six AW189 helicopters, in

New Fire stations for Tallow and Kilmacthomas 6 new Fire Appliances & Support Vehicles Minister of State for Planning & Local Government, John Cummins TD has today confirmed an allocation of €8.7m worth of funding to Waterford City & County Council, that will lead to the construction of brand-new state-of-the-art fire stations for two communities in County Waterford and the acquisition of fire tender appliances, support vehicles and equipment. A new fire station will be c

Minister of State for Planning & Local Government, John Cummins TD has welcomed progress on the much-needed treated water storage project in Lismore. He confirmed that Uisce Éireann will seek permission for the project in the next couple of weeks. The project will now go through the statutory planning process as part of Uisce Éireann’s ongoing programme of work in Lismore to strengthen and protect the local drinking water supply. Minister Cummins said: “I have worked exte

Minister of State for Planning & Local Government, John Cummins TD has welcomed the expansion of the Vacant Property Grantwhich is aimed at tackling above shop vacancy. Under new measures which were signed off by Cabinet today, this extended grant aims to bring underutilised space above existing commercial premises into use as homes. The Vacant Above The Shop Grant, will provide potential funding of up to €135,000 to convert vacant space into residential use, where the comm

• 19 housing units will comprise of a mix of 3 & 4 bed homes starting at €300,000. Waterford Fine Gael Minister John Cummins has announced approval for two further Affordable Purchase schemes, which will be constructed in both Crooke and Kilmacthomas. Approval has been issued to Waterford City and County Council from the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage for 9 three-bed units in Crooke and 10 units (5 three-bed units and 5 four-bed units) in Kilmacthoma

Minister of State for Planning & Local Government, John Cummins TD today (Friday March 20 th ) attended the official launch of a series of landmark Safe Routes to School projects across County Waterford – which will provide safe, sustainable and healthy transport options to school communities in Butlerstown and Kilmacthomas. A series of engagements began at Scoil Mhuire National School in Butlerstown. As part of the Safe Routes to School Programme, €300,000 was provided by Go

Minister of State for Planning & Local Government, John Cummins TD has welcomed this morning’s announcement that €1,474,020 has been allocated to bring more local authority homes back into use in County Waterford. Minister Cummins said that the Voids Programme Funding is making more efficient use of our existing housing stock, which will bring more homes back into active use throughout the county. “The Voids Programme supports local authorities in making vacant homes read

Minister of State for Planning & Local Government and Waterford TD John Cummins has today announced just over €4 million in funding for Housing Adaptation Grants for Older and Disabled People across Waterford. Minister Cummins secured a 30% increase in funding on last year’s allocation from his own Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage. The Department will provide over €3.45 million in funding and Waterford city and county council will contribute over €600,000,

Minister of State John Cummins has announced the activation of a significant new partnership between builders and Uisce Eireann to speed up wastewater infrastructure to unlock housing supply in Waterford and across the country. The new initiative allows developers to construct water infrastructure to Uisce Eireann standards for up to 40 units allowing builders to help with the acceleration of housing delivery where existing Uisce Eireann wastewater treatment capacity is not

Minister of State for Planning & Local Government, John Cummins TD has welcomed this morning’s announcement that rural roads in County Waterford are set to benefit from funding of €506,930 under the Local Improvement Scheme. Minister Cummins noted today’s announcement provides €17.55 million for rural roads across the country, which marks an increase of €2 million for the scheme. “I’m delighted to see funding announced for rural roads and laneways in Waterford. The fundin

Minister of State for Planning & Local Government, John Cummins TD has welcomed the announcement that Waterford airport will be eligible for operational funding support under the regional airports programme, once scheduled passenger services resume. The publication of the new Regional Airports Programme 2026-2030 today confirms the continuation of various capital and operational funding supports for safety, security and sustainability at Ireland’s regional airports, ultimatel

Minister of State for Planning & Local Government, John Cummins TD has welcomed news that commencement figures in Waterford for January 2026 are the highest in Ireland. The Department of Housing. Local Government and Heritage today published the monthly commencement figures for January 2026 including the usage levels of modern methods of construction. In January 2026, 2,046 units were commenced nationwide. This represents an increase of 73% compared to the same month last yea