News

What is presented as the truth is, at best, heavily disputed and, at worst, a whitewashed fiction  It is astonishing that the Children’s Minster is still standing over the report of the Commission of Investigation into Mother and Baby Homes – despite conceding its members misapplied the law, according to Social Democrats TD Holly Cairns. […]

Climate Action Bill pays lip service to the concept of ‘just transition’  Climate action cannot come at the expense of those workers and communities who can least afford it, according to Social Democrats Climate Spokesperson Jennifer Whitmore. Deputy Whitmore, a member of the Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action, said: “The Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action […]

The members of this Commission have steadfastly refused to appear before our Committee to answer questions The Mother and Baby Homes report has rewritten Irish history and must be repudiated by the government, according to Social Democrats TD, and Oireachtas Children’s Committee member, Holly Cairns. “Following the participation of one of the members of the […]

The Minister has distinguished himself by refusing to listen to the advice of experts A new ESRI report has confirmed what most of us already knew – the government’s housing policy is doomed to fail, according to Social Democrats Housing Spokesperson Cian O’Callaghan. “This landmark ESRI report echoes what the Social Democrats have repeatedly stated: […]

In this by-election, the people of Dublin Bay South can send a powerful message The Dublin Bay South by-election is about housing and the quality of all of our lives as we emerge from lockdown, according to Social Democrats candidate Sarah Durcan. “This by-election is not only a referendum on this government, but on a […]

Tragically, there was an 80pc increase in the deaths of single homeless people in 2020 We need a sustained and co-ordinated effort to reduce the number of deaths of homeless people, according to Social Democrats Housing Spokesperson Cian O’Callaghan. Deputy O’Callaghan was reacting to an interim report by Dr Austin O’Carroll, Mortality in Single Homeless Population […]

Many of those working in the Arts are reliant on the PUP, which the government plans to cut from September Plans to introduce a basic income guarantee pilot scheme for artists are welcome – if overdue, according to Social Democrats TD Holly Cairns. “Minister for Tourism, Culture and Arts, Catherine Martin, has committed to “prioritise” […]

These payments are a lifeline for hundreds of thousands of people whose jobs were a casualty of the pandemic The government has reneged on a promise there would be no cliff edge when it came to the withdrawal of the PUP, according to Social Democrats co-leader Róisín Shortall. “The government repeatedly promised there would be […]

We need, as a matter of urgency, to establish a public realm taskforce on Dublin City Council  Dublin City Council’s approach to an outdoor summer is akin to the promotion of abstinence as a sex education policy – it won’t work, according to Social Democrats Councillor Catherine Stocker. “We have been told, by our political […]

The large number of people sleeping rough in Dublin is an indictment of the government’s failed housing policy, according to Social Democrats Housing Spokesperson Cian O’Callaghan. “New data from the Dublin Regional Homeless Executive shows 125 people are sleeping rough – an indictment of this Government and its failed housing policies. No one should be sleeping on […]