News

Housing Minister Darragh O’Brien must explain why he misled the Dáil regarding one of the central pillars of his new housing plan – the shared equity scheme. The Minister previously informed the Dáil that the Central Bank had approved his scheme but we now know this is not the case, according to Social Democrats Housing […]

There are fundamental problems with Sláintecare that those charged with implementing it view as intractable Health Minister Stephen Donnelly and Secretary General of the Department of Health Robert Watt must come to the Health Committee to answer questions about the crisis engulfing Sláintecare, according to Social Democrats Health Spokesperson Róisín Shortall. “Yesterday, the chairperson of […]

Tánaiste Leo Varadkar should clarify the misleading statements he made this morning Tánaiste Leo Varadkar was wrong to suggest the government had listened to advice from the Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI) on increasing funding for housing, according to Social Democrats Housing Spokesperson Cian O’Callaghan. “On Morning Ireland today, Tánaiste Leo Varadkar claimed the […]

The government is not a mere bystander in this crisis – it must play an active role The government has no coherent plan to increase the number of apprenticeships in key trades in the construction industry, according to Social Democrats Housing Spokesperson Cian O’Callaghan. “Taoiseach Micheál Martin has encouraged young people finishing their Leaving Cert […]

Repeated efforts by these women to have their complaints of sexual abuse, discrimination and harassment investigated seriously, and credibly, have failed A fully independent investigation is required to determine the extent of sexual abuse, harassment and assault in the defence forces, according to Social Democrats Defence Spokesperson Gary Gannon. “Women Of Honour, an RTE documentary […]

The decision of both of these eminent people to resign on the same day is significant The announcement that two of the most senior officials, tasked with implementing Sláintecare, have resigned on the same day raises fundamental questions about the progress of this hugely important reform of our health services, according to Social Democrats Health […]

At every turn, the Minister for Housing has put the interests of big developers ahead of those struggling to buy an affordable homes It is utterly unacceptable that thousands of affordable homes will be lost because of an exemption for developers contained in the Minister’s new housing plan, according to Social Democrats Housing Spokesperson Cian […]

We must do everything we can to ensure schools stay open – and remain a safe place for both children and their teachers School principals must not be abandoned to cope with a surge of contact-tracing alone, according to Social Democrats Education Spokesperson Gary Gannon. “Schools reopening in the midst of a delta surge was […]

Mr Coveney asks us to believe that Ms Zappone is a mug. That she not only invented a job offer, she invented a start date for that non-existent job Simon Coveney’s latest convoluted explanation of his handling of the botched appointment of Katherine Zappone does not just stretch credulity – it annihilates it, according to […]

This is a crisis that will only be solved with urgent action and ambition The Government’s new target to provide just 240 Housing First tenancies per year is not good enough, according to the Social Democrats Housing Spokesperson Cian O’Callaghan. “Tonight, more than 8,000 people will sleep in emergency homeless accommodation. This includes 930 families […]

The reality is this government has just one overarching idea to solve the housing crisis – increase exorbitant house prices even further It has taken more than a year in office for Housing Minister Darragh O’Brien to publish a housing plan that is short on both ambition and imagination, according to Social Democrats Housing Spokesperson […]

The hacking of the Minister’s phone is a serious national security concern The Oireachtas Foreign Affairs Committee must investigate the revelation that, Foreign Affairs Minister, Simon Coveney’s phone was hacked, according to the Social Democrats Foreign Affairs Spokesperson Gary Gannon. “Yesterday, while answering questions at the Oireachtas Foreign Affairs Committee about his failed attempt to […]

At every step, and every stage, women and pregnant people have been ignored The government must immediately publish a roadmap for the reopening of maternity services, according to Social Democrats TD Holly Cairns. “I welcome the publication of the reopening plan for society and the economy, but am struck by a glaring omission. Nowhere, in […]

We are a resilient people, but this pandemic has tested us like never before Today marks a new dawn in our fight against covid, according to Social Democrats co-leader Róisín Shortall. “Today marks a new dawn in our fight against covid as we make preparations for what will hopefully be the final unravelling of the […]