News

If the government is serious about stopping the rot, it must publish this report immediately  The government is sitting on a scathing report which details chronic underinvestment in the National Parks and Wildlife Service, according to Social Democrats Climate Spokesperson Jennifer Whitmore. Deputy Whitmore was commenting after Taoiseach Micheál Martin refused to indicate, in the […]

Vacancy rates are as high as 11.5pc in some of our towns The Government must urgently introduce a tax on vacant homes, according to Social Democrats Housing Spokesperson Cian O’Callaghan. Deputy O’Callaghan made his comments as the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing met to discuss the issue of vacancy and dereliction. “The Government is failing […]

The current mess should be cleaned up with one substantial new piece of legislation Repeated changes to legislation impacting renters is causing uncertainty and confusion for both tenants and landlords, according to Social Democrats Housing Spokesperson Cian O’Callaghan. “In fewer than two years, the Government has introduced six bills to amend legislation affecting renters. Coming […]

The review, of this important piece of legislation, has all of the hallmarks of a rush job It is deeply regrettable that the Health Minster has failed to appoint an independent expert to head a review of abortion legislation in advance of that review commencing, according to Social Democrats Health Spokesperson Róisín Shortall. “In March, […]

The bleak findings of CCAC report should be a wakeup call for the government A damning report from the Climate Change Advisory Council today confirms the government is all talk and no action when it comes to tackling climate change, according to Social Democrats Climate Spokesperson Jennifer Whitmore. “There is very little good news in […]

How can anyone on an average income afford to save €52,000? News that the median deposit for first-time buyers is now €52,000 is further evidence of how unaffordable housing has become, according to Social Democrats Housing Spokesperson Cian O’Callaghan. Deputy O’Callaghan was commenting after new figures from the Banking and Payments Federation found the median […]

Today we learn that schools will have to choose between Hepa filters and other essential works Clarity is urgently needed on the provision of Hepa filters for schools, according to Social Democrats Education Spokesperson Gary Gannon. “At the weekend, it was reported that a €30 million scheme was being finalised to provide air filtration units […]

This is further evidence that the party in Limerick, and elsewhere, is continuing to grow Social Democrats co-leaders Catherine Murphy and Róisín Shortall have welcomed the decision of Limerick City West councillor Elisa O’Donovan to re-join the party. Cllr O’Donovan said: “I am delighted to be ‘coming home’ to the Social Democrats, having been elected […]

Nero fiddling has nothing on the diddling of the Minister while our schools fell victim to an airborne virus Education Minister Norma Foley owes school communities an apology after her Department performed a u-turn on the advice on mask wearing in schools, according to Social Democrats Education Spokesperson Gary Gannon. “Last week, schools were given […]

This is a decision that makes no sense on either public health or financial grounds The decision of the government to scrap a subsidy scheme for antigen tests is a serious dereliction of duty, according to Social Democrats Health Spokesperson Róisín Shortall. “It beggars belief that Health Minister Stephen Donnelly would announce a U-turn of […]

Five children became homeless every day in October Immediate action from the government is needed to tackle homelessness as five children became homeless every day in October, according to Social Democrats Housing Spokesperson Cian O’Callaghan. “The latest homelessness figures show the number of people who are homeless and living in emergency accommodation has increased to […]

The shared equity scheme will throw further fuel on the fire of an overheated market The Central Bank’s warning that the Shared Equity Scheme will push up house prices is a shot across the government’s bow, according to Social Democrats Housing Spokesperson Cian O’Callaghan. “The Central Bank report today was crystal clear. It said that, […]

Solution urgently required as this is seriously impacting people’s ability to access Child Benefit, PPS numbers, passports and GP cards It is now almost impossible to register a birth or a death in many areas of the country, according to Social Democrats TD Jennifer Whitmore. “For weeks now, I have been highlighting the fact that […]

The building is on fire. We need to act now to put it out – not stand around and debate the cost of fire extinguishers. The government’s failure to include the early learning and childcare sector in its plans for antigen testing is indicative of its lax approach to antigen testing generally, according to Social […]