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According to new figures obtained by the Social Democrats, Fingal County Council has acquired only 33 vacant dwellings in the first five months of the year. Commenting on the figures, Social Democrats representative for Castleknock and Blanchardstown, Aengus Ó Maoláin said: “Astonishingly, this paltry number actually puts Fingal ahead of every other local authority in […]

The government’s abysmal record in tackling the housing and homeless crisis is exposed once more today with new figures showing that households are spending almost a fifth of their budgets on housing, Social Democrats co-leader Catherine Murphy said this morning. Deputy Murphy was commenting on CSO statistics showing that the proportion of household expenditure on […]

The Social Democrats today invoked a little used Dáil procedure to seek urgent answers from the Taoiseach about the hasty approval of the former Attorney General to the Court of Appeal. In a Special Notice Question submitted today, the party’s TDS Catherine Murphy and Róisín Shortall are asking the Taoiseach to publish any correspondence between […]

Limerick’s status as a national unemployment black spot is an indictment of the failed social and economic policies of the current government and senior Ministers, the Social Democrat’s Limerick representative Sarah Jane Hennelly said today. Ms Hennelly was commenting on Census figures published this week which show that eight of the top ten ‘unemployment black spots’ […]

  The new Taoiseach must halt the appointment of the former Attorney General as a judge and come before the Dáil next week to answer questions on all the circumstances surrounding the filling of the Court of Appeal vacancy, the Social Democrats’ co-leader Róisín Shortall TD said today. Deputy Shortall said: “This issue is a […]

Small increases to the weekly payments for asylum seekers living in direct provision are no substitute for fundamental reforms to make the asylum process more efficient and humane, the Social Democrats’ Limerick representative has said. Sarah Jane Hennelly, who has worked professionally with migrants and refugees in Limerick city, stated: “This week’s announced increases in […]

The new Minister for Housing must extend emergency rent assistance measures nationwide to prevent homelessness caused by rising rents, the Social Democrats co-leader Catherine Murphy TD said today. Deputy Murphy made her comments as the latest figures show that private sector rents grew by 7.37 per cent across the country in the past year. The […]

The devastating blaze at Grenfell Tower in London must serve as a wake-up call for Irish authorities that are failing to address serious fire safety concerns, Dublin Bay North Social Democrats Cllr Cian O’Callaghan said today. Cllr O’Callaghan said: “Since their construction during the boom years it has emerged that several housing estates in Dublin […]

The government’s nomination of Attorney General Máire Whelan as a Court of Appeal judge smacks of hypocrisy and cronyism, according to the Social Democrats co-leader Róisín Shortall TD. Deputy Shortall said: “This naked political appointment is the height of hypocrisy from a government that is supposed to be introducing a law to take politics out […]

Social Democrats TD Catherine Murphy has said that the latest Garda infighting scandal between civilian head of Human Resources John Barrett and Garda personnel has once again highlighted the absolute necessity to urgently repeal the Official Secrets Act and replace it with legislation that strikes a balance between the vital aims of maintaining the security […]