Jennifer Whitmore
Wicklow · Social Democrats · Ireland
“The Minister for justice recently brought in reforms for the criminal justice legal aid system. While we all recognise that there is a need for reform within the system, the reforms that the Minister has brought in are ill-considered, not backed up by data or evidence and have led to absolute chaos in the courts system.”
“Hundreds of jurors were recently told that their services were no longer required. Many vulnerable people in the legal system are falling through gaps.”
“A hosepipe ban will come into force in a number of counties on the east coast from tomorrow. I completely understand that because we are seeing record temperatures and are in the middle of dealing with the climate crisis and climate change.”
“In 2024, 1,000 incidents of antisocial behaviour were recorded on Dublin Bus. That was nearly double the figure recorded just a few years earlier. Unfortunately, this is not just limited to Dublin. We are also seeing instances of this in my constituency, Wicklow, on Go-Ahead services.”
“More than 1,000 people died in Spain due to heat-related causes in June of this year alone. By early July, Spain had 14 major forest fires and 50,000 ha of land had been burned. Across Europe, more than 10,000 excess deaths associated with the recent heatwave were recorded in a single week. These warnings have to be taken seriously.”
“As a family member, you wonder if the person is getting care, whether they are being fed properly and whether they are being looked after. There is no visibility. There is a dementia care home in Shankill that a lot of people from my constituency use, St. Joseph's. It is incredible. I visited it recently.”
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“I cannot understand why we are still discussing the creamery, which has consistently not been complying with its licence. At what stage will the licence be removed for non-compliance? I understand there are lots of jobs at risk, and it is not the case that anybody would want the creamery shut down, but it must operate within the conditions of its licence. However, it is clear that it has not, and that has been the case for a number of years. This is a very clear example of an entity that has gone through the EPA process, that has an EPA licence and where the EPA does inspections. The EPA has enforcement measures it can apply and yet the creamery is still operating and polluting the river.”
“Essentially, the EPA has said North Cork Creameries is one of the poorest performing sites because of the list of non-compliance and that it is therefore going to prioritise it to make sure that it remains within its licence conditions. North Cork Creameries was on the EPA's national priority sites list in quarter 3 of 2021, quarters 2, 3 and 4 of 2022 and throughout 2023 and 2024. It was not on the list in quarters 1 and 2 of 2025 because the EPA said there had been a bit of improvement, but following what has happened in recent weeks it expects that it will go back onto it again. Since the NCC was granted its licence as a creamery, the EPA has carried out 46 inspections, with samples taken on 23 of the site visits. I would imagine the EPA must spend a huge amount of time in that creamery.”
“Recent non-compliances were detected when it was investigating the fish kill, with those instances taking place from June to August. The EPA describes them as "serious and entirely unacceptable". Later, the report goes into more detail about the creamery. LEAP is the EPA's public online system, which people can use to see the different licences and their compliance rate and any compliance issues. When you go onto that and you search for North Cork Creameries, NCC, 134 instances of non-compliance come up. That is just since 2020. The EPA has put North Cork Creameries onto the national priority site system. That means the EPA has identified this entity and prioritised it for enforcement based on its environmental performance. The EPA uses this site to target the efforts at the poorest performing sites.”
“That is the discussion the committee will have, including looking at the processes that were followed. An issue that came up during the examination of the catchment on that river system was in regard to North Cork Creameries, NCC. While the EPA has said it cannot see any causal link between the activities of the creamery and the fish kill, its final report on its investigations has absolutely incredible detail on the record of that entity. It states: "NCC is a site with a history of failure to consistently achieve compliance with its licence discharge conditions and was already the subject of significant enforcement activity by EPA prior to the incident..." The EPA, it is stated, continues to "monitor the licensed site closely".”
“The one point I would emphasise to the Minister is that if he is bringing in these changes, he needs to bring in additional resourcing and funding for the EPA. None of this will work if the agency is under-resourced when it comes to implementing the changes. The other point, and I will go into it in more detail and give examples, is that we have sufficient legislation to deal with a lot of the environmental issues that land on the desks of the different agencies. However, our record on enforcement is really poor. The climate committee is meeting right now to discuss the River Blackwater fish kill, with representatives of a number of agencies in attendance, as well as some anglers. I am sure the Minister is well aware that more than 42,000 fish were found dead in the river and that the agencies cannot identify a reason for it.”
“We have never been good at protecting our country's environment and, unfortunately, that is still the case. On lower-risk activities, while standardisation is helpful, we cannot have it become the back door to deregulation. What is the extent of that and what will it mean? We will need transparency, site-specific assessments and public input. We cannot have a situation where public participation is merely a box-ticking exercise. The Aarhus Convention was mentioned earlier in this regard. Public participation must be meaningful. It is really important that any of these proposed changes do not undermine the ability of the public to engage in environmental processes and planning. Those are the high-level issues.”
“That is an issue we need to look into in greater detail. The question was asked as to what the exceptional circumstances will be. We must be sure to be very clear about that. The language cannot be vague or open to interpretation. It must be set down clearly. We do not want a situation where there is not full environmental scrutiny of any of these proposals. That would be a slippery slope in the wrong direction. I am making these points in the context of our poor environmental record to date. The latest EU report - they seem to be coming out every week - is once again scathing of our record on environmental protection. That record is not just a matter for this Government or the previous Government but all the governments before them.”
“I welcome the opportunity to discuss the Bill. At this point, we are looking at it on a high level. As we go through the remainder of the process, a lot of the details will be discussed and elements of it will, I hope, be improved. A few points strike me in the first instance. In principle, I absolutely welcome statutory limits and timelines. What will be really important is what they mean in practice. We do not want to see any watering down of environmental protections as a result of those timelines. That will be key but, in principle, statutory time limits are welcome and will give agencies a target to work towards and a timeframe within which to stay. The question then is what happens if those deadlines are missed. What will be the impact for the licences? Will they be left in limbo or is it a matter for the EPA to deal with?”
“How will the Taoiseach ensure that if a storm like this hits again, and the chances are it will, we are prepared and local communities are able to deal with it?”
“In January of this year, Storm Éowyn hit Ireland and left the country reeling. We were not prepared for it and the havoc it wreaked on communities was devastating. Some 750,000 people were left without power and it cost over €300 million to deal with the damage. We were actually quite lucky in that storm because it could have been a whole lot worse. The Climate Change Advisory Council has today been quite critical of the Government's response. At the time, the Government promised it would prepare Ireland for any future storms, yet we still have not seen the promised cross-government report on response plans. We still have not seen things like emergency hubs and the structures for getting those up and running quickly.”
“I ask the Minister of State and the Government to deal with this now and not to wait for two or three years, when the problem is too big to deal with and we have a whole generation of children addicted to these products. I also ask the Minister of State to ensure the HSE urgently provides the guidance the school principals have requested, because schools are finding it difficult to deal with this issue and it is a big problem for them as well.”
“I started raising the issue of nicotine pouches nearly two years ago now when Stephen Donnelly was the Minister and I have repeatedly asked for them to be regulated. Now is the opportunity to deal with these, rather than waiting a number of years or until Europe deals with them. We need to take control of this and provide the regulation. They should not be for sale to under-18s. They should not be marketed to children. They should not be flavoured. We should not be allowing a company or different companies to give them away free. You can sign up on their websites and get them free. You can go to concerts and get them free there. They are heavily promoted towards teenagers.”
“These pouches are prevalent in many of our secondary schools because there is no regulation of them in Ireland, meaning there is no age restrictions, no restrictions on the sale of them, the packaging or anything like that. As governments controlled how tobacco was marketed, especially to under-18s, and are now going towards vapes, the industry is coming up with a new technique of making money and the nicotine pouches are that technique. Unfortunately, as I said, many teenagers are now using them and are addicted to them. The principals’ association has twice called on the HSE to provide guidance on these but this has not yet happened. This is a product that is causing huge problems for our teens, and health problems as well, and we are just too reactive in dealing with it. It is taking too long to deal with this.”
“My colleagues will talk about the wider issue of vapes. I will take this opportunity to talk about another product that in a very similar vein is causing huge problems for teenagers, namely, nicotine pouches. I do not know whether the Minister of State is familiar with them. They are small white pouches you can buy in any corner shop. You put them on your gum, underneath your lip, and they directly and very quickly give you a very strong hit of nicotine. They can be bought in packs for I think €5 or €7. They are very colourful and really marketed towards children. It is very similar to the vapes in that they have different flavours and the marketing is very eye-catching.”
“-----have the Department carry out a review analysis of the school transport system in Wicklow? If it does so, it will identify where all of the challenges and barriers are. I reckon that those challenges and barriers apply cross the country as well.”
“I am going to put my constituency hat on and say that Wicklow is one of those counties that is particularly impacted every year. Will the Minister of State-----”
“In that context, the report states, "Phase 3 involves an examination of issues around eligibility criteria, scheme performance, scheme expenditure and the potential for scheme integration." Someone in the Department forgot to complete the report because there is no mention of scheme performance at any stage in the document. It is mentioned once in the introduction, on page 5, and is not mentioned anywhere ever again. In the context of a scheme with which there are so many problems, surely performance and how the scheme currently operates should have been the number one thing the Department looked at. The Department should surely have stated that if it wanted to make matters better, it needed to identify the problems and challenges that exist. It would appear that this was never done.”
“Others had to leave work or could not take up job offers because the school bus service in Wicklow was so bad. It was March of last year before some of the routes were up and running. The school year was nearly over at that stage. This happens year in, year out; it is not a new problem. When this issue was raised previously, we were told there was going to be a review of the school bus system and that all aspects of it would be looked at. I had a look at the review that was carried out. There are three phases in the report. It seems that phase three is the one that applies.”
“Year in, year out in Wicklow we have problems with the school bus service. It usually happens two or three days before school starts, when the emails start to arrive from Bus Éireann to tell parents - who have already paid for and secured tickets for their children and made plans on the basis that they will have a way to get to school - that, for whatever reason, there is no bus available. This is usually because there is no bus driver, the contractor has pulled the bus or that a bus could not be secured in the first place. It is always left until the very last minute and this leaves families absolutely reeling and trying to get on top of how they will get their children to school. I have had constituents who could not go to work.”
“The reality is Ireland is a very wealthy country and migration will continue to be a feature of our lives, but the Government has failed to forward plan and make sure we are in a position to do that. What that failure means now is that in the country we love, and where we are so proud of the welcomes we provide, we are changing. An element of change is coming into our country. We are seeing people being attacked because of the colour of their skin, their accent, what they are wearing, or if they have dark hair or dark eyes. That is not the type of country we want to be. We want to be an inclusive, welcoming and fair country but what we are turning into, because of the Government's policies and those of previous Governments, is a country living in fear. We will be very divided.”
“Sometimes, politics is not just about what you say and how you say it. It is also about what you do not say. What I have not heard today from the Minister, or anyone in the Chamber, is that compared with most other European countries Ireland has a relatively normal level, or even low level, of migration, particularly on the international protection side of things, at 1.2% of all applicants across the EU. The reason it does not feel like that to many people out there is that the Government has completely failed to put in the services and resources to ensure there is sufficient, proper and inclusive integration of people when they come to this country. That is why it feels so significant to so many communities out there. The Government was not prepared.”
“Will the Minister of State relay to the Minister that he needs to bring in those companies? There needs to be a very serious conversation with them to say that they cannot continue to hike prices and put pressure on families. They have done it enough and now it is time to give families a break on this.”
“I know that is the argument that has been put forward over the last number of years but the majority of electricity units in someone's home are used to heat water, so there will not be any leakage from that. That is where a lot of the expenses are. If we can actually heat someone's water, we are going to save them a lot of money on their electricity bills. In relation to all those companies that are hiking their electricity charges, the Taoiseach said yesterday that there needs to be a focus on them and I absolutely agree. They are hiking their charges and saying it is because of the increase in the grid charges, yet that is not 100% correct. They are hiking the charges way beyond the cost the Commission for Regulation of Utilities, CRU, and the ESB are putting onto the extra grid charges.”
“Solar panels are an area that could offer this but they have largely been ignored by the Government for low-income homes because the priority has been on retrofitting.”
“The Minister of State will be aware that in 2022, approximately 30% of households in Ireland were considered to be at risk of energy poverty. We are continuing to see the extraordinary stresses that are being put on homes because of the high cost of living, of which a huge component is energy costs. Over recent days and weeks, companies are again increasing their electricity charges, despite the fact that Ireland has the third highest electricity charges in Europe, which is approximately €350 extra on each home. Companies like Bord Gáis and Energia are increasing those prices further, to the extent that it could impose over €200 onto households. We need to look at having long-term and sustainable ways of making households resilient and particularly those who are at risk of energy poverty.”
“A study by UCC over the last number of years has identified that over 1 million homes in Ireland are suitable for solar and that one quarter of all electricity needed could be produced for those homes. It would have huge saving costs for homes. Unfortunately, though, low-income homes are often locked out of the ability to have solar because their households simply cannot afford it. The costs can run into the thousands. Will the Minister of State expand the warmer homes scheme to include solar and make a statement on the matter?”
“It is not just about the places but also about making sure that, when there are places, children have the supports they need and can get to the school. That is the problem. There are also mainstream classes that do not have sufficient SNAs. In Scoil na Coróine Mhuire in Ashford, there are two SNAs for more than 300 students. The school has tried and it has appealed but it is getting nowhere. I know the Minister of State took up his job relatively recently. I hope he is trying his best. I really ask that he bring the messages we are giving him to the NCSE and get answers because it is consistent, it is happening all the time and it is parents and students who are really feeling the brunt of this.”
“How can a school be told in 2024 that a classroom was sanctioned, on the basis of which it offered places to children, only for it to be told that it would actually have to manage it some other way? There is an impact on the school, on the teachers who are trying to work around this and on the children, even though the school is doing absolutely everything it can to prevent the children being impacted. New Court School, a special school in Bray, does not have a sufficient SNA allocation. There are 16 students who do not have a school bus service because the bus was cancelled, or rather it was not cancelled but that the contract could not be filled. A number of those students are now not able to go to school because their parents have no way of getting them there.”
“I will specifically talk about issues that have come across my desk in Wicklow. This is not the first time I have raised this with the Minister of State. I am not sure whether there is a policy discrepancy between what the NCSE is actually implementing and what he is being told but, on the ground, things are not being done correctly or implemented properly. A school in Wicklow was told that the Department had sanctioned a special classroom but the NCSE then told the school that it could not have that even though the school had enrolled children at that point. The school is trying to facilitate and support those children when the NCSE is now saying not to call it a special classroom because it is not one formally, even though one had been sanctioned. Will the Minister of State explain how that is happening?”
“I am not sure the Minister of State quite understands the depth of feeling out there in relation to this issue. What the Government, Ministers, the Taoiseach and the Tánaiste have said and are saying, always with heartfelt commitment and promise, is that children with special needs will get the support, school places and SNAs they need and that they will have all of the services they need. It is repeated all of the time that this is a priority for this Government. However, the reality on the ground is very different. What we are trying to express to the Minister of State is the difficulty for parents and children when those services are not there for them; the disruption, upset and trauma for families; and the potential of the children themselves being stifled because the State is not stepping in to give them the resources they need.”
“I welcome that the Taoiseach is now talking about targeted measures because that is exactly the approach the Social Democrats have been calling on for such a long time. Will he please tell me how he will target those measures, and how he will hold those energy companies to account as he previously stated?”
“Electricity costs are out of control, and we already have one of the highest electricity prices in Europe. We are approximately €350 more than the average. Now costs are being jacked up again. We have seen double-digit hikes by many of the electricity suppliers. That is putting even more pressure on families who are really struggling. It should not be that difficult to keep the lights on and to afford the basics such as food. So many families are struggling at the moment and there has never been a focus from the Government on driving costs down in the long term. Instead, this and previous Governments have focused on once-off and short-term measures. In fact, it gifted approximately €115 million through energy credits to second homes and holiday homes, which is a complete and absolute waste of public money.”
“At this stage, because we have had such a significant fishing of this species, we just need to stop it completely until we have the data in place. That is what this Bill will do. Hopefully, we will get support for it.”
“The latter would be absolutely catastrophic for so many industries, the fishing industry included. A total of 3,500 tonnes of sprat were caught in 2018. In the past few years, the figure was 15,000 tonnes. The International Council for the Exploration of the Sea, which is the EU entity that deals with fisheries, reckons that approximately 2,200 tonnes should be caught. We are way over that, and the sprat population is at real risk. The Government tried to bring in measures in 2018. There was a proposal to stop large pair trawlers from fishing within the six-mile zone. That was really welcome. Unfortunately, this move was overturned in 2020. What we have seen since then is a real focus by boats on exploiting as much as they can of this stock.”
“What we find is that a lot of inshore fishers and, indeed, some of the larger boats do focus on these fisheries in September, but there is no regulation of that. Those fishermen are not doing anything illegal, but the State needs to step in and regulate these fisheries in order that we can manage them sustainably and do not kill the golden goose. That is what we are talking about. This Bill would introduce the precautionary principle, which is a sort of fundamental principle in marine fisheries management. Under this principle, if we do not have the necessary data, we stop doing what we are doing and wait until we get it. Once we have the data, we can then manage things properly. In the absence of the data, we are not able to manage matters and are at risk of completely overfishing and collapsing the stock.”
“Seabirds such as puffins, kittiwakes and terns feed on sprat. Whales and dolphins feed on sprat. It is estimated that over 70% of the humpbacks that would come into Irish waters are reliant on sprat for food, so they are hugely important. If we do not have sprat in our waters, we do not have seabirds, whales, dolphins and various species of other fish. They are a really important part of the food chain. Unfortunately, because sprat are not economically viable or important, we have not really had a fisheries management focus on them to date. There is no plan for them. There is no real monitoring of them. We do not have a total allowable catch or quota in respect of them. It is pretty much a free-for-all.”
“I imagine most people have no real understanding, when you mention the word "sprat", of what sprat is. Sprat are a small fish, maybe 10 cm long. They only live for three, four or five years. They are a short-lived species. They tend to congregate in our inshore areas and the fishing for them is primarily in September. They are not hugely economically valuable. The entire sprat fishery in Ireland is worth less than €5 million per year, because most of the sprat that are caught are essentially crushed up and used in fish meal or pet food. Sprat are not used for human consumption. The value of sprat is not high from an economic perspective. However, from an ecological perspective, they are invaluable. Many marine species rely on sprat for food. Fish like cod, haddock and herring feed on sprat.”
“This would prohibit the targeted fishing of sprat and place a moratorium on commercial sprat fishing until sufficient scientific data is available regarding its population dynamics, habitat use and ecological function. The Bill also specifies that incidental bycatch of protected fish species is not prohibited and provides for the Minister, in consultation with Minister for the marine, to revoke the protected status in the future, contingent on the development of a species-specific management plan and allocation of a sustainable quota. In recognition of the potential economic impact on fishers currently reliant on these fisheries, the Bill also mandates the development of a just transition plan, which must be done and developed in consultation with relevant stakeholders. This will be a bit of a biology lesson.”
“I move: That leave be granted to introduce a Bill entitled an Act to amend section 23 of the Wildlife Act, 1976 to include the Sprat Fish, Sprattus sprattus, in the Fifth Schedule of the Act; to prohibit the targeted fishing of sprat except where caught as bycatch; to provide for a moratorium on commercial sprat fishing until sufficient scientific data is available regarding sprat habitats, population dynamics, and their ecological role, to include a Just Transition for inshore fishers; and to provide for related matters. This Bill seeks to amend the Wildlife Act 1976 to provide legal protection for the sprat by including it in the Fifth Schedule to the Act.”
“New Court special school is missing nearly half the SNA supports it needs. My feeling is that the National Council for Special Education is moving from one process to another that is due to begin in the next school year. However, that is leaving huge gaps for schools preparing for September. Can the Minister for Education please look into this matter and have it resolved? I am not sure the Minister is aware that there are 120 primary schoolchildren in Wicklow town and Rathnew who do not have school places for September. I am aware of a number of students in Greystones who also do not have places.”
“I want to again raise issues relating to special education supports for schools in Wicklow. I previously raised them in the context of Topical Issues and parliamentary questions and I wrote to the Minister of State directly on two occasions. Ashford national school has two special needs assistants, SNAs. One of them is fully allocated to one student. The schools' request for additional support was rejected and its appeal has been postponed. Marino special school in Bray had its SNA review cancelled two days before it was due to take place. They have had no information since then. The Dominican College in Wicklow was due to open an autism spectrum disorder, ASD, classroom this September. It had accepted students on that basis and then the classroom was cancelled. St. Laurence's in Greystones had its SNA review cancelled at short notice.”
“Ireland is a wealthy country, yet so many pieces of our infrastructure and public sector just do not work. Where has all that money gone? Where has the Government invested it? We have never had as much money come into this country as over the past 14 years and we have very little to show for it.”
“In response to the Tánaiste's question, the Social Democrats would absolutely not have spent over €100 million on energy credits for holiday homes. We repeatedly said that. I do not know how anyone could justify that payment. The Tánaiste talks about Wicklow. I will tell him what people and families in Wicklow want. They want the same as families all over the country. They want to know their children, when they grow up, will have a home they can afford. They want to know if they have elderly parents and those parents need hospital care, there will be a bed available for them. They want to know that if their children have disabilities, there will be services and supports provided to them. They want to know the Government, the State and public services are sufficient and will meet their needs. The reality is that does not happen.”
“While Uisce Éireann warns it will run out of capacity for new homes in Dublin in three years' time, we are on course to have zero off-shore wind generation by 2030 and our electricity grid is on the verge of collapse. Fine Gael has been in government for 14 years. I know the Tánaiste will probably stand up and try to blame the Opposition for his problems and mistakes because that seems to be the status quo . When will the Tánaiste take responsibility and what will he do in the budget that will actually make a real difference for people?”
“It has wasted time, opportunity and a generational opportunity to invest in a better future. It has wasted our money. That is why people feel so let down. They feel disillusioned. They listen to the Government pat itself on the back for its prudent financial management while they struggle with the very basics. They struggle to keep a roof over their heads, their electricity on and food on their tables. The public services they need are just not there for them. I ask the Tánaiste to please spare us his lectures about careful budgetary planning. The reality is this Government has been reckless and feckless. It talks about the importance of infrastructure as if that has suddenly dawned on it.”
“Fine Gael likes to style itself as a party of fiscal probity, giving lectures to the public about the importance of counting pennies, but the reality is it has been throwing public money around like snuff at a wake. The Government's spending in a few short years has increased by nearly 50%. In 2020, it cost €70 billion to run the country. We have gone from spending €70 billion to nearly €110 billion this year, €40 billion more in the budget. What do we have to show for it? We have a housing crisis that is spiralling out of control. We have record homelessness. We have disability services that are threadbare. We have soaring levels of child poverty. We have a cost-of-living crisis that is escalating and we have energy and water infrastructure that is crumbling. The reality is this Government is an epic waster.”
“There are economic clouds on the horizon and there is a growing sense of worry about what the future holds. Coupled with that is a lot of frustration with the Government's moralising about this budget. Having splashed the cash in an attempt to buy votes last year, its message has suddenly changed. Now that an election is no longer on the cards, one-off payments are a bad idea. The Social Democrats told the Government that last year. We told it to invest in sustainable measures that would assist people and their long-term futures. We told it to target the measures and target supports for people. It ignored us. It proceeded with a giveaway budget that was a cynical piece of electioneering.”
“Does the Taoiseach realise that 20 years ago we were actually producing more wind energy than we are now? In 2030, there will be zero offshore wind energy produced by Ireland. We are hurtling towards disaster. Will the Taoiseach please tell me-----”
“The Government has achieved something no one previously thought possible when it comes to climate. Last year, our forests released more carbon than they stored. That is according to the Climate Change Advisory Council. The Government has turned our forests into carbon emitters. Its record is unbelievably bad. It is so bad that it is hard to fathom. The Government has no plan to remedy what is happening. Quite the opposite; it wants to double down on failure. The Taoiseach put Michael Healy-Rae in charge of forestry, and his big plan is to plant forests on peatland. That would have absolutely catastrophic consequences. This is meant to be the low-hanging fruit. All the Government has to do is encourage people to grow trees, and it cannot even get that right. What hope do we have of doing the hard stuff like wind farms and offshore wind?”
“Please be a government who finally take action and believe us, get behind us, empower us and investment in to centre and expertise. Please don’t let us down ...”