News

Social Democrats spokesperson for Education, Gary Gannon TD, has called on the Government to immediately set up a taskforce dedicated to dealing with the trauma faced by young people due to Covid-19. Deputy Gannon stated: “The effects of Covid-19 are insidious and could have longstanding consequences for our young people into the future if we […]

Social Democrats spokesperson for Children, Jennifer Whitmore TD, has called on the HSE to engage with child experts to put in place a child-centred Assessment of Needs process. Deputy Whitmore was commenting on the findings of a survey carried out by the Psychological Society of Ireland of its members on the Assessment of Needs (AON) […]

The Social Democrats have submitted a Bill to extend the Commission of Investigation into Mother and Baby Homes by another year. Jennifer Whitmore TD, the party’s spokesperson for Children, said: “We are hoping to publish this Bill in response to discovering that audio recordings of all 550 witnesses interviewed as part of the Commission of […]

Social Democrats TD Jennifer Whitmore has called for the Climate Action Bill to be introduced in the Dáil without delay. Deputy Whitmore, who is the party’s spokesperson for Climate Action and Biodiversity, said: “It is now four and a half months since the Bill was first published and it still has not been introduced in […]

– EU Affairs Committee alone will not guarantee the ‘vigorous scrutiny’ required Social Democrats TD Jennifer Whitmore has said that the Dáil must ensure proper scrutiny of the Investor Court System elements of CETA before any vote or final decision is taken. Deputy Whitmore, who is the party’s spokesperson on Climate Action and Biodiversity, said: “The full […]

Speaking out in favour of tighter monitoring of international travel, Róisín Shortall TD, co-leader of the Social Democrats, has called on the Taoiseach to assign responsibility for travel and quarantining to a different Minister. Deputy Shortall, who is raising the issue in the Dáil today, commented: “As it stands, the Minister for Health is dealing […]

Social Democrats Housing spokesperson Cian O’Callaghan TD has welcomed the announcement by Fingal County Council of a new affordable housing scheme at Dun Emer in Lusk, which he believes should be replicated nationwide. The scheme will be offered in partnership with Ó Cualann Cohousing Alliance, with prices ranging from €166,000 for a two-bed apartment to […]

Social Democrats TD Gary Gannon has called for the new phase of planning for the State examinations to be expedited to end the ongoing uncertainty for Leaving Certificate students. Minister Foley today confirmed that a new phase of planning would include both the provision of Leaving Certificate examinations while also exploring a corresponding non-examination process. […]

The Social Democrats Group on Dublin City Council object strongly to the plans announced by the Government today to remove Councillors’ oversight on the sale of public land to the Land Development Agency. Councillor Catherine Stocker said: “This is a power grab by a Government focused on private market solutions to the housing crisis. The […]

Reacting to the publication of the Land Development Agency Bill 2021, Social Democrats Housing spokesperson Cian O’Callaghan TD said: “The Government plan to sell homes at full market prices on public land is a slap in the face to the thousands of people currently locked out of buying their own home. The core objective of the […]

Covid-19 continues to expose glaring gaps in the provision of mental health services, according to Social Democrats TD Holly Cairns. Speaking in the Dáil today, Holly said: “The pandemic is taking its toll on everyone’s mental health. This is especially felt by people living alone; young people who are denied their usual social outlets; and […]

Social Democrats spokesperson for Children, Jennifer Whitmore TD, has expressed concern at the steady rise in the number of childcare workers migrating to the Pandemic Unemployment Payment. In a reply to a parliamentary question from Deputy Whitmore, the Minister for Social Protection revealed that the number of childcare workers availing of PUP has risen from […]

Social Democrats TD Jennifer Whitmore has called on the Government not to dissolve the Commission of Investigation into Mother and Baby Homes to allow for a full investigation into the deletion of recordings of survivors’ testimonies. Deputy Whitmore, who is the party’s spokesperson for Children, said: “The commission is due to be dissolved on February […]

Social Democrats TD Cian O’Callaghan has called on the Minister for Housing to correct the Dáil record following misleading statements in relation to standards in homeless hostels. Cian O’Callaghan, who is the party’s spokesperson for Housing, said: “In the Dáil last Thursday, the Minister for Housing stated that the National Quality Standards Framework applies to […]