The Social Democrats are this weekend marking their 5th anniversary, and the rapid growth of the Party since 2015.
Co-leader, Róisín Shortall TD, said:
“It has been an extraordinary first five years. We now have 24 public representatives and a party full of members with ambition, passion and a huge appetite to build on very strong foundations.
“The Party has worked very hard over the last five years, and has contested Local, European, By-Elections, two General Elections and Seanad elections. We now have 18 Councillors across the country and six TDs, having tripled our elected representatives in the most recent Local and General election.
“Even in opposition we have been able to achieve significant change including leading the development of Sláintecare, the now accepted roadmap to a universal health service, and our Bill last year which brought in additional parental leave, benefiting up to half a million families.”
Co-leader, Catherine Murphy TD, said:
“There is a realignment of politics in Ireland. The electorate are increasingly open to a centre-left, social democratic way of thinking and of doing politics.
“We can see, most recently in GE2020, a growing appetite for our politics, based on prioritising quality public services which serve the public interest. The Party focuses on core issues that matter in so many people’s lives, including reshaping work/life balance; building a society which gets it right for children; and recreating an economy which is greener and fairer, now so much more urgent as we deal with the Covid19 pandemic.
“We also put a high value on accountability, transparency and integrity. These are crucial to restoring trust to public life which has been severely eroded, in particular since the last recession.
“The energy and commitment of our members, the shift to the left among voters and the widely accepted necessity to do politics differently all point to a strong future for the Social Democrats as we go into the next five years, continuing to build to the next election cycles.
“We look forward to bringing real social democracy to Ireland.”
[ENDS]
17th July 2020