News

It is not acceptable that abortion care is still based on a postcode lottery A new report which finds Ireland’s abortion law is traumatising women underscores the need for urgent reform, according to Social Democrats Social Justice Spokesperson Holly Cairns. “A new study from Trinity College, the Unplanned Pregnancy and Abortion Care (UnPAC) study, found […]

A Social Democrats’ motion – to introduce a €20 ‘Cost of Disability’ payment and increase Disability Allowance by at least €15 – will be debated in the Dáil tomorrow  The government must commit to introducing a Cost of Disability payment in the forthcoming budget, according to Social Democrats Disability Spokesperson Holly Cairns. “The cost of […]

Nobody, in Ireland today, should be targeted because of their sexual orientation Garda confirmation that it is investigating a hate motive in relation to two brutal murders in Sligo marks a dark week for the LGBTQI+ community in Ireland, according to Social Democrats Social Justice spokesperson Holly Cairns. “The horrific murders of Aidan Moffitt and […]

With just two months to go before quotas are again exhausted, the Minister must come forward with proactive solutions Inshore fishing is rapidly becoming both unsustainable and unviable because the Minister for Agriculture has refused to review his own department’s mackerel quotas, according to Social Democrats Agriculture Spokesperson Holly Cairns. “Currently, a paltry 2% of […]

This crisis must be a wakeup call. We need policies that will ensure our food sovereignty.     We are facing a serious crisis later in this year if farmers cannot access fertiliser, according to Social Democrats Agriculture Spokesperson Holly Cairns. “I met with local representatives of the Irish Farmers’ Association and the Irish Cattle and Sheep […]

The State turned a blind eye to this abuse for decades. It is now time to shine a light on this dark practice. The State turned a blind eye to illegal adoptions for decades and must now establish an inquiry to finally determine the extent of this travesty, according to Social Democrats Social Justice Spokesperson […]

This shameful lack of spaces means an average of eight women are turned away from refuges every day in Ireland The government must immediately act on its belated commitment to significantly increase the number of refuge spaces, according to Social Democrats Social Justice Spokesperson Holly Cairns. “In an interview with Morning Ireland this morning, Justice […]

It is a shocking indictment of the State’s treatment of disabled people that three transport support schemes are effectively closed Personal transport supports for people with disabilities are now virtually non-existent, according to Social Democrats TD Holly Cairns. Deputy Cairns, a member of the Oireachtas Committee on Disability Matters, said: “Today it was reported that […]

The Minister has yet to appoint an independent expert, finalise terms of reference or provide a time-frame for the review The failure of the Minister for Health to appoint an independent expert to review the State’s abortion law is deeply concerning, according to Social Democrats TD Holly Cairns. “Under section 7 of the Health (Regulation […]

My Bill would bring some long overdue reform to local politics If we want to increase the number of women in politics then we must introduce maternity leave for councillors on local authorities as an important first step, according to Social Democrats TD Holly Cairns. Deputy Cairns was speaking as she launched a Bill that […]