The Social Democrats today published their general election manifesto.
The party’s deputy leader Cian O’Callaghan said:
“The Civil War parties are now the Phoney War parties. Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael are trying to derail this election by engaging in relentless bickering.
“This focus on petty rivalry suits the outgoing coalition partners – because instead of talking about their many failures in office, we are talking about their personality clashes.
“The Social Democrats’ manifesto puts a spotlight back on the issues that are important to people – housing, healthcare, childcare, disability services and climate.
“It offers people a clear choice. Five more years of Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael failure – or a new approach and a better future.
“Too often, political leaders make commitments that they know cannot be delivered. Like promising big tax cuts, along with huge investment in public services. That’s not being straight with voters – and it’s not credible.
“That’s why we are being very clear in this election. The Social Democrats will only enter a government which delivers:
- 50,000 affordable purchase homes
- The full implementation of Sláintecare
- Quality public childcare
- Credible climate action
- And a senior Minister for Disability
“These are our deal breakers – and the detail of how they can be delivered is outlined in our manifesto.
“Our ability to deliver on this will depend on the size of our mandate. We are hopeful the Irish people will give us a large one in this election.”
Other measures in the Social Democrats’ manifesto include:
- Deliver 50,000 affordable purchase, 25,000 affordable rental homes and 70,000 social homes over the lifetime of the next government.
- End ‘no-fault evictions’ to protect renters and introduce a temporary three-year rent freeze.
- Replace rent pressure zones with a ‘reference rent’ system.
- Provide for salaried GPs and increase the mental health budget to 10% of the overall health budget.
- Increase funding for disability services by an additional €1.1 billion a year, to include a €30 per week cost of disability payment.
- Abolish the means test for carers and introduce a statutory right to homecare.
- A new public model of childcare; paid parental leave extended to the first year of a child’s life; and maternity, paternity and parent’s benefit increased to €350 per week.
- Install solar panels on 500,000 homes during the lifetime of the next government and make solar panels free for low-income households.
- Double the size of our natural parks and ensure they feature highly protected areas within them, where nature can be restored.
- A €5 billion climate transformation fund for investment in State-owned renewable energy and a €1.5bn fair transition fund for farmers
- Make education genuinely free; establish a new Déis+ scheme for schools in areas of extreme disadvantage; and work to remove faith formation from the school day.
- Establish directly elected mayors in all of our major cities.
- Introduce a €150 Sports and Cultural Activity voucher for all children aged 6 to 18 and free public transport for all children aged under 18.
- Introduce a lower 9% VAT rate for struggling food and beverage businesses in hospitality.
- Pursue a health-led approach to drug use and decriminalise the possession of small quantities of drugs for personal consumption.
November 19, 2024
NOTE: You can read the manifesto in full here