John Cummins (born 29 June 1988) is an Irish

Fine Gael Fine Gael ( ; ; ) is a centre-right, liberal-conservative, Christian democratic political party in Ireland. Fine Gael is currently the third-largest party in the Republic of Ireland in terms of members of Dáil Éireann. The party had a member ...

politician who has served as

Minister of State at the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage The Minister of State at the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage is a junior ministerial post in the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage of the Government of Ireland who may perform functions delegated by the M ...

since January 2025 and a

Teachta Dála A Teachta Dála ( ; ; plural ), abbreviated as TD (plural ''TDanna'' in Irish language, Irish, TDs in English), is a member of Dáil Éireann, the lower house of the Oireachtas, the parliament of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. The official Engli ...

(TD) for the

Waterford Waterford ( ) is a City status in Ireland, city in County Waterford in the South-East Region, Ireland, south-east of Ireland. It is located within the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster. The city is situated at the head of Waterford H ...

constituency since the

2024 general election This is a list of elections that were held in 2024. The National Democratic Institute also maintains a calendar of elections around the world. * 2024 United Nations Security Council election * 2024 national electoral calendar * 2024 local electo ...

. He previously served as a

Senator A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or Legislative chamber, chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the Ancient Rome, ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior ...

on the

Labour Panel The Labour Panel is one of five vocational panels which together elect 43 of the 60 members of Seanad Éireann, the senate of the Oireachtas (the legislature of Ireland). The Labour Panel elects eleven senators. Election Article 18 of the Const ...

from 2020 to 2024.

Personal life and career

Cummins has a degree in Physical Education and Geography Teaching from the

University of Limerick University of Limerick (UL) () is a Public university, public research university institution in Limerick, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Founded in 1972, as the National Institute for Higher Education, Limerick, it became a university in Septemb ...

. He has taught in a number of schools, including in St. Paul's Community College in Waterford city. He was a member of the De La Salle

Scout Scout may refer to: Youth movement *Scout (Scouting), a child, usually 10–18 years of age, participating in the worldwide Scouting movement ** Scouts (The Scout Association), section for 10-14 year olds in the United Kingdom ** Scouts BSA, sect ...

Group in Waterford and was a member of the team which won the national Scouting competition for the first time in that group's history in 2000. He also served as National Youth Representative in

Scouting Ireland Scouting Ireland () is one of the largest youth movements on the island of Ireland, a voluntary educational movement for young people with over 45,000 members, including over 11,000 adult volunteers . Of the 750,000 people between the ages of 6 ...

. His father is former Fine Gael senator

Maurice Cummins Maurice Cummins (born 25 February 1953) is a former Irish Fine Gael politician who served as Leader of the Seanad and Leader of Fine Gael in the Seanad from 2011 to 2016. He was a Senator for Labour Panel from 2002 to 2016. He was first electe ...

Political career

Cummins was elected to

Waterford City Council Waterford City Council () was the authority responsible for Local government in the Republic of Ireland, local government in the city of Waterford in Ireland until 2014. As a city council, it was governed by the Local Government Act 2001. The ...

in 2009. In 2010, he was elected as Chairman of the South East Regional Authority. He served his first term as Mayor of Waterford in 2013; at the age of 25, he was the youngest person ever to hold that office. He was subsequently re-elected to the amalgamated

Waterford City and County Council Waterford City and County Council () is the local authority of the City of Waterford and County Waterford in Ireland. It came into operation on 1 June 2014 after the 2014 local elections. It is a merger of Waterford City Council and Waterfor ...

in 2014, and served his second term as mayor from 2015 to 2016. He was re-elected to the council in 2019. Cummins unsuccessfully contested the 2020 general election for the

constituency. He was subsequently elected at the

2020 Seanad election An indirect election to the 26th Seanad took place after the 2020 Irish general election, with postal ballots due on 30 and 31 March. Seanad Éireann is the upper house of the Oireachtas, with Dáil Éireann as the lower house of representative ...

as a senator for the

. He was appointed as the Fine Gael spokesperson on Housing, Local Government and Heritage by

Leo Varadkar Leo Eric Varadkar ( ; born 18 January 1979) is an Irish former Fine Gael politician who served as Taoiseach from 2017 to 2020 and from 2022 to 2024, as Tánaiste from 2020 to 2022, and as leader of Fine Gael from 2017 to 2024. A Teachta Dála, ...

. He lost the party whip in August 2020 following his involvement in the

Oireachtas Golf Society scandal The Oireachtas Golf Society scandal, also known informally as "Golfgate", was a political scandal in Ireland involving past and present members of that country's parliament, the Oireachtas, who attended a gathering of the Oireachtas Golf Society ...

, which saw him allegedly breach public health guidelines with regard to

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic. The symptoms of COVID‑19 can vary but often include fever ...

. The party whip was restored on 12 January 2021. All charges related to the event were later dismissed on 3 February 2022. At the

, Cummins was elected to the Dáil. On 29 January 2025, he was appointed as

with special responsibility for local government and planning.

References

External links

John Cummins' page on the Fine Gael website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cummins, John 1988 births Living people Fine Gael senators Members of the 26th Seanad People from County Waterford Members of Waterford City Council Alumni of the University of Limerick Labour Panel senators Fine Gael local councillors Fine Gael TDs Members of Waterford City and County Council Members of the 34th Dáil Ministers of State of the 34th Dáil