News

The government is failing to recognise the scale of problems within An Garda Síochána, which call for exceptional measures including an entirely new senior management team, Social Democrats co-leader Róisín Shortall TD said today. Deputy Shortall said: “The government’s response to the resignation of the Garda Commissioner and their hands-off response to mounting problems within […]

The Social Democrats have welcomed today’s announcement by the Garda Commissioner that she is retiring – but stress that it must be the first step in robust efforts to rebuild internal morale and public confidence in the force. The party’s co-leader Róisín Shortall TD said: “The departure of the Garda Commissioner must be the start […]

Social Democrats co-leader Catherine Murphy TD has described the government’s latest proposals to tackle the housing and homelessness crisis as lacking in ambition and radical thinking. Deputy Murphy made her comments as an emergency Housing Summit, hosted by Minister Eoghan Murphy and attended by the chief executives of local authorities, concluded this evening. Deputy Murphy […]

Speaking this morning, Social Democrats co-leader Róisín Shortall TD called for “the principle of recovery to be put at the centre of drug treatment services.” Addressing the inaugural International Recovery Conference in Trinity College Dublin, Deputy Shortall outlined the value of moving beyond harm reduction and towards an approach that supports long term recovery from […]

The Social Democrats have accused the government of hiding behind private property rights in the Constitution to avoid tackling the unprecedented housing crisis with the radical measures that are required. The comments come ahead of the party’s ‘think-in’ in Dublin today hosted by co-leaders Catherine Murphy TD and Róisín Shortall TD. Today’s event will explore […]

The latest revelations of falsified Garda breath test figures are indicative of a force in crisis with deep and pervasive cultural problems that cannot be addressed without management changes, Social Democrats co-leader Róisín Shortall TD said today. Deputy Shortall said: “The emergence today of an additional half a million falsified Garda breath tests shows that […]

Social Democrats co-leader Catherine Murphy has reiterated the party’s belief that water refunds should be paid net of the conservation grant.  According to the Social Democrats the number of people who would have paid the water charge and not claimed the conservation grant is minimal and therefore it would be very easy to deal with […]

Social Democrats co-leader Róisín Shortall TD has said that the disgracefully high number of patients on hospital trolleys can only be tackled once and for all with the wholesale overhaul of our health system as set out in the Sláintecare reform plan. Deputy Shortall said: “The summer is barely over and already we have record […]

The Department of Education has responded to fire safety concerns in five primary schools at a snail’s pace – putting children and teachers at unnecessary risk, Social Democrats Councillor Cian O’Callaghan said today. Cllr O’Callaghan was commenting after the Department revealed that fire safety audits it commissioned found breaches of standards at five recently-built primary […]

The impact of homelessness on school age children living in emergency accommodation should be examined by the Ombudsman for Children, Social Democrats co-leader Catherine Murphy TD has said. Deputy Murphy made the call as the new school term begins and thousands of homeless children are traveling to school from emergency accommodation including hotels and B&Bs. […]