Results 941-960 of 4,010 for speaker:Jennifer Whitmore

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (12 Oct 2023)

Jennifer Whitmore: It is seven weeks into the school term and it appears that there are still more than 200 students in County Wicklow who do not have seats on their school buses. I use the word "appears" because it is impossible to get information from the Minister for Education.

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (12 Oct 2023)

Jennifer Whitmore: More than 200. It is impossible to get information from the Minister for Education on this matter. I have repeatedly asked her for details in relation to it. The Ceann Comhairle will agree with me on the responses from the Minister. Parents need clarity and an honest response from the Department as to whether their children will get places on school buses at all. Will the Tánaiste...

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (12 Oct 2023)

Jennifer Whitmore: Particularly a meeting.

Financial Resolutions 2023 - Financial Resolution No. 4: General (Resumed) (11 Oct 2023)

Jennifer Whitmore: I have always tried to be constructive when it comes to climate, the environment and nature. I hope the Ministers agree with that. It is an area I am passionate about and an area where I have spent my entire adult life either working or studying. Yesterday's budget was the most disingenuous ever when it comes to matters of climate and nature. Everyone was so happy to see the...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (5 Oct 2023)

Jennifer Whitmore: Last year, the Minister, Deputy O'Gorman, said he wanted to halve childcare fees over two budgets. Given that he is the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth, with the power to slash fees, there was an assumption that he was serious about that promise to parents. It started out well, with an average 25% reduction last year, but cracks have appeared in the...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (5 Oct 2023)

Jennifer Whitmore: When parents are dependent on two incomes to pay rent, a mortgage, soaring energy bills and all the costs associated with having a new baby, they decide that one parent must remain at work. This does not mean that fathers do not want to spend this important time with their newborns, they just cannot afford to. The Government could do something about that. It could commit and do bigger...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (5 Oct 2023)

Jennifer Whitmore: I am not talking about the budget in total, I am talking about the childcare element of it.

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (5 Oct 2023)

Jennifer Whitmore: The Tánaiste can try to muddy the waters as much as he likes but the context that is important here is that the Minister made a commitment to reduce the cost of childcare for parents by 50%. That was the promise and that was the commitment. The question now for the Government is whether it is actually going to meet that commitment. That is the only question the Tánaiste had to...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (5 Oct 2023)

Jennifer Whitmore: What we have seen is that over successive governments, the role of parents is forgotten-----

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (5 Oct 2023)

Jennifer Whitmore: -----and the impact of having a new family is forgotten by the Government. Is the Government going to meet its commitment to reduce childcare costs by 50%? All the Tánaiste has to say is "Yes" or "No".

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (5 Oct 2023)

Jennifer Whitmore: "Yes" or "No".

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (5 Oct 2023)

Jennifer Whitmore: Will the Government meets its commitments, "Yes" or "No"?

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (5 Oct 2023)

Jennifer Whitmore: The commitment was to 50%.

Select Committee on Communications, Climate Action and Environment: Energy (Windfall Gains in the Energy Sector) (Cap on Market Revenues) Bill 2023: Committee Stage (5 Oct 2023)

Jennifer Whitmore: I absolutely support this and think it is a very simple measure that could be brought in. Indeed, it is one of the very few measures on which we can make amendments, so it would be a precedent if the Minister of State took it on board. One of the issues I raised during the debate was the need for transparency on the profits that were being made by different entities, and something like...

Select Committee on Communications, Climate Action and Environment: Energy (Windfall Gains in the Energy Sector) (Cap on Market Revenues) Bill 2023: Committee Stage (5 Oct 2023)

Jennifer Whitmore: I fully support this amendment as well. It is an issue I raised in the Dáil with the Minister of State. The timeframe is way too short and is not going to capture comprehensively the absolutely obscene profits made during that period. I note the Minister of State has said he received legal advice prior to December 2022, on extending that period. The legal advice specified that it was...

Childcare Fees: Motion [Private Members] (3 Oct 2023)

Jennifer Whitmore: I thank Sinn Féin, specifically Deputy Funchion, for bringing forward this motion. The Deputy has worked collaboratively on the Joint Committee on Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth, focusing on issues relating to children and their welfare. What is in the Sinn Féin motion is not a surprise to anyone. The majority of people recognise that childcare costs are...

School Transport 2023-2024: Statements (3 Oct 2023)

Jennifer Whitmore: It is more than five weeks since parents in Wicklow were told the school bus service for which they had applied and paid, and on which they relied, was no longer available for their children to get them to school. Parents were left in the lurch. Very little information was given to them. No reason was given as to why this happened or when it would be resolved. Many parents, unfortunately,...

An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (3 Oct 2023)

Jennifer Whitmore: There is hardly a greater avoidable tragedy in Irish society than child poverty. It destroys and limits lives. It affects everything, including emotional development, educational attainment, mental health, physical well-being, career opportunities and income in later life. Poverty does not just contribute to bad outcomes. It has a direct and negative causal impact on children,...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Skills: Current and Future Plans of the School Building Unit: Department of Education (3 Oct 2023)

Jennifer Whitmore: I thank the Cathaoirleach Gníomhach for allowing me to speak today because it is great to have the opportunity to have face-to-face engagement with the Department. I have had many discussions with the Department via parliamentary questions and emails. I primarily want to raise the issue of capacity in the Greystones area. We have seen a very significant population growth there of...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Skills: Current and Future Plans of the School Building Unit: Department of Education (3 Oct 2023)

Jennifer Whitmore: Which they do, to be fair to them.