News

Instead of a myopic focus on deficit reduction, the government must focus on deficits in infrastructure The EU Fiscal rules are an anachronistic relic from an austerity era and must be reformed if Ireland’s economy is to rebound as we emerge from the pandemic, according to Social Democrats Finance Spokesperson Róisín Shortall. “The Summer Economic […]

Even government ministers are confused – and it is their plan The government is rushing through legislation to reopen hospitality in a complete information vacuum, according to Social Democrats co-leader Róisín Shortall. “The Health Committee had a briefing this morning and members were more confused afterwards than they had been before. This is no reflection […]

Fundamentally, this government cannot be trusted The government’s u-turn on cuckoo funds is brazen and downright dishonest, according to Social Democrats co-leader Róisín Shortall. “We are in the midst of a housing crisis that is causing untold misery all over this country. The Taoiseach has acknowledged this. He said housing is the “number 1 crisis […]

We are now facing a fourth wave of Covid-19 and lessons must be learned from the previous three There must be a full public inquiry into what happened in our nursing homes during the pandemic, according to Social Democrats co-leader Róisín Shortall. Deputy Shortall was responding to an RTE Investigates programme on care in nursing […]

[et_pb_section admin_label=”section”] [et_pb_row admin_label=”row”] [et_pb_column type=”4_4″][et_pb_text admin_label=”Text”]We urgently need clarity on Nphet’s figures and their projections The government’s plans to reopen the country are unworkable, unenforceable and raise serious legal and ethical issues, according to Social Democrats Health Spokesperson Róisín Shortall. “In his address today, Taoiseach Micheál Martin said the government wanted to reopen the […]

The government has said it will not oppose our motion. They must go further – and actively support it. The Tánaiste should immediately clarify remarks he made in which he suggested Holles Street was a Catholic-ethos hospital, according to Social Democrats co-leader Róisín Shortall. “Leo Varadkar said he worked at the national maternity hospital at […]

The Minister should clarify if we have sufficient vaccine supply to offer choice to the over 60s cohort Further consideration must be given to the feasibility of mixing and matching vaccine doses for the over 60s, according to Social Democrats Health Spokesperson Róisín Shortall. “The only vaccine the over 60s cohort was offered was AstraZeneca […]

These payments are a lifeline for hundreds of thousands of people whose jobs were a casualty of the pandemic The government has reneged on a promise there would be no cliff edge when it came to the withdrawal of the PUP, according to Social Democrats co-leader Róisín Shortall. “The government repeatedly promised there would be […]

Is the reluctance, to offer people an alternate vaccine for their second dose, driven by supply or by science? The government should publish its supply forecasts for the coming months for each vaccine currently in use, according to Social Democrats Health Spokesperson Róisín Shortall. “Previously, the Department of Health published vaccine supply projections, which detailed […]

The government has apparently pledged €3.69 billon to implement this plan, but that figure is not mentioned anywhere in the report The government’s Sláintecare implementation plan contains a number of positive commitments – but fails to provide a detailed timeline or breakdown of the budget, according to Social Democrats co-leader Róisin Shortall. “It is four […]

Reports that the Minister for Health tried to exempt the National Maternity Hospital from spending rules for large capital projects are deeply alarming, according to Social Democrats co-leader Róisín Shortall. “Concerns over the National Maternity Hospital are now mounting on two fronts: 1) the ownership and ethos of the new hospital, and 2) the Minister’s […]

Fundamental questions about patient confidentiality, consent, the HSE’s use of power as an employer and data protection remain to be answered by the Department of Health. The appearance of the General Secretary of the Department of Health, Robert Watt, at the Oireachtas Health Committee has raised more questions than answers, according to Social Democrats Health […]

The crucial thing is that we want businesses, when they open, to remain open. As the country prepares to reopen, the government must do everything in its power to ensure there is no return to lockdown, according to Social Democrats co-leader Róisín Shortall. “Today is a positive day and there are many reasons to be […]

It is essential, in the interests of Irish women now and in the future, that the national maternity hospital is fully State owned and free of religious control and influence A new cross-party group has been established, by Social Democrats co-leader Róisín Shortall, to advocate for full public ownership of the new national maternity hospital […]