News

Skyrocketing property prices continue to be the main barrier to owning a home in Ireland, according to Social Democrats TD Cian O’Callaghan. Deputy O’Callaghan, who is the party’s housing spokesperson, said: “The latest national Residential Property Price Index, published today by the Central Statistics Office (CSO), recorded a 9.7 per cent increase in the 12 […]

The HSE must explain why it is sitting on more than 200 vacant properties in the middle of a housing crisis, according to Social Democrats deputy leader Cian O’Callaghan. Deputy O’Callaghan, who is the party’s housing spokesperson, said: “With almost 15,000 people – including over 4,600 children – set to wake up on Christmas Day […]

The imminent opening of a supervised injection centre at Merchants Quay in Dublin must mark the start of a new chapter in how we treat drug addiction in Ireland, according to Social Democrats TD Gary Gannon. Deputy Gannon, who represents Dublin Central, said: “I have long advocated for a health-led, compassionate response to our capital’s […]

The next government must do more to tackle the State’s stagnant recycling rates, according to Social Democrats TD Jennifer Whitmore. Deputy Whitmore, who is the party’s climate and biodiversity spokesperson, said: “According to a report from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Ireland is almost certain to miss mandatory EU recycling targets that will apply from […]

Statement from Social Democrats deputy leader Cian O’Callaghan following a meeting of the party’s parliamentary party this morning. “At a meeting of the Social Democrats parliamentary party this morning, a decision was taken to continue talks with the four parties we have already engaged with – Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael, Sinn Féin and Labour. “Earlier, […]

Statement from Social Democrats deputy leader Cian O’Callaghan on Eoin Hayes TD “At a press conference today, Eoin Hayes stated he had sold shares in Palantir before he entered politics. This was not true. Eoin was first elected to Dublin City Council on June 2024 and the shares were sold in July 2024. “This is […]

Statement from Eoin Hayes TD on his previous employment with Palantir. “In the interests of full transparency, I want to provide all of the details surrounding my previous employment with software company Palantir. “I worked for Palantir between 2015 and 2017 in internal operations, in areas like HR and IT, when I lived in the […]

Predictions that house completions for 2024 will be lower than last year prove that the outgoing government’s already unambitious targets were never going to be achieved, according to Social Democrats deputy leader Cian O’Callaghan. “A forecast by EY-Euroconstruct estimates that just 32,000 new houses will be built this year – almost 700 fewer than in […]

Irish farmers should not be forced to compete with farmers in other countries who are subject to much lower health and environmental standards The outgoing government parties are sleepwalking the country into ratification of the Mercosur deal – which would be disastrous for both agriculture and the environment, according to Social Democrats Climate Spokesperson Jennifer […]

Statement from Social Democrats leader Holly Cairns on the party’s general election results: “With the Social Democrats set to make historic gains throughout the country in this election, this has been a monumental week for me, both personally and politically. “Our success in this election is down to the calibre of our candidates and the […]