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 there now with all …
TDs / Jennifer Whitmore
Jennifer Whitmore
Portrait: © Houses of the Oireachtas (Oireachtas (Open Data) PSI Licence) · source file
872
questions asked
Oral and written, to government departments
114,259
words spoken in the chamber
Across 502 contributions. Plus 13 contributions from the chair, not counted
385
votes recorded
Each Yes, No or Abstained in a recorded vote
185
topics asked about
Across 19 departments
From the Dáil chamber only: committee meetings are not in this archive.
What they ask about
The subject headings the Oireachtas filed their questions under.
Who they ask
The departments their questions were addressed to.
Month by month
Low months are usually recesses, when the Dáil does not sit. The archive runs to 22 October 2026.
Questions asked 872 in all
Dec 2024Oct 2026
Contributions to debates 502 in all
Dec 2024Oct 2026
Show as a table
| Month | Questions | Contributions |
|---|---|---|
| December 2024 | 0 | 0 |
| January 2025 | 11 | 3 |
| February 2025 | 38 | 27 |
| March 2025 | 34 | 8 |
| April 2025 | 37 | 6 |
| May 2025 | 66 | 32 |
| June 2025 | 42 | 22 |
| July 2025 | 58 | 54 |
| August 2025 | 0 | 0 |
| September 2025 | 78 | 14 |
| October 2025 | 57 | 14 |
| November 2025 | 34 | 60 |
| December 2025 | 30 | 22 |
| January 2026 | 21 | 18 |
| February 2026 | 64 | 33 |
| March 2026 | 21 | 24 |
| April 2026 | 65 | 33 |
| May 2026 | 23 | 27 |
| June 2026 | 67 | 39 |
| July 2026 | 68 | 39 |
| August 2026 | 0 | 0 |
| September 2026 | 31 | 17 |
| October 2026 | 27 | 10 |
Debates they spoke in most
Plus 339 contributions in the regular slots, such as Leaders' Questions and Priority Questions. Speech from the chair is not counted.
Asked about similar topics
Worked out by computer from the subject headings of each TD's questions, giving more weight to headings few TDs use. It shows shared subjects, not shared views.
Party, constituency and offices
- constituency Wicklow 29 November 2024 to now
- party Social Democrats 29 November 2024 to now
Under Standing Order 35(3), I wish to propose an amendment to the Order of Business-----
I propose an amendment to the Order of Business in relation to statements on LNG. It was reported today that An Coimisiún Pleanála has written to the Minister seeking a clear position from Government on commercial LNG. It is time for the Government to stop talking out of both sides of its mouth with regard to LNG. We need clarity on that.
And the LNG issue.
I raise with the Minister the issue of a special school in Bray, County Wicklow. It is Marino special school, which caters for children with complex needs. It is critically overstretched when it comes to its SNA allocation. An exceptional care review was to be conducted on 18 June. That was cancelled on the evening of 16 June by the NCSE and the school was told that care review would happen in the next school year, w…
How would you know? You were not listening.
90. Deputy Jennifer Whitmore asked the Minister for Transport if he is aware of ongoing issues with the provision of bus services by a company (details supplied) and the fact that its contract is up for renewal shortly; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [34357/25]
Is the Minister aware of the ongoing issues with the provision of Go-Ahead Ireland's bus service in County Wicklow and the fact that its contract is up for renewal? I extend an invitation to him to come to Wicklow and stand at a bus stop down there with me and wait for the bus to come, seeing as invitations are being thrown out this evening.
The roll-out started in January, and there were major problems when it started. It has got better. Unfortunately, there are still problems on many routes, including the L2, L1, L3 and L15. The reality is that people who go to get a bus need to know that it will show up. They need more than to think that it might show up or that it will show up most of the time. A bus needs to show up every single time or else people …
I thank the Minister for that. I acknowledge that there have been improvements, but some routes have been particularly hit. I believe they are those routes in Wicklow. This is one of the problems. When a bus does not show up, it requires the person left standing there to email the NTA, Go-Ahead Ireland or a TD. They usually come to a public representative and say there are problems. When we see that there are multipl…
GP services around the country are at breaking point. They are oversubscribed and understaffed. It can often take two or three weeks before people get to see their doctors. I spoke to a 90-year-old woman recently. She has to wait three weeks when she needs an appointment. She has a history of dizziness and falls. Oftentimes, she ends up in accident and emergency, which sends her back to her GP. We see the problems th…
The name of the programme in question was GP Care for All. Unfortunately, last year they had to come to the Dáil to campaign to be kept open. Clearly, that small proportion of GP services that follow the model we want, and that was agreed under Sláintecare, have to fight to stay open because the Government has not been supporting them sufficiently.
I will give the Tánaiste some statistics in response to those he pro…
The building of 106 social homes in Blessington was halted recently, which makes no sense to me during a housing crisis, where money is apparently not an issue in this case and the homes had planning permission. Will the Tánaiste explain exactly what happened with these homes and when building will start? There is no clarity as to whether or when building will start.
When it comes to housing, can the Government get anything right? It has been planning these rental reforms for months and yet it made an absolute hames of them last week. Even the Taoiseach's Cabinet colleagues could not make sense of them. They were quoted in the media talking about not understanding the rules. For the avoidance of any doubt, there was one simple thing these reforms were to do, and that was to drive…
That is because driving record rents even higher, according to the Government, is somehow going to bring rents down. Make that make sense. No wonder the Taoiseach's Cabinet colleagues are utterly bewildered.
The Taoiseach has claimed repeatedly that housing is the Government's biggest priority. Yet, when it comes to policy announcements, they are chaotic and sloppy. Even today, the Minister conceded that students an…
We offered the State savings scheme that would free up €160 billion, potentially, on deposit in Irish bank accounts.
I ask the Taoiseach to please take those suggestions on board.
Yes, the Government is taking decisions, but it is taking all the wrong decisions. That is the problem and that is what we are saying to it. It needs to completely rethink its policy and needs to start prioritising people who want to be homeowners, people who want to be able to afford the rent rather than the investors. That is the crux of the problem. The Government's policies are being directed by the investors. Th…
That is because successive governments did nothing for 20 years.
There are record house prices and record homelessness.
We had a very interesting conversation this morning at the fisheries committee. I welcomed this morning, and I welcome here, the fact that not only do we have a Minister of State with responsibility for fisheries and the marine but also a committee that is dedicated to it. I think it will make a big difference and, hopefully, we can work closely with the Minister of State to progress the many issues that will be comi…
I am sure the Minister of State is aware of the Department's plan to redesignate special schools so they no longer cater for children and students with mild learning disabilities. This will apply to approximately 30 schools across the country. I understand, in part, the rationale behind it. The Minister wants an inclusive model of education where children with mild learning disabilities can go to a mainstream school,…
My understanding is that children with mild learning disabilities will not be able to enrol in any special schools under this programme because they will not have the sign-off, approval or letter of eligibility from the NCSE. The plan is for all of those children to go to their local mainstream school. I absolutely agree that no child should have to travel for two hours to get to their special school or to get educat…
Week after week, for 20 months, we come into this Chamber and talk about the most recent act of depravity that we have seen rained down on the people of Gaza by Israel. We talk in this Chamber about children who have been shot in the head, children who have been shot in the chest by snipers, children who have had to battle their way out of fires while their siblings and parents burned behind them, and children whose …
That is not true.