Jennifer Whitmore

-----it is absolutely unacceptable for the Taoiseach to say that.

I want to support farmers but the reality is-----

-----you have wrecked our water bodies, Taoiseach. You have wrecked them.

You have failed to protect them.

The Government is failing farmers and failing the environment.

77. Deputy Jennifer Whitmore asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if he will direct the Marine Institute to undertake a formal stock assessment of sprat, with a view to introducing a total allowable catch; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [36041/25]

Will the Minister direct the Marine Institute to undertake a formal stock assessment of sprat, with a view to identifying a total allowable catch, and will he make a statement on the matter?

I thank the Minister of State. Sprat is not economically important. It is quite a low-value fishery but it is ecologically valuable. Everything feeds on it, from fish, whales and dolphins to seabirds. If we do not have sprat, we do not have those other species. Unfortunately, we are in a situation where, because it has not been deemed economically valuable enough, we do not have stock assessments.…

I ask the Minister of State to provide some information on the point that process has reached. I am interested in hearing when a decision will be made. The reality is that, in the absence of data, the fundamental approach to take with any stock is the precautionary principle. That essentially means working on a risk-averse basis. We are not doing that at the moment, and it is important we do. Depe…

81. Deputy Jennifer Whitmore asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine when the Agri-Food Regulator will be granted additional powers of compellability; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [36023/25]

The establishment of the Agri-Food Regulator was a very welcome move but the body clearly does not have sufficient teeth. The regulators themselves have requested additional powers. When will the body be granted additional powers of compellability and could the Minister make a statement on the matter?

I thank the Minister. It is welcome that he is in the process of granting or providing the powers but we need to see a timeline. It has been quite a while since the regulators themselves raised the gaps in their powers and it is important that we see movement on this, particularly given how grocery prices are increasing at present. Members of the public need transparency when purchasing products s…

In providing the additional powers, is the Minister considering the likes of the large supermarkets and their profits? Obviously, we have a cost-of-living crisis and food prices are rising continually, and farmers are continuing to get less and less for their produce. One of the pieces of the data jigsaw that is missing concerns how much supermarkets are making in this country. Supermarkets must p…

82. Deputy Jennifer Whitmore asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine to outline his Department’s plans to deal with bovine TB; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [36021/25]

Can the Minister outline the Department’s plans to deal with bovine TB, which he spoke about earlier, and particularly his approach to badger culling and badger vaccination as part of that?

I do not think anyone is underestimating or minimising the absolute devastation when a farmer realises they have TB in their herd. As the Minister says, it is not just a financial but also an emotional shock and trauma for the family. The most important thing to do is put in place a system that is going to work for them. The Minister talks about being led by science. I cannot see any definitive sc…

I would be really keen if the Minister could send me the studies and evidence that show transmission of TB from badgers to cattle and the incidence. If a badger has TB that is not a good thing for the badger, but the Department culled nearly 7,500 badgers last year and 20% of them had TB. The culling involves snares which not only is an incredibly inhumane way for an animal to die but it is not ta…

When will the Government get its act together and level with parents and students? It has been five days since the higher education Minister took to the airways and dropped the bombshell that parents and students will have to find another €1,000 to fund college before September. He did not try to sugar-coat that news; it was quite the opposite. He said, "All of us in any walk of life have to play …

The Minister is clearly not listening to what I am saying and, what is worse, he is clearly not listening to what parents and students are saying at the moment. They believed the Government when it said in the programme for Government that it would continue to reduce student fees. They believed it when it said that. It could not be any simpler. The question is this. Is the Government going to keep…

The Taoiseach does it constantly.

I want to raise with the Minister of State a really urgent and time-sensitive issue. As he is well aware, Wicklow town and Rathnew have seen a huge population increase in recent years. We have probably had 800 to 1,000 new homes built there. Very many of them are family homes for young families. We have seen people coming from other counties into the area. I was made aware last week that there is…

I thank the Minister of State. That is very welcome and I think there is a solution here. Hopefully, if he talks to the Minister - I have mentioned it to her myself - we can get someone to visit. In my remaining time, I want to put something else in the education area on the record. We are seeing major issues with the NCSE and a sort of stoppage of processes. I think it is moving to a new process…

Is breaking promises how the budgetary process operates?

I welcome the all-island strategic rail review. It is a vital step towards connecting the unconnected throughout the country. Ultimately, however, it is a missed opportunity because it is not ambitious enough. Even if it were fully implemented, the review would still leave us behind the Ireland of 1906. It is not often that we look back at the country 100 years ago and say, "Jesus, if we were only…

Under Standing Order 35(3), I wish to propose an amendment to the Order of Business-----