News

Social Democrats leader Holly Cairns has urged the Government not to squander a valuable opportunity to pass the Occupied Territories Bill before the Dáil is dissolved ahead of a general election. “At the Business Committee today, the Social Democrats and Sinn Féin offered to give up a total of four hours of their Dáil time […]

The Social Democrats today launched their Digital and Online Safety policy. It was launched by Dublin Central TD Gary Gannon and Sinéad Gibney, the party’s general election candidate in Dublin Rathdown, who has considerable expertise in this area and had significant input into the drafting of the policy document. Among the measures proposed is the […]

The lack of a recruitment drive to fill primary care psychology posts in Cork has been described as truly shocking by Social Democrats leader Holly Cairns. “In response to a parliamentary question I submitted, it has been confirmed that Cork primary care services only advertised one psychology position this year – a replacement senior psychologist […]

Israel’s ban on UNRWA operating within its territory will exacerbate the humanitarian crisis in Gaza and the West Bank and must be met with the strongest possible response by the international community, according to Social Democrats TD Gary Gannon. Deputy Gannon, who is the party’s spokesperson on foreign affairs, said: “Yet again, the Israeli government […]

Dublin North-West general election candidate for the Social Democrats, Rory Hearne, is not just running for a Dáil seat – he’s also running in support of Palestine in this weekend’s Dublin Marathon. This will be the seasoned runner’s eighth time to participate in the marathon, which takes place this Sunday, October 27. In the most […]

In what could be this Government’s final monthly homelessness report, they have again surpassed another grim record, according to Social Democrats TD Cian O’Callaghan. Deputy O’Callaghan, who is the party’s spokesperson on housing, said: “When this Government was formed in June 2020, there were 8,699 people in homeless emergency accommodation, 2,653 of them children. “There […]

Rory Hearne, the Social Democrats general election candidate in Dublin North-West, has urged the National Transport Authority (NTA) to reverse its plans to axe the Number 11 route as part of BusConnects changes due to come into effect next month. Dr Hearne said: “Under changes to be introduced in late November, the Numbers 4, 11 […]

 Government has no hope of delivering 40,000 homes by the end of the year  The Housing Minister’s continued insistence that the Government will deliver 40,000 homes this year is at odds with all of the facts and independent analysis, according to Social Democrats Housing Spokesperson Cian O’Callaghan. “According to the CSO, housing completions in the […]

A report published by the Department of Finance highlights the extent to which investment funds are hoovering up new apartments, according to Social Democrats TD Cian O’Callaghan. Deputy O’Callaghan, who is the party’s housing spokesperson, said: “Last year, just 846 apartments were purchased by individuals and families, while 6,203 were bought up by investment funds […]

There is no justification for the continued funding of commercial greyhound racing, according to Social Democrats leader Holly Cairns. “Budget 2025 saw a €4.1m increase in the Horse and Greyhound Fund, bringing the total allocation to just under €100m. Of this, almost €20m will go towards propping up the greyhound industry, which has been in […]