News

The Government’s social housing statistics demonstrate that private market-driven approaches continued to attract millions of Government funding in 2020, according to Social Democrats TD Cian O’Callaghan. Deputy O’Callaghan, who is the party’s Housing spokesperson, commented: “The Department of Housing’s Construction Status Report saw housing delivery reach only 70% of its annual target. While restrictions were […]

Social Democrats Housing spokesperson Cian O’Callaghan TD is calling for renting to be made more affordable through a range of measures, including banning international investors and REITs from buying up new apartments. Deputy O’Callaghan said: “Private investor funds remain a major force in the housing market, as highlighted by the Quarter 4 Report from the Banking and […]

Social Democrats Housing spokesperson, Cian O’Callaghan TD, has called on the Minister for Housing to act on standards in emergency accommodation for people who have become homeless. Deputy O’Callaghan said: “It is very concerning that 34% of privately operated emergency homeless shelters had fire safety issues when they were inspected by the Dublin Region Homeless Executive […]

Social Democrats TD Jennifer Whitmore has accused the Minister for the Environment of an abdication of his responsibilities after he refused to take a Dáil question from her on the implications of CETA on environmental legislation. Deputy Whitmore, who is the party’s spokesperson for Climate Action and Biodiversity, had submitted a priority question to Minister […]

Róisín Shortall TD, co-leader of the Social Democrats, has welcomed the resignation of the three senior executives from Davy today, describing it as a “starting point”. However, she has pointed out that a number of unanswered questions remain. Commenting, Deputy Shortall said: “The resignations of three senior executives from Davy today are welcome as a starting […]

The Social Democrats have accused Minister for Housing Darragh O’Brien of being “in denial” on the impact the Government’s shared equity scheme could have on the cost of housing. Social Democrats Spokesperson on Housing, Cian O’Callaghan TD says the Minister needs to face up to facts. “When criticisms on the Government’s proposed shared equity scheme are coming […]

The Social Democrats believe that the Defence Forces Review is an opportunity for the Government to evolve Ireland’s entire defence and security framework in order to meet future challenges. Cian O’Callaghan TD, Social Democrats Spokesperson for Defence said on this: “Since the foundation of the modern Irish State, the Irish Defence Forces have put themselves […]

Social Democrats TD Gary Gannon today called on the Minister for Education to ensure that appropriate mitigation measures are taken so that schools can safely remain open. Deputy Gannon, who is the party’s spokesperson for Education, said: “While the phased reopening of schools is something that we all wanted to see, the return to the […]

During Leaders’ Questions in the Dáil today, Róisín Shortall TD, co-leader of the Social Democrats, asked the Taoiseach to publish daily figures for vaccine doses received, doses available, and doses administered, so that the performance of the vaccine rollout can be measured against projections. She said: “Vaccines provide great hope to people, and the public […]

Calling on the Minister for Health to implement the Breastfeeding Action Plan, Social Democrats TD Jennifer Whitmore said: “As my party’s spokesperson for Children, getting the necessary breastfeeding supports for women in this country is a key priority of mine. To achieve this, we need to see the full implementation of the National Maternity Strategy […]

Commenting on the news that Bank of Ireland will start a programme of branch closures in September, Social Democrats co-leader Róisín Shortall TD said: “The closures announced this morning represent more bad news for Irish banking. Bank branches are an important focal point in many communities. The closure of the branches will further sever the […]

– Party co-leaders Catherine Murphy TD and Róisín Shortall TD set out ambition to make their social democratic vision a reality at fourth annual conference Social Democrats co-leaders Catherine Murphy TD and Róisín Shortall TD today set out their vision for the party and Irish society, stating that their aim is to be the party […]

Speaking today at the Social Democrats’ online National Conference, Holly Cairns TD slammed the Government for its shameful treatment of survivors of Mother and Baby Homes. Following a conversation with guest speaker Dr Maeve O’Rourke, lecturer in Human Rights at the Irish Centre for Human Rights at NUI Galway, Holly said: “Maeve has done such […]

Speaking today at the Social Democrats’ online National Conference, Jennifer Whitmore, the party’s spokesperson on Climate Action and Biodiversity, said: “Climate change is the biggest societal challenge we face. It will impact on every aspect of our lives – in fact, it already has. “To date, we’ve seen climate change primarily as an environmental issue […]