News

What you need to know to vote in General Election 2020 With Election 2020 happening this week, it’s easy to get lost in the election debate and forget the simple things, like how to actually cast your vote. We’re one of the only countries in the world that uses the PR-STV voting system, so there’s […]

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 […]

This morning, Monday 3rd February, at an organic farm on the Turkshead Peninsula, Cllr Holly Cairns, the Social Democrats Spokesperson on Agriculture and Cork South West General Election candidate, launches the Party’s policy document ‘Building Sustainable Rural Communities.’ Cllr. Holly Cairns said: “For too long, rural development has been framed as some sort of urban […]

The Social Democrats have today launched their ‘Greener and Fairer’ Climate Policy with wide-ranging proposals to address what they describe as the fundamental issue facing our country and our planet. The party says that creating a sustainable society requires everyone to play their part but at the same time it is important to ensure that too […]

The Social Democrats have today launched their cycling policy – a policy they say brings us closer to a society where the emphasis is placed on moving people rather than moving cars. The party notes that Ireland falls far behind much of Europe in terms of cycling infrastructure and it is time that Ireland started […]

The Social Democrats have today launched their election manifesto entitled ‘Invest in Better’. The document, which is fully costed and runs to 123 pages, sets out a roadmap for what it calls a ‘uniquely Irish version of the Nordic model’ and covers topics from health and housing to LGTBTQI+ rights. The manifesto commits to a […]

The Social Democrats today, 30th January, launched their disability policy which aims to promote and protect the rights, quality of life and independence of people with disabilities, addressing decades of under-prioritisation. The policy gets to the root of the problem and proposes good solutions at both a systemic and operational level, including provision for increased funding supports […]

Foster arts and culture by bringing Ireland in line with average EU spending on culture. Today, Wednesday 29th January, Sarah Durcan and Gary Gannon, Social Democrats candidates in Dublin Bay South and Dublin Central respectively,  launch the Party’s Arts and Culture manifesto for the general election and commit to increasing Arts and Culture spending to the EU average over […]

Stereotypes around autism and other disabilities need to be challenged – Cllr Carly Bailey Responding to the unacceptable comments on autism by a senator, Cllr. Carly Bailey, parent of a son with autism and general election candidate in Dublin South West, said: “Words matters. Autism is not an illness. Autistic people do not suffer from autism. What […]

Making Mental Health a Priority – SocDems launch Mental Health Policy This morning, Tuesday 28th January, at the ILAS institute at NUIG in Galway, the Social Democrats launch their Mental Health policy – ‘Making Mental Health a Priority’, with Róisín Shortall, co leader, Niall Ó Tuathail from Galway West and Peter Reid from Galway East. Róisín Shortall, […]