News

The Social Democrats have called for the Minister for Health to provide full information to the public on the situation in nursing homes in respect of Covid-19. In the absence of this information there is growing public concern about how this important sector of the health service is responding to the health crisis. Making the […]

There is a need for clarity from the Government to fully explain the reason behind the long delays in testing for Covid 19 in order to respond effectively to this health crisis and to maintain public confidence in the ‘Test and Trace’ strategy, according to Róisín Shortall TD, Social Democrats Co-leader. Deputy Shortall said: “While […]

Social Democrats co-leader Roisin Shortall TD has called on the Taoiseach to urgently establish a Forum to pursue all possible avenues for the provision of medical supplies for responding to the Covid 19 crisis. Such a Forum would be charged with bringing together representatives of manufacturers, innovators, medical scientists, the academic community and enterprise in […]

The Social Democrats have repeated their calls for the introduction of a wage subsidy during the current Covid-19 crisis. The party says that such a move is vital in order to keep people connected to employment, maintain reasonable incomes and keep businesses afloat. The party’s finance spokesperson, co-leader Róisín Shortall said: “The scale of job […]

The Social Democrats have said that they stand fully behind the advice of the public health officials dealing with Covid-19 and wider Coronavirus issue.  Party co-leader Róisín Shortall attended today’s opposition briefing and said the only responsible thing to do in such a situation is to employ an evidence-based approach based on best international medical advice […]

The Social Democrats will this week take part in a series of separate policy discussions with both Sinn Fein and the Green Party aimed at trying to agree common approaches on a  number of key issues. The party’s co-leaders Catherine Murphy and Róisín Shortall said that the party’s priority is to ensure that a social […]

The new Social Democrats Parliamentary Party met for the first time this morning in Dublin in advance of the Dáil resuming next week. The 6 newly elected deputies held a press conference at the gates of Leinster House where party co-leaders Róisín Shortall and Catherine Murphy welcomed the party’s 4 first time TDs to the […]

The Social Democrats today launched a wide-ranging policy document focusing on some of the issues impacting on older people’s overall quality of life. The party says that older people have very specific concerns such as the availability of homecare packages, the fear around the pension controversy and other issues including housing and healthcare.  Speaking outside […]

The Social Democrats have today launched their election manifesto entitled ‘Invest in Better’. The document, which is fully costed and runs to 123 pages, sets out a roadmap for what it calls a ‘uniquely Irish version of the Nordic model’ and covers topics from health and housing to LGTBTQI+ rights. The manifesto commits to a […]

Making Mental Health a Priority – SocDems launch Mental Health Policy This morning, Tuesday 28th January, at the ILAS institute at NUIG in Galway, the Social Democrats launch their Mental Health policy – ‘Making Mental Health a Priority’, with Róisín Shortall, co leader, Niall Ó Tuathail from Galway West and Peter Reid from Galway East. Róisín Shortall, […]