News

Social Democrats Spokeswoman on Children Councillor Jennifer Whitmore has called for a human milk bank to be set up in the Republic of Ireland. “We can’t allow families and babies-in-need to be caught up in any potential political upheaval in the wake of Brexit. The Government needs to take a proactive approach and establish a […]

Social Democrats Spokesperson on Energy and Climate Change, Councillor Cian O’Callaghan has called on the government to establish a waste regulator to oversee price controls for bin collections. “At the moment, there is absolutely no transparency in the sector. We don’t know who owns many of the companies or what their profits or losses are. […]

Social Democrats co-leader Catherine Murphy TD has called on the government to come clean on the number of people who are homeless amid concerns about the re-categorisation of figures in the latest official statistics. “Cutting the official figures does nothing to help those people who are living in emergency accommodation that is either owned or […]

Social Democrats co-leader Róisín Shortall TD today called on the Minister for Health to intervene to compel the HSE to release smear slides to women affected by the CervicalCheck controversy so they can be independently reviewed. “The roll-out of the National Broadband Plan is the next vital piece of communications infrastructure in this country and […]

Social Democrats co-leader Róisín Shortall TD today called on the Minister for Health to intervene to compel the HSE to release smear slides to women affected by the CervicalCheck controversy so they can be independently reviewed. “The effect of trapping long-term renters in high rents is that the mortgage rules are actually inflating the rental […]

Social Democrats’ Spokesperson on Children, Councillor Jennifer Whitmore, today backed calls for the Department of Education to step in to regulate and reduce the use of restraint and seclusion practices in our schools. “My gut feeling is that this could be a growing problem, as schools are being left to manage children with behavioural needs […]

Social Democrats Spokesperson on Energy and Climate Change, Councillor Cian O’Callaghan, has said the onus on ending the use of non-recyclable plastics must be placed squarely at the door of producers and supermarkets pushing plastics on consumers. “Producers and retailers should lead the way and start phasing out now all packaging that can’t be recycled […]

The Social Democrats have welcomed today’s report by the Commission on the Future of Policing which recommends new external accountability and oversight structures and a shift to community policing. “We need to see buy-in from the highest level, both politically and among the senior ranks of the force, to get moving on these challenging reforms, […]

The Social Democrats today set out the party’s priorities for the new Dáil term, calling for a nationwide freeze on rents at current levels to stem the flow of low-and-middle income earners into homelessness. “The Government needs to intervene now to stop rents sky-rocketing any further. We have to end this exploitation of renters and […]

Commenting on this morning’s record figures from the National Treatment Purchase Fund showing 718,165 patients on hospital waiting lists, Social Democrats co-leader Róisín Shortall TD said the endless cycle of upwardly spiralling waiting lists is inexcusable. “The experience of daily suffering behind these waiting list numbers is appalling – the longer people wait for procedures, […]