News

The General Election campaign of the Social Democrats’ candidate for Dublin Central, councillor Gary Gannon, will be launched at a public event tomorrow night [Thursday 3 August]. Broadcaster, fashion designer, and health campaigner Brendan Courtney will MC the event, which kicks off at 7.30p.m. in the Skylon Hotel in Drumcondra. The theme of Gary’s campaign is #We Are, and speakers will […]

The government’s abject failure to deliver so-called ‘rapid-build’ homes shows just how desperately we need a dedicated Housing Delivery Agency, Social Democrats TD Catherine Murphy said today. Deputy Murphy said: “It’s farcical for the government to talk about ‘rapid-build’ homes when only 22 out of 1,500 pledged modular units have been completed so far. It’s […]

People seeking free legal advice are currently facing waiting times of up to 76 weeks for appointments at Legal Aid Board law centres, according to the latest figures released to the Social Democrats. The figures show that combined waiting times for first and second consultations at Legal Aid Board law centres on 1st July 2017 were […]

The government has resorted to cynically re-announcing a pre-existing corruption bill in a bid to make itself look busy, Róisín Shortall TD said today. The co-leader of the Social Democrats was commenting on the announcement by the Minister for Justice that the Criminal Justice (Corruption Offences) Bill 2017 was discussed at cabinet yesterday. “This Bill […]

The Social Democrats have called on the Garda Síochána to publish full details of any contracts with private companies operating mobile speed detection cameras in the state. Party co-leader Róisín Shortall TD made the call today as details of a €1.2 million per month contract with the company GoSafe were published following a Freedom of […]

The high costs of sending children to school need to be lifted so that parents do not have to use money earmarked for household bills, the Social Democrats said today. Party co-leader Róisín Shortall TD was commenting on a survey published today which found that 72 per cent of parents feel the back to school […]

A critical HSE audit into financial practices at the National Maternity Hospital highlights everything that is wrong with our public-private healthcare model, according to Social Democrats TD Róisín Shortall. Deputy Shortall was commenting on a HSE audit which found that the publicly-funded National Maternity Hospital in Holles Street subsidised the cash flow of a semi-private […]

Social Democrats TD Catherine Murphy has called for an information campaign on waste recycling in light of the recent controversy regarding waste charges. Deputy Murphy said that the number one thing expressed to her during the media coverage on waste charges was confusion. She said people are confused about how the new charging regime will […]

The Social Democrats today publish draft laws to safeguard freedom of speech by abolishing the archaic offence of blasphemy. The two Private Members’ Bills will be introduced in the Dáil today by the party’s co-leader Róisín Shortall TD. One Bill provides for a referendum to repeal the blasphemy provision in the Constitution, while the other […]

Social Democrats member of the Public Accounts Committee, Catherine Murphy TD, has today welcomed the publication of the committee’s report into the third level education sector and urged swift implementation of its recommendations. Speaking as the report was launched today, Deputy Murphy said: “The lack of transparency in relation to the finances of third level […]

The latest sharp rise in house price inflation shows how urgently an affordable housing scheme is needed, Social Democrats co-leader Catherine Murphy TD said today. Deputy Murphy was commenting on Central Statistics Office figures which show that house sale prices rose by almost 12 per cent in the year to May 2017. This compares with […]

The fire safety review announced by Minister for Housing Eoghan Murphy in the wake of the Grenfell Tower disaster deliberately excludes social housing where fire risks are most serious, according to Social Democrats Cllr Cian O’Callaghan. Cllr O’Callaghan said the scope of the ongoing review is excessively narrow, focusing only on multi-storey buildings of five […]

The high costs of sending children to school need to be lifted so that parents are not being forced into debt to cover basics, the Social Democrats said today. Party co-leader Róisín Shortall TD was commenting on new research that shows that the average cost of primary school education is €766 a year. The Cost […]

A new International Civil Service Effectiveness Index, launched today (see link here), has highlighted several deficiencies in the Irish Civil Service. Comparing the Civil Service of 31 countries, Ireland comes in 6th last. Ireland scored high in Human Resource Management and Tax Administration but low in terms of regulation, risk management, social security administration and openness. Róisín Shortall […]