News

The mixing of private incentive and public interest at the heart of our health system creates an ungovernable twilight zone, Róisín Shortall TD will tell the MacGill Summer School tonight. Deputy Shortall chaired the cross-party Committee on the Future of Healthcare which recently produced a 10-year blueprint for reform of the health service, called Sláintecare […]

The Government’s climate change plan requires massive capital spending which is not available because it refuses to challenge EU spending rules, according to Róisín Shortall TD. The co-leader of the Social Democrats said the National Mitigation Plan published today was an exercise in wishful thinking, as the government is not in a position to invest […]

Catherine Murphy TD has welcomed the hard-hitting PAC report into financial practices at Templemore Garda training and said the report does “not pull any punches.” Speaking at the launch of the report, Deputy Murphy said that when she had first raised the issue with the then Minister for Justice Frances Fitzgerald it had been dismissed […]

Today’s Social Welfare, Pensions and Civil Registration Bill is more noteworthy for its omissions rather than its provisions, according to Róisín Shortall TD. Deputy Shortall said: “T.D.s were given the clear understanding in early drafts of the Bill in May that it would deal with some of the enormous insecurity affecting defined benefit schemes. As […]

The government is failing thousands of tenants facing spiralling costs by refusing to act to cut stamp duty on rents above €2,500 a month, Social Democrats TD Catherine Murphy said today. Deputy Murphy said figures published today show that some 55 per cent of three-bedroom Dublin city homes currently up for rent through online property […]

The fact that investors are currently paying the Irish State to lend it money highlights just how ridiculous our economic management has become, Social Democrats TD Róisín Shortall said today. The party’s co-leader was commenting on reports that Ireland raised €750m on the bond markets this morning, selling five-year bonds at a negative interest rate […]

A critical HSE audit into financial practices at the National Maternity Hospital highlights everything that is wrong with our public-private healthcare model, according to Social Democrats TD Róisín Shortall. Deputy Shortall was commenting on a HSE audit which found that the publicly-funded National Maternity Hospital in Holles Street subsidised the cash flow of a semi-private […]

Today’s Summer Economic Statement is another squandered opportunity by the government to deal with the enormous pressures facing our economy and society, the Social Democrats said today. The party’s co-leader Róisín Shortall TD said the setting up of a Rainy Day Fund at a time the housing, health and childcare needs of so many people […]

Social Democrats TD Catherine Murphy has called for an information campaign on waste recycling in light of the recent controversy regarding waste charges. Deputy Murphy said that the number one thing expressed to her during the media coverage on waste charges was confusion. She said people are confused about how the new charging regime will […]

The Social Democrats today publish draft laws to safeguard freedom of speech by abolishing the archaic offence of blasphemy. The two Private Members’ Bills will be introduced in the Dáil today by the party’s co-leader Róisín Shortall TD. One Bill provides for a referendum to repeal the blasphemy provision in the Constitution, while the other […]

Social Democrats member of the Public Accounts Committee, Catherine Murphy TD, has today welcomed the publication of the committee’s report into the third level education sector and urged swift implementation of its recommendations. Speaking as the report was launched today, Deputy Murphy said: “The lack of transparency in relation to the finances of third level […]

The latest sharp rise in house price inflation shows how urgently an affordable housing scheme is needed, Social Democrats co-leader Catherine Murphy TD said today. Deputy Murphy was commenting on Central Statistics Office figures which show that house sale prices rose by almost 12 per cent in the year to May 2017. This compares with […]

The fire safety review announced by Minister for Housing Eoghan Murphy in the wake of the Grenfell Tower disaster deliberately excludes social housing where fire risks are most serious, according to Social Democrats Cllr Cian O’Callaghan. Cllr O’Callaghan said the scope of the ongoing review is excessively narrow, focusing only on multi-storey buildings of five […]

The high costs of sending children to school need to be lifted so that parents are not being forced into debt to cover basics, the Social Democrats said today. Party co-leader Róisín Shortall TD was commenting on new research that shows that the average cost of primary school education is €766 a year. The Cost […]