Ireland is one of the lowest rank countries when it comes to protecting nature. A total of 90% of protected sites are in unfavourable condition. It is going to cost hundreds of millions of euro to restore nature across this island. Where will that funding come from? Is the Taoiseach having any conversations at a European level about funding nature restoration?
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
I thank Sinn Féin for introducing this Bill. The Social Democrats will be supporting it. Transparency in our energy pricing sector is long overdue. This Bill ensures that. It also strengthens the mandate of the CRU to actively intervene in the energy market in the name of the public interest. It places energy affordability at the heart of energy regulation. This is all very welcome. For too long, Irish households hav…
The EU is built on partnerships and collaboration. It works because member states commit to pulling their weight, particularly on cross-border challenges like climate change. Climate change policy within the EU relies on the key principle of trust that every country will do its part.
Today, we learned in The Irish Times that Ireland might be trying to buy its way out of delivery by funding renewable projects abroad …
People all over this country are being absolutely crushed by incredibly high electricity prices that are just going up and up. We have 317,000 households in arrears. These are people who work hard and do all the right things but just cannot manage to keep their heads about water. It really does not have to be this way. The Social Democrats have put forward a proposal for solar for all, a doubling of the grants, a bat…
I thank and acknowledge the Minister for being here today. I have often spoken in this House about animal welfare, particularly puppy farms and the regulation of dog breeding. One of the things that we can agree on in this House is that Ireland is a nation of dog lovers. If the Minister goes down any street, he will find someone out walking their much-loved dog. They form a huge part of our homes and our families. Un…
I thank the Minister. I appreciate his answer and clearly this is something he wants to drive strongly forward, so I look forward to working with him on it. It is a really important piece of work and I have always wondered why there was never any previous moves to strengthen it. It is good to hear the Minister is taking that seriously and I look forward to hopefully seeing the results and report from the stakeholder …
Dublin Bus recently announced that it is going to introduce a bus tracking system to help it combat the issue of ghost buses. This will be really welcome because it will bring transparency and real-time information to bus users. Why is Go Ahead Ireland not required to implement a similar system? It would be incredibly useful. In my constituency of Wicklow, since Go Ahead Ireland was awarded contracts, we have had not…
99. Deputy Jennifer Whitmore asked the Minister for Transport if he is aware that the DART will not be operational again this May bank holiday weekend for the VHI mini-marathon, an event that attracts up to 30,000 participants each year; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [31200/26]
Approximately 30,000 women take part in the VHI mini-marathon. It is the world's largest all-women 10 km race. It raises approximately €10 million per year for charities and it has raised over €255 million since it began. This is a hugely important event. Tens of thousands of women and their families participate in it and it raises money that charities across the country simply cannot do without.
People understand t…
I thank the Minister. I understand, and everyone understands, there is no easy way of doing it but there are certain weekends where the demand is so high it warrants running the DART. Perhaps it could just be for that individual day and the works could be done at other points in the weekend, which is what used to happen. Last year there were no additional Luas services provided on the weekend for the VHI mini-maratho…
Some 14% of Irish people are unable afford to heat their homes or pay their energy bills and 317,000 people are in arrears on their electricity bills. This is only going to get worse. The Social Democrats have called for a targeted energy credit scheme for households earning less than €70,000. That is a short-term measure. Obviously, we need longer term and more sustainable measures to deal with the energy crisis. Th…
Every supermarket shelf, pharmacy stock-room and construction supply chain relies on trucks moving safely and affordably across the country. When haulage costs rise, we all pay the price. Hauliers face extreme cost pressures with volatile fuel costs and rising insurance premiums. They are also struggling with the increasing general cost of living alongside the rest of the country.
The Government response has been to…
8. Deputy Jennifer Whitmore asked the Taoiseach if he will report on his attendance at the annual World Economic Forum meeting in Davos. [28396/26]
A key discussion point at Davos this year was energy security and electrification. Were there any discussions in relation to the decoupling of gas from electricity prices? We have seen wholesale electricity prices go up 19% already this month as a direct consequence of the invasion of Iran but we really have not seen the impacts of the invasion of Ukraine being rectified on the electricity market, and gas prices set …
18. Deputy Jennifer Whitmore asked the Taoiseach to provide an update on the work of the Cabinet offshore energy clearing house. [28397/26]
I will take ownership of the Arklow bank as well. This clearing house was established to identify the impediments and challenges, which the Taoiseach did not refer to at all. There are clear impediments to offshore wind. As Deputy Byrne stated, Arklow bank is no longer producing offshore wind energy. We were producing more 20 years ago than we are now. The interconnector to France is required, not only to export elec…
They would be better off working on the interconnector.
I welcome this motion and thank the Green Party for bringing it forward. I absolutely agree that the energy crisis is a climate crisis, but it is also a social justice crisis. The reason we are here and the reason so many people are at the mercy of global and international fossil fuel shocks is that this Government and the previous Government did not put in place plans to insulate communities and homeowners from thes…
9. Deputy Jennifer Whitmore asked the Taoiseach if he will report on the progress his Department is making in tackling child poverty. [26750/26]
24. Deputy Jennifer Whitmore asked the Taoiseach for an overview of the Budget 2026: Spotlight on Disability report recently published by his Department. [28395/26]
86. Deputy Jennifer Whitmore asked the Minister for Climate, Energy and the Environment for an update on the CRU price-gouging investigation with regard to energy prices; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [27417/26]
Could I have an update on the CRU price-gouging investigation that the Minister called for with regard to energy and electricity prices?
We are all aware that hundreds of thousands of households are finding it difficult to pay their energy bills and what we saw last week is a direct result of that. An estimated 315,000 people are in arrears on their electricity bills. Many of them have been in arrears for more than 19 months. These are people who are still not able to catch up with the incredible price shocks we experienced after the Ukraine invasion.…
It is clear that the Minister of State has had no update from the CRU on this. He provided no information or timeline on its examination of price gouging. It is incredible that six months after the IEA highlighted that wholesale electricity price reductions were not being passed on to Irish consumers at the same rate as other consumers across Europe and that five months after the Minister wrote to the CRU asking it t…
92. Deputy Jennifer Whitmore asked the Minister for Climate, Energy and the Environment the way in which he will ensure that the integrity and intention of the Climate Action and Low Carbon Development Act 2015 is preserved in light of planned legislation such as the Critical Infrastructure Bill 2026, which seeks to undermine it; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [27440/26]