Jennifer Whitmore

Being able to object to developments is a core part of our democracy, it absolutely is. The projects need to be able to withstand those objections. The projects need to get those balances right. Oftentimes, the objectors are highlighting key flaws in the plans. It cannot be that we just throw them away because otherwise what is the point of the climate Act? Why bother bringing it in and why have i…

I welcome this Bill and the opportunity to discuss it and the subject of air pollution with the Minister of State this afternoon. I am glad to see that the Government is strengthening the enforcement of air pollution law and that authorised officers will now have enhanced powers of inspection, sampling and intervention. The introduction of fixed payment notices and compliance notices for more effi…

I want to be really clear. The Minister talked about the increase we have seen in renewables. I accept we have seen a large increase but the reality is that is not going to households. That renewable energy is going straight into data centres which are paying half what domestic users are expected to pay for their electricity. So, this is not a good news story for Irish households. It means the Gov…

For people who can afford it.

11. Deputy Jennifer Whitmore asked the Taoiseach if he will report on his recent visit to China. [26748/26]

18. Deputy Jennifer Whitmore asked the Taoiseach when the Cabinet committee on justice, migration and social affairs will next meet. [17331/26]

30. Deputy Jennifer Whitmore asked the Taoiseach when the Cabinet committee on justice, migration and social affairs will next meet. [26749/26]

It is clear from listening to the speeches this afternoon that the Government still does not get it. The Taoiseach essentially listed out all the Government's so-called achievements and told people how good it really is.

You did. The Government is trying to get a message across to people that it has done so much for them. The reality is that it has not been listening. That is really clear. Last week was desperately difficult for the country. I do not think anyone would think that what happened was an easy thing to resolve. The people I spoke to in the constituency that I and the Tánaiste represent were deeply conf…

I ask that the Government pay attention to them.

It is coming from that corner.

I will not stand here and shout and have a back and forth because there has been far too much shouting this week already. There has been far too much chest beating and too many instances of people not listening, not engaging and of parties becoming so entrenched that we were at real risk last week of the country collapsing. I was so worried about where those protests were going to end up. I want …

I am extremely concerned by what the Minister and this Government are doing in the area of climate action and now in the area of climate law. They are dismantling years of work and future generations will bear the cost. Section 7 of the Critical Infrastructure Bill provides for a disapplication of section 15 of the Climate Action and Low Carbon Development Act 2015 in specific cases. Simply put, t…

I will return later in my contribution to the aspects of the debate my party colleague has raised. The 2 cent reduction in the NORA levy is a drop in the ocean for homeowners and householders who are relying on home heating oil, the hundreds of thousands of people who are not going to benefit from the excise cuts, which the Social Democrats supported, and the people who will continue to find it ve…

I will speak to both Ministers then. I would ask that they look at the amendments we put forward and not use this Bill to extend this provision to 18 months and essentially pull all the funding that is going into the climate action fund for things like solar PV for schools, EV charging units, the community action funds, and the community and climate officers in the different local authorities. Man…

I thank the Minister. I also want to talk about price-gouging. The CRU was mentioned earlier. The CSO reported this week that wholesale electricity prices have dropped by 72% since the peak in August 2022. We have not seen a 72% reduction in retail prices here in Ireland and indeed many people are still really suffering from the incredible costs of electricity and gas as a result of the invasion …

A figure of €200 million is a huge amount of money. I know the Minister may say that he has no intention of pulling this money from the Climate Action Fund but the potential is there using this particular piece of legislation. That in itself is very concerning. One of the reasons I am really worried about this is because climate action always plays second fiddle to every other required or necessa…

I do not understand the difference between the Climate Action Fund and the NORA levy that funds it and the carbon tax. It is really important that the Government has stood strong with the carbon tax and it is being very clear that it is to be ring-fenced for climate action. Only today, in the Dáil, the Taoiseach was highly critical of Sinn Féin and the fact that Sinn Féin continually asked for the…

When global energy crises hit, there is one certainty in Ireland and that is that energy prices shoot sky high like a rocket and then take years to drop. We saw it happen when Russia invaded Ukraine. In fact, there are still people suffering the consequences of that, with 320,000 remaining in arrears on their electricity bills. We are still facing sky-high electricity prices despite the CSO repor…

8. Deputy Jennifer Whitmore asked the Taoiseach if he will report on his attendance at the most recent meeting of the coalition of the willing in support of Ukraine. [18942/26]

I too want to raise the report by Conor Gallagher in today's edition of The Irish Times, which was carried out in conjunction with the Organised Crime and Corruption Reporting Project. It is very concerning. It is reported that Russian smelters supplied by the Limerick Aughinish Alumina plant are selling vast amounts of aluminium to a trading company that supplies dozens of Russian arms manufactur…

Was the Taoiseach aware of this?

16. Deputy Jennifer Whitmore asked the Taoiseach if he will report on his Department's statement of strategy for 2025 to 2028. [17330/26]

The Taoiseach said today that the proposed LNG plant is necessary from an energy security perspective. I have spent many hours going through the documentation for that argument, and I cannot see how this plant is required from an energy security perspective. There are alternative ways of dealing with energy security. This plant will lock us into fossil fuel infrastructure and it will be an incredi…

We are hearing really awful reports from the UK about the viral meningitis outbreak there. Unfortunately, two young people have died and there have been 27 cases in total. There has also been a case in Belfast but I understand the two instances are not connected. In this country, teenagers and young people were not part of the vaccination program that was rolled out in 2016. What is the Government…