News

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 […]

According to Social Democrats co-leader, Róisín Shortall TD, “today’s shocking hospital waiting lists of 687,000 people are a new record and represent a huge failing on the part of Government.  Providing a decent health service where people can get timely treatment, on the basis of need, is a basic requirement of any civilised country.  Yet […]

Following the hit success of The Darkside Detective, a game developed by a team working in their spare time between Galway and Dublin, the Social Democrats have called upon the government to support the games industry in a similar way to the Irish film industry which has been built into a global hub. Niall Ó […]

The General Election campaign of the Social Democrats’ candidate for Dublin Central, councillor Gary Gannon, will be launched at a public event tomorrow night [Thursday 3 August]. Broadcaster, fashion designer, and health campaigner Brendan Courtney will MC the event, which kicks off at 7.30p.m. in the Skylon Hotel in Drumcondra. The theme of Gary’s campaign is #We Are, and speakers will […]

The government’s abject failure to deliver so-called ‘rapid-build’ homes shows just how desperately we need a dedicated Housing Delivery Agency, Social Democrats TD Catherine Murphy said today. Deputy Murphy said: “It’s farcical for the government to talk about ‘rapid-build’ homes when only 22 out of 1,500 pledged modular units have been completed so far. It’s […]

People seeking free legal advice are currently facing waiting times of up to 76 weeks for appointments at Legal Aid Board law centres, according to the latest figures released to the Social Democrats. The figures show that combined waiting times for first and second consultations at Legal Aid Board law centres on 1st July 2017 were […]

The government has resorted to cynically re-announcing a pre-existing corruption bill in a bid to make itself look busy, Róisín Shortall TD said today. The co-leader of the Social Democrats was commenting on the announcement by the Minister for Justice that the Criminal Justice (Corruption Offences) Bill 2017 was discussed at cabinet yesterday. “This Bill […]

The Social Democrats have called on the Garda Síochána to publish full details of any contracts with private companies operating mobile speed detection cameras in the state. Party co-leader Róisín Shortall TD made the call today as details of a €1.2 million per month contract with the company GoSafe were published following a Freedom of […]

The high costs of sending children to school need to be lifted so that parents do not have to use money earmarked for household bills, the Social Democrats said today. Party co-leader Róisín Shortall TD was commenting on a survey published today which found that 72 per cent of parents feel the back to school […]