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Social Democrats co-leader Catherine Murphy TD has described Budget 2018 as a Budget of squandered opportunities in so many ways but in particular on addressing the housing emergency. She said there are lots of carrots but very few sticks, for example the Vacant Land Levy announced is still less than land price inflation. Deputy Murphy […]

Catherine Murphy TD, Social Democrats Co-Leader, has drawn attention to a PQ reply which details funding provided to homeless services on a regional basis which, she says, gives further meaning to some of the harrowing stories emanating from areas outside the Dublin region such as the ones highlighted on Morning Ireland yesterday. The reply received […]

Commenting on recent events in Catalonia, Social Democrats co-leader Róisín Shortall TD today condemned police violence and urged all sides to reach a political solution to the constitutional crisis. Deputy Shortall said: “The weekend’s scenes of police violence and the forced closure of polling stations in Catalonia were shocking to witness. It is vital that […]

The government’s inability to accurately count the number of new houses built each year is masking the true scale of the housing shortage, the Social Democrats said today. The party’s co-leader Catherine Murphy TD was commenting on a Goodbody BER housebuilding tracker published today, which shows that 5,377 houses were completed in 2016. This compares […]

Speaking at the All Ireland Civic Dialogue in Dublin, Social Democrats representative for Castleknock and Blanchardstown Aengus Ó Maoláin said that it is time for Ireland to stop coping with the fallout from Brexit, and start planning to maximise the opportunities presented by the UK’s departure from the EU. “The decision by the UK to […]

Assurances by the Minister for Education that all school buildings have been built to the highest standards in recent years don’t stack up in the light of the announcement this week that another 30 schools are to undergo fire safety audits, Social Democrats Cllr Cian O’Callaghan said today. The Fingal Councillor, who is the party’s […]

With the right level of investment Ireland can showcase the vibrancy of its culture all year around, not just one night a year, Social Democrats spokesperson on Arts Development, Councillor Gary Gannon said today. Cllr Gannon was speaking ahead of the 13th annual Culture Night tonight, which sees events taking place in Dublin and across […]

As Fine Gael gather for their think-in it seems that they have already forgotten what they were told by the electorate last year – “people want decent services not tax cuts,” claimed Roisin Shortall TD, co-leader of the Social Democrats. “The Taoiseach and his Cabinet colleagues are hung up on the notion of tax cuts […]

In a reply to a Dáil question this week, the Minister for Health further set out his plans for the implementation of the Sláintecare report. Róisín Shortall TD, co-leader of the Social Democrats today welcomed the news that the Government have committed to the setting up of an implementation office for Sláintecare. Deputy Shortall said: […]

Speaking this morning, Social Democrats co-leader Róisín Shortall TD called for “the principle of recovery to be put at the centre of drug treatment services.” Addressing the inaugural International Recovery Conference in Trinity College Dublin, Deputy Shortall outlined the value of moving beyond harm reduction and towards an approach that supports long term recovery from […]

The latest revelations of falsified Garda breath test figures are indicative of a force in crisis with deep and pervasive cultural problems that cannot be addressed without management changes, Social Democrats co-leader Róisín Shortall TD said today. Deputy Shortall said: “The emergence today of an additional half a million falsified Garda breath tests shows that […]

Social Democrats co-leader Catherine Murphy has reiterated the party’s belief that water refunds should be paid net of the conservation grant.  According to the Social Democrats the number of people who would have paid the water charge and not claimed the conservation grant is minimal and therefore it would be very easy to deal with […]

According to Social Democrats co-leader, Róisín Shortall TD, “today’s shocking hospital waiting lists of 687,000 people are a new record and represent a huge failing on the part of Government.  Providing a decent health service where people can get timely treatment, on the basis of need, is a basic requirement of any civilised country.  Yet […]

Following the hit success of The Darkside Detective, a game developed by a team working in their spare time between Galway and Dublin, the Social Democrats have called upon the government to support the games industry in a similar way to the Irish film industry which has been built into a global hub. Niall Ó […]