Jennifer Whitmore

4. Deputy Jennifer Whitmore asked the Minister for Transport if he will introduce a policy to ensure that there is no increase in public transport fares until we are on track to meet our transport-related carbon emissions targets; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [23026/25]

I ask the Minister to introduce a policy to ensure there is no increase in public transport fares until we are at least on track to meet our transport-related carbon emissions; and if he will make a statement on the matter.

I find it interesting that, literally, the only mention of affordability came in the last sentence of a two-minute contribution, and my question was about fare pricing. I know we have seen an increase in the number of people using public transport, which is fantastic, but we need to see more of it. Our emissions are stubbornly high in the area of transport and while we have seen a slight reductio…

If the Minister of State were to talk to my constituents in Greystones and Kilcoole, they would not be particularly in agreement with him about public transport being a good news story. They have seen an increase of 30% in their fares and children have seen an increase of 200%. It is very hard to sell that as a good news story to people in those towns, particularly when the train service for areas…

Tens of thousands of women will be travelling in.

This week we saw a new train fare structure rolled out around the Dublin area. While I welcome the simplification of fares, because I believe it was necessary, and also the reduction in fares for some towns, towns such as Greystones and Kilcoole have seen significant increases. This is really difficult to understand considering our transport emissions, the fact that we have to reduce emissions, th…

I looked through the document. When you read it, it all sounds very worthy as did the document before it and many other documents this Government and previous governments have produced. These are all nice, shiny, glossy documents that have very good sounding objectives and visions in place. Take, for example, national policy objective 12. It reads: “Ensure the creation of attractive, liveable, wel…

We do not have sufficient, affordable and proper public transport. We do not have investment in the infrastructure we need. Unfortunately, I do not have much faith that the Minister will be able to deliver the communities we need.

It was quite noisy. My understanding, and this has been reported in the media, is the CEPA report offers an alternative view to the previous analysis done on energy security. It really is important because I understand the CEPA report says that by the time we get any emergency or transition measure in place, it will be very costly, but also there will not be a need for it at that stage. We could s…

On the terminology of this being emergency infrastructure, I understand that every two months, because of the very nature of LNG, the gas will have to be distributed through the pipeline-----

-----so we are essentially just replacing the majority of the gas we are using at the moment with this system even though we are calling it temporary and saying it will only be used in case of disruption. To compare it to the oil reserve is incorrect because that does not have to be used every two months. We do not have to get rid of it out of the system and ensure everyone uses it as it just sits…

And put it online.

4. Deputy Jennifer Whitmore asked the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications if he will release the report on liquefied natural gas commissioned by his predecessor; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [17600/25]

I welcome the students as well. It is always very interesting to visit here. I came into Leinster House when I was maybe eight or nine with Brendan Howlin and it was fascinating and has stuck with me. It looks like LNG is the topic of the day. My question is about the release of that report. I welcome the fact that the Minister has said it will be released within a matter of weeks, but will he al…

I thank the Minister. I may have misheard but I do not think he referred to the CEPA report.

It was quite noisy. My understanding, and this has been reported in the media, is the CEPA report offers an alternative view to the previous analysis done on energy security. It really is important because I understand the CEPA report says that by the time we get any emergency or transition measure in place, it will be very costly, but also there will not be a need for it at that stage. We could s…

On the terminology of this being emergency infrastructure, I understand that every two months, because of the very nature of LNG, the gas will have to be distributed through the pipeline-----

-----so we are essentially just replacing the majority of the gas we are using at the moment with this system even though we are calling it temporary and saying it will only be used in case of disruption. To compare it to the oil reserve is incorrect because that does not have to be used every two months. We do not have to get rid of it out of the system and ensure everyone uses it as it just sits…

And put it online.

Parents are trying to protect their children from an online world and becoming increasingly overwhelmed and anxious about it because their children are carrying around in their pockets probably the biggest threat they will face for many years, and that is just their phones. The Netflix show "Adolescence" brought this danger into stark relief. It showed an extreme case of the tragic consequences of…

Will she work with us across the floor to change this and make sure online spaces are safer for our children?

I agree there is a role for everybody in this. Parents are playing their part. Schools are playing their part. I know incredible teachers who are doing everything they can to address this issue. We need the Government to play its part. I acknowledge the work the Minister did on Coco's Law. She spoke about making sure it is illegal to share graphic or toxic content. We are allowing the social medi…

The Minister's printed statement was not circulated earlier. We seem to be getting into the habit of this. Printed statements are very useful if we cannot be in the Chamber at the start of a debate. Therefore, I ask that they be made available in future. Listening to the debate, it has been interesting to note that many of the issues talked about are very small local ones – individual constituent…

I thank the Leas-Cheann Comhairle.

Some 61,000 children will sit their leaving certificate in a couple of months’ time. While this is always a stressful time for students, this year, when those students are doing their leaving certificate and are getting ready to compete for higher education courses, not only are they competing against the 61,000 within their cohort, but they are also competing against 15,000 students who were give…