News

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 councillors in Kildare have expressed concern over a proposed Government Bill that will remove the right of local elected representatives to vote on the sale of public land to the Land Development Agency. The LDA has been created to increase the State’s output of social and affordable housing. However, Cllr Nuala Killeen has […]

Cllr Ronan Moore has welcomed Meath County Council’s inclusion of a new objective for Enfield to support the delivery of a comprehensive cycling and pedestrian strategy for the town. Cllr Moore said: ‘Following my submission to the Draft Development Plan, I really happy that the chief executive and senior planners have included this objective for Enfield. […]

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 […]

Welcoming a recent review of the proposed Navan Rail Line, Cllr Ronan Moore stated: “It is essential any future rail line is designated with ‘Commuter Status’ and this needs to be recognised during the feasibility study. “In looking at the financial viability of the Navan Rail Line, my concern is that the consultants will look […]

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 […]

Cllr Ronan Moore has welcomed Meath’s Comhairle na nÓg’s contribution at the February County Council meeting and has outlined his full support for their grand ambition for a centralised youth premises for young people in the county. He made his comments following a presentation by Meath’s Comhairle, who are the Youth Council in the county, […]

A Zoom meeting will be held on Wednesday, February 17, at 7pm, with the intention of establishing a Social Democrats branch in the Sligo-Leitrim constituency. Leitrim-based Social Democrats member, Thomas Creamer, who is assisting efforts to set up the branch, commented: “The Social Democrats trebled their number of TDs from two to six in last […]

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 […]