News

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 […]

Social Democrats’ Spokesperson for Children, Councillor Jennifer Whitmore, has said the Department of Education must ensure that structural inspections on all 42 schools built by Western Building Systems will be concluded before the end of the mid-term break. “All affected schools need to know with certainty that these assessments will be carried out within the […]

“Today’s Budget provides for an extra two weeks of paid parental leave per parent. This is a meagre allocation – and it doesn’t even kick in until November of next year.” Social Democrats Spokesperson on Children, Councillor Jennifer Whitmore, has said the government has done the bare minimum to support working parents in Budget 2019. […]

Social Democrats Spokeswoman on Children Councillor Jennifer Whitmore has called for a human milk bank to be set up in the Republic of Ireland. “We can’t allow families and babies-in-need to be caught up in any potential political upheaval in the wake of Brexit. The Government needs to take a proactive approach and establish a […]

Social Democrats’ Spokesperson on Children, Councillor Jennifer Whitmore, today backed calls for the Department of Education to step in to regulate and reduce the use of restraint and seclusion practices in our schools. “My gut feeling is that this could be a growing problem, as schools are being left to manage children with behavioural needs […]

Social Democrats’ Spokesperson on Children, Councillor Jennifer Whitmore has said today’s ESRI-Pobal research findings that women are being shut out of the workplace by the high cost of childcare shows the need for a complete re-think of how we deliver childcare and the role the State provides in supporting parents. “High childcare costs place an […]

Taoiseach must raise issue of confessional secrecy on child abuse with Pope Francis “There is a direct conflict between the requirement of our legislation and Canon Law. Canon Law can never be allowed to over-ride civil law, in particular when it comes to the protection of children”. Social Democrats Spokesperson for Children Cllr. Jennifer Whitmore […]