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Social Democrats Spokesperson for Children, Wicklow TD Jennifer Whitmore, called for the retention and enhancement of the Department of Children and Youth Affairs, following media reports of a proposal to disband the department. Deputy Whitmore said “it would be a hugely regressive step for children and young people across the country if it were confirmed […]

The Social Democrats have published a research paper showing that a number of Counties suffer disproportionately when it comes to the allocation of public service resource. Meath and Kildare fare very badly with Wicklow not far behind.  The party says current funding systems have disadvantaged area of high population growth across a large number of […]

The Social Democrats today launched their policy on children, families, and work/life balance – ‘A New Deal for Parents; Getting it right for children, for families’.  Party spokesperson on Children, Wicklow Cllr and GE candidate Jennifer Whitmore – a working mother of four – and Dublin West Candidate Aengus Ó Maoláin Social Democrats GE candidate […]

‘A health service when you need it, as you need it’.  The Social Democrats will today launch their Health policy document; ‘A health service when you need it, as you need it’. Party Co-Leader Roísín Shortall said the current Irish health service is not set up to best meet the needs of people requiring healthcare. […]

Today, Monday 20th January, Cllr Jennifer Whitmore, Social Democrats, will launch the Party’s Biodiversity proposals as part of their ‘Greener and Fairer’ platform in the General election. Speaking ahead of the launch, Cllr Jennifer Whitmore, the Social Democrats general election candidate in Wicklow said: “Biodiversity loss is one of the most urgent challenges Ireland faces. If we […]

Responding to the revelation that City and County Council newly installed public water fountains will now be classed as ‘commercial’ and that councils will now have to pay business charges to Irish Water, Cllr. Jennifer Whitmore, chair of Wicklow County Council’s Climate and Biodiversity Action Strategic Policy Committee, said: “We will not make any impact […]

The Social Democrats today accused Fine Gael of failing families as new research shows that Ireland ranks among the worst in Europe for meeting people’s childcare and homecare support needs. The party’s Spokesperson for Children, Wicklow Cllr Jennifer Whitmore said: “Ireland’s appalling poor ranking in today’s ESRI study shows the utter emptiness of the Taoiseach’s […]

Social Democrats Spokesperson for Children, Cllr Jennifer Whitmore, has said concerted efforts must be made to reduce high back-to-school costs and relieve stress on parents. Cllr Whitmore was commenting on today’s annual Barnardos survey which found that parents are “stressed out, overburdened and fed up” by the high cost of sending children back to school. […]

“Parents rely on the expertise of Tusla and their inspections to ensure that the facility in which they place their children is safe. Last night’s programme cast doubts on the reliability of this inspection system.“ SocDems call for review of oversight and inspection system for childcare facilitiesSocial Democrats spokesperson for Children, Cllr Jennifer Whitmore, has […]

Up to half a million families could benefit from extensions to unpaid parental leave under a Social Democrats private members bill which is scheduled to pass through the Oireachtas today. “The additional flexibility will help take some pressure off working parents, who can use the extra leave to, say, work a four-day week for part […]