News

The particular challenges presented for students in the higher and further education sectors are highlighted by a call for a ‘No Detriment’ policy for third level education, which is supported by the Social Democrats. Gary Gannon TD, Social Democrats spokesperson on Education said: “We strongly support a ‘No Detriment’ or ‘Help, Not Hinder’ approach for […]

Social Democrats co-leader Catherine Murphy has reacted angrily today to news that tax exiles will be given a special dispensation allowing them to circumvent the current Revenue tax residency rules whilst still avoiding pay taxes. Catherine Murphy questioned what had prompted this unusual decision by Revenue and who signed off on it. She also pointed […]

Social Democrats co-leader Roisin Shortall TD has called on the Taoiseach to urgently establish a Forum to pursue all possible avenues for the provision of medical supplies for responding to the Covid 19 crisis. Such a Forum would be charged with bringing together representatives of manufacturers, innovators, medical scientists, the academic community and enterprise in […]

The Social Democrats have tabled a number of amendments to the emergency Covid-19 legislation going through the Dáil today. In addition to formal amendments, the party has also submitted a number of proposals on issues which need to be considered in the context of this Bill and other future measures to address the evolving crisis. […]

The Social Democrats have repeated their calls for the introduction of a wage subsidy during the current Covid-19 crisis. The party says that such a move is vital in order to keep people connected to employment, maintain reasonable incomes and keep businesses afloat. The party’s finance spokesperson, co-leader Róisín Shortall said: “The scale of job […]

The Social Democrats have said that they stand fully behind the advice of the public health officials dealing with Covid-19 and wider Coronavirus issue.  Party co-leader Róisín Shortall attended today’s opposition briefing and said the only responsible thing to do in such a situation is to employ an evidence-based approach based on best international medical advice […]

The Social Democrats will this week take part in a series of separate policy discussions with both Sinn Fein and the Green Party aimed at trying to agree common approaches on a  number of key issues. The party’s co-leaders Catherine Murphy and Róisín Shortall said that the party’s priority is to ensure that a social […]

Social Democrats Councillors will take part in a series of votes across several important issues facing the city at tonight’s Dublin City Council meeting.  One of the major items of business will pertain to the potential rezoning of large swathes of industrial land across the city for residential use. The Social Democrats Cllrs say they have […]

The new Social Democrats Parliamentary Party met for the first time this morning in Dublin in advance of the Dáil resuming next week. The 6 newly elected deputies held a press conference at the gates of Leinster House where party co-leaders Róisín Shortall and Catherine Murphy welcomed the party’s 4 first time TDs to the […]

The Social Democrats today launched their cost of living policy – Affordable Lives – which proposes a series of measures aimed at putting actual money back in people’s pockets in a very real way. The party says that while other parties promise tax cuts, any benefit of that is cancelled out by the ever-increasing cost […]

The Social Democrats today launched a wide-ranging policy document focusing on some of the issues impacting on older people’s overall quality of life. The party says that older people have very specific concerns such as the availability of homecare packages, the fear around the pension controversy and other issues including housing and healthcare.  Speaking outside […]

The Social Democrats have published a research paper showing that a number of Counties suffer disproportionately when it comes to the allocation of public service resource. Meath and Kildare fare very badly with Wicklow not far behind.  The party says current funding systems have disadvantaged area of high population growth across a large number of […]

The Social Democrats policy document LGBTI+ Justice and Equality will be launched in Limerick today by General Election candidate Jenny Blake. Jenny, who played a key role in the Marriage Equality campaign in Limerick in 2015, said, “I joined the Social Democrats because I see it as the party that has the most empathy and […]

The Social Democrats today set out detailed proposals for a Renters’ Charter to protect tenants and make sure that the rental sector provides affordable and secure homes. The party said that a strong rental sector is a vital part of an overall housing strategy, particularly as one in five people are now renting. Rents and […]