Jennifer Whitmore

An Bord Pleanála has just approved planning permission for Shannon LNG's new power plant in Tarbert. While it is not yet clear exactly how that will be fuelled, it looks likely that it will be LNG. What is very clear is the Taoiseach's Government's U-turn on the use of LNG and fracked gas. Decision after decision of the Government is locking us into a fossil-fuelled future. That is the reality of …

I did not conflate anything.

We want transparency.

There is a new report on this-----

Here is to strong women. May we know them, be them and raise them. Actually - you know what - let us not. Let us stop placing enormous expectations and burdens on women. Let us stop expecting women to be strong all the time, to be superheroes and to fill every single gap left by a failure of policy, politicians and successive governments to provide the supports and services women need. For generat…

It is time for the Taoiseach to take his head out of the sand when it comes to climate change and climate action. This Government and the previous Government did not do enough in regard to climate action. There are more warnings today from the Irish Fiscal Advisory Council and the Climate Change Advisory Council regarding this, that we could face between €8 billion and €26 billion in fines if we d…

We have imported 12 times more electricity-----

I congratulate the Minister on his appointment to this role and wish him the best for the future. When I think about policing in Ireland, it strikes me that to date we have been very lucky in that as a nation, we have always held our gardaí in such a high degree of respect. The relationship between the gardaí and our communities has always been very strong. When one looks at other countries where …

Recent reports indicate the Government is now considering a commercial liquefied natural gas, LNG, facility and that this is being seen as a bargaining chip with the Trump Administration. President Trump is a very transactional person and this is seen as something we can give him in our negotiations. That would be contrary to previous Government commitments and policies in favour of a State-led em…

I will be sharing time with my two colleagues. I thank Deputy Daly and Sinn Féin for bringing forward this very important motion, which will have an impact on many lives, particularly those of young people. We often make things particularly difficult for young people. This is one instance of our doing so. I acknowledge that both Ministers are new to their roles and that the Government is not goin…

75. Deputy Jennifer Whitmore asked the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications to clarify his plans to sell Bord na Móna Recycling; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [7031/25]

If they are grouped because we are raising the same issue, what are the timings for it? How does it-----

I concur with my colleagues on this. There are concerns for the workers' futures and for the future of the industry. If this sale goes ahead, we will have a 100% privatised model of waste collection, which is not what anyone wants to see, particularly in the public arena. It also flies in the face of Government policy of a just transition. This was set up primarily to support the workers in Bord n…

I thank the Minister for his response. I am glad to hear this is not yet a done deal and the Minister still has serious consideration to give to it, including the fact he will consider the future for the workers, which is fundamentally important. We need to consider Ireland's position on our requirements to reduce waste. This country is way off and we will not meet our 2025 EU targets. We have a l…

I thank the Leas-Cheann Comhairle. I too offer my congratulations to him and wish him the best for the term. I think it might be a very busy term; that is what my gut is telling me. We will see how it pans out. I also congratulate the Minister, Deputy Heydon, and Minister of State, Deputy Grealish, on their appointments. This is my first time speaking as spokesperson for agriculture for the Social…

It is an agricultural issue. The Minister spoke about forestry. I agree; it is bizarre but it is a matter for the Minister for agriculture so it is appropriate to talk about it today. Ireland is an outlier because not only do we allow greyhound racing to happen but we give it an awful lot of money - €20 million - every year. If one compares that to what some charities get to provide fundamental se…

Can I just make a comment-----

-----that forestry was covered by the Minister as well and that is not an agrifood issue.

I congratulate the Minister of State on his new role and wish him the best in it. Public transport is a key challenge facing the country, but there is a lot of potential there to provide a service that will benefit so many communities across the country, and it is a vital service that we need to invest in and make sure operates properly. Key to any really good, successful public service is reliabi…

I thank the Minister of State. On reliability and improvements, there have been some improvements, but when we are still missing services that is going to hugely impact on the people who require that particular bus. For example, the bus from Newcastle has been frequently dropped. If there are improvements in say, the L3 in Delgany, that is not going to make any difference to the person in Newcastl…

When will the penny finally drop? When will the Government get that its approach to the housing crisis not only means it is incapable of solving it, but is making it worse for tens of thousands of people across this country? The numbers tell a grim story. A total of 15,000 people are living in homeless accommodation and 4,500 children are living in single rooms in bed-and-breakfast accommodation.…

I again raise the issue of hormone replacement therapy, HRT, which I raised a couple of weeks ago. Free HRT was promised in the most recent budget and was due to begin in January. We have not yet seen it happen. I know the Minister has inherited this problem, but does she have a timeline for when it will be available to women who are experiencing the menopause? There are also issues in respect of …

Our current approach to road planning prioritises the supremacy of cars over the safety of pedestrians. It is time to turn this approach on its head. It is no secret that Irish roads were and still are designed with cars in mind, often at the expense of pedestrian safety. In the first seven months of last year, there were 113 road fatalities nationwide and a third of those victims were under the a…

Despite the Taoiseach repeatedly stating that climate change is the existential crisis of our time, anyone who reads the programme for Government would not get the sense there is urgency on the part of or a grasp by the Government of the scale of the problem we face and how difficult it is going to be to implement changes. The Government seems intent on continuing with business as usual, bringing …

It is not about investment; it is about making sure we have the right buses and the contracts are in place. We need to go back to a public system of public transport because then we can control exactly the kind of service is provided.