News

Social Democrat co-leader Roisin Shortall TD has accused the Minister for Justice of dragging his heels in the wake of several serious incidents involving scramblers and quad bikes over the Christmas period. These incidents were entirely predictable and will continue unless we see urgent action from the Minister. Deputy Shortall said: “This is a serious […]

In response to the Government’s announcement yesterday of a €1500 average grant to childcare providers, Róisín Shortall TD and co-leader of the Social Democrats has criticised the decision as a stop-gap measure and no substitute for adequately resourcing childcare. Ms Shortall said, “The Government’s tactic of keeping childcare at an arm’s length means most providers […]

As the latest release from the Residential Tenancies Board for rents for new tenancies in Quarter 3, 2019, shows continued annual rise in rents, Catherine Murphy TD, co-leader of the Social Democrats said: “For Minister Murphy to claim that Rent Pressure Zones (RPZs) are working effectively is ludicrous. While some landlord/tenant relationships work in line […]

Responding to the revelation that City and County Council newly installed public water fountains will now be classed as ‘commercial’ and that councils will now have to pay business charges to Irish Water, Cllr. Jennifer Whitmore, chair of Wicklow County Council’s Climate and Biodiversity Action Strategic Policy Committee, said: “We will not make any impact […]

Responding to the large Conservative win in yesterday’s UK Elections, Róisín Shortall TD, co-leader of the Social Democrats, highlighted the risks for Ireland in not tackling underlying inequality in society and not safeguarding democracy. Róisín Shortall TD said: “The election of a very right-wing Conservative government in the UK heralds a very uncertain future for […]

Responding to the shocking revelations in the FAI accounts released this afternoon, Catherine Murphy TD, co-leader of the Social Democrats, acknowledging how terrible a day it is for football in Ireland, voiced serious worries about how to rebuild the governing organisation for football in Ireland. She said: “Those who love the sport, those who do […]

Speaking in advance of the Social Democrats ‘No Confidence’ motion in the Housing Minister Eoghan Murphy TD to be debated in the Dáil on Tuesday evening, 3rd Dec, co-leaders Catherine Murphy TD and Róisin Shortall TD outlined 10 immediate actions a new Housing Minister should undertake. Catherine Murphy TD said: “Our motion on Tuesday evening aims to […]

The Social Democrats will use their private members time next week to bring a motion of no confidence in the Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government, Eoghan Murphy TD, to the floor of the Dáil. Speaking as they confirmed the motion for next week, Catherine Murphy TD said: “Our housing situation has gone beyond […]

Róisín Shortall TD, co-leader of the Social Democrats, has referred to the Comptroller and Auditor General (C&AG) the continued spending of public funds by the Government on works for the proposed new National Maternity Hospital. “It is just reckless to continue to spend public money – €43m to date – on the new National Maternity […]

Róisín Shortall TD, Social Democrats co-leader, today called on the Government to come clean on the position between the Vatican and the State on the New National Maternity hospital, and to halt further spending until ownership is resolved. “Despite commitments given by Minister Harris in the Dáil a year ago, we’re still waiting to see […]

In the wake of recent Boil Water notices and ongoing controversy surrounding the future ownership of Irish Water, the Social Democrats have today tabled a Dáil Motion seeking to bring Irish Water under the remit of the Comptroller and Auditor General for accounting purposes and calling on the Government to commit to holding a referendum […]

Catherine Murphy TD, co-leader of the Social Democrats, today called on the Government not to proceed with the proposed signing of the contract for the National Broadband Plan. She said “the National Broadband Plan carries an unprecedented risk for the State where the government will hand over a huge amount of public funding, following a […]

“These by-elections are an important opportunity for voters to demonstrate to Fine Gael and Fianna Fail who support them in government that their terrible failures are no longer acceptable.” Co-leaders of the Social Democrats, Róisín Shortall TD and Catherine Murphy TD, welcomed the opportunity provided by the by-elections to hold the Government to account. “These […]

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