News

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 […]

The Social Democrats Spokeswoman for Children, Cllr Jennifer Whitmore, today supported the call for an independent evaluation of family hubs, saying housing authorities are desensitised to the devastating impact of homelessness on children and families. “Today’s report by the Ombudsman for Children includes testimonies from children about life in family hubs that are utterly heart-breaking. […]

Social Democrats Spokesperson for Children, Councillor Jennifer Whitmore today called for new public health guidelines for children playing computer games and a review of how some ‘loot boxes’ and in-game purchases target children. “Parents need to be better equipped to engage with their children about their online habits, and clear public health guidelines for the […]

Social Democrats Spokesperson for Children, Councillor Jennifer Whitmore, has called on the Minister for Health to introduce a Meningitis B catch-up vaccination programme for children and young adults born before October 2016, when the current HSE vaccination programme was introduced. “The vaccine injections cost hundreds of euro, so it’s vital that people know they can […]

Social Democrats Spokeswoman for Children, Councillor Jennifer Whitmore, has backed calls for schools to record and report how often they impose reduced school hours on children. “The Department of Education itself says reduced timetables should be used only in exceptional circumstances and never as a behavioural management tool.” Social Democrats Spokeswoman for Children, Councillor Jennifer […]