News

Co-leader of the Social Democrats Róisín Shortall TD has called for the full rigors of the law to be applied to anyone who knowingly engaged in the falsification of adoption records. Responding to the shocking revelations today about false adoption records by the former St Patrick’s Guild Adoption Society, Deputy Shortall said: “The cost of […]

Social Democrats will today bring to the Dáil a proposal to take religion out of the school day. The party is tabling an amendment to the government’s Education (School Admissions) Bill 2016 to remove faith formation from the school timetable. Co-leader Róisín Shortall TD said: “We need to take religion out of the school day […]

The Social Democrats are pleased to announce that Repeal activist Carly Bailey has been selected as its candidate to contest the next General Election in the constituency of Dublin South West. Carly (38) was recently the co-convenor of the Dublin South West Together for Yes group and was the national co-ordinator of the Soc Dems’ […]

The Social Democrats will this week select four new people to add to our growing slate of General Election candidates, all of whom were heavily involved in the campaign to Repeal the Eighth Amendment. RTÉ’s exit poll last Friday showed that the Yes for repeal vote was highest amongst Soc Dems supporters, at 89.5 per […]

The Social Democrats welcome today’s extraordinary and historic Yes vote for repeal of the Eighth Amendment as a mark of compassion and respect for women and women’s healthcare. Speaking as tally results show a landslide Yes vote, the party’s co-leader Catherine Murphy TD said: “We see today how the innate sense of decency of Irish […]

The Social Democrats have welcomed the encouraging results of a referendum exit poll tonight showing a strong voter turnout in favour of repealing of the Eighth Amendment. Commenting on the exit poll from The Irish Times, the party’s co-leader Catherine Murphy TD said: “The exit poll results are strongly indicating that voters have taken on […]

Social Democrats co-leader Róisín Shortall TD today accused the government of failing to get to grips with ticket touting when she raised the issue in the Dáil this morning. Deputy Shortall said: “This year’s summer concert season is already in full swing and the public are being ripped off on a daily basis by unscrupulous ticket touts […]

The Social Democrats today urged people to vote Yes in Friday’s referendum on the Eighth Amendment to ensure that women can access the healthcare they need in Ireland. The party’s co-leader Catherine Murphy TD said: “With just a few days to go to polling, we are urging people to use this once in a generation […]

Social Democrats Councillor Jennifer Whitmore has called on Iarnród Éireann to offer refunds to Wicklow rail commuters in recognition of the service disruptions to passengers over the coming week. Cllr Whitmore said: “Major service disruptions on the Greystones DART line are set to continue over the coming week as a result of fire damage which […]

Social Democrats spokesperson on Education Equality and Access, Cllr Gary Gannon, said today that much more needs to be done to equip students from disadvantaged schools to stay the course at university. Cllr Gannon was commenting on research form the Higher Education Authority showing that students from disadvantaged schools are almost twice as likely to […]

The Social Democrats have welcomed the passage today at committee stage of our Bill to increase to six months the amount of unpaid parental leave available to working parents of children aged up to 12. The Parental Leave (Amendment) Bill 2017 aims to help working families enjoy better work-life balance by permitting parents to spend […]

Social Democrats co-leader Róisín Shortall TD has said she is deeply concerned that two weeks after their cases were identified, no action has yet been taken in relation to the 1,631 women who developed cervical cancers and were not included in the CervicalCheck audit. Deputy Shortall said: “I have been raising the position of the […]

A Social Democrats’ private members’ bill to enable working parents to spend more time caring for their children goes to committee stage tomorrow, Wednesday 16th May. The Parental Leave (Amendment) Bill 2017 allows parents to take a total of six months (26 weeks) unpaid leave from their jobs without their employment rights being affected. This […]

The Social Democrats have strongly condemned today’s violence in Gaza in which dozens of Palestinians have been killed and hundreds injured by Israeli troops on the day the US opens its embassy in Jerusalem. The party’s co-leader Róisín Shortall TD said: “The decision by President Trump to move the US embassy to Jerusalem is utterly […]