News

Gary Gannon TD, Social Democrats spokesperson on Education, and Holly Cairns TD, spokesperson on Further and Higher Education, have expressed concern at Minister Simon Harris’s statement that the cost of providing third level education will increase in the short-term as a result of COVID-19. Both TDs are seeking clarity on the matter and an assurance […]

Temporary extension of rent freeze and evictions ban is not enough – Cian O’Callaghan TD Social Democrats Housing Spokesperson and TD for Dublin Bay North, Cian O’Callaghan, has warned that today’s announcement by the Government of an extension of the rent freeze and ban on evictions does not go far enough. Deputy O’Callaghan said: “The […]

The Social Democrats have strongly criticised a Government amendment to its Workers’ Rights Motion which is due to be debated in the Dáil this evening. Dublin Central TD, Gary Gannon, said the amendment from the Tánaiste, Leo Varadkar TD, was a disgraceful attempt by the Government to undermine the SocDems motion, which seeks to have […]

Cork South West TD, Holly Cairns, has criticised the delay on promised legislation for the implementation of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, and called on the Tanáiste, Leo Varadkar TD, to commit to bring legislation forward urgently. The Convention protects and ensures the full and equal enjoyment of all human rights […]

Calling on the Taoiseach to act today on people coming into Ireland from areas where Covid-19 is out of control, such as cities in the US, Catherine Murphy TD, co-leader of the Social Democrats, said: “Restaurant and tourist businesses owners have been catapulted into being the primary vetting agencies for their customers who may be […]

Responding to the EU General Court decision on the Apple tax case, Róisín Shortall TD, co-leader of the Social Democrats said: “The judgement is a pyrrhic victory for the tax-payers of Ireland, and indeed other European countries. “It is the public purse that loses out. We have a right to expect a fair tax on […]

We are five! It has been an extraordinary first five years. We now have 24 SocDems public representatives and a party full of members with ambition, passion and a huge appetite to build on very strong foundations, all committed to bringing real social democracy to Ireland. We have contested Local, European, By-Elections, a General Election […]

The Social Democrats today publish the motion on Workers’ Rights that they will bring forward in their first Private Members’ time in the 33rd Dáil. The motion will be debated on Wednesday, July 15, at 8pm. The motion aims to increase protection for workers across a range of areas, including low-pay, precarious work, collective bargaining […]

Gary Gannon TD said, “News of increased paid parents leave today is welcome, even though it does not fully address the calls for twelve weeks additional leave for women who had maternity leave during lockdown. These women didn’t have access to many postnatal supports, and the three additional weeks will not fully address these issues.” […]

Today’s announcement by the Government of an additional three weeks paid parental leave can only be described as a cynical move by Government designed to give the impression of supporting parents, whilst in fact parents are being short-changed, said SocDems spokesperson for Children, Jennifer Whitmore TD. Whitmore said: “A key commitment given in the 2019 […]

All 18 Social Democrats Councillors have jointly signed a letter to the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage, Darragh O’Brien, urging him to provide clarity on the financial security of local authorities in light of the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic. The party’s Councillors are calling on Minister O’Brien to prioritise support for local government […]

Social Democrats co-leader Róisín Shortall has expressed grave concerns at the Government’s delay in publishing a green list of countries that are deemed safe or low-risk. Speaking earlier today, Deputy Shortall said we now have “the worst of both worlds” when it comes to the serious risk posed by tourists travelling into Ireland from countries […]

Holly Cairns TD, the Social Democrats spokesperson for Agriculture and the Marine, has called for a task force to review the meat processing industry. After hearing from representatives of the Migrants’ Rights Centre and Meat Industry Ireland, Deputy Cairns believes that the levels of uncertainty around the Covid clusters in some plants and concerns for […]

The co-leader of the Social Democrats and TD for Kildare North, Catherine Murphy, has welcomed the National Transport Authority (NTA) progress report on the Royal Canal and Grand Canal Greenways. In response to a Parliamentary Question tabled by Deputy Murphy, the NTA outlined that works on all Dublin City sections of the Royal Canal are […]