News

The government’s National Transport Plan is completely lacking in ambition, according to Social Democrats transport spokesperson Jennifer Whitmore. Deputy Whitmore said: “The government’s National Transport Plan lacks all ambition and its rollout of public transport projects is unacceptably slow. “Luas Finglas, which received planning permission this month, won’t start construction until 2029. This is not […]

The government’s new tenancy rules have created massive uncertainty in the rental market and resulted in a tsunami of evictions, according to Social Democrats TD Rory Hearne. Deputy Hearne, who is the party’s housing spokesperson, said: “The latest data from the Residential Tenancies Board (RTB) shows that rents are continuing to rise while the number […]

Online games and platforms marketed towards children which do not uphold child protection standards must be blocked until they can demonstrate compliance, according to Social Democrats children spokesperson Aidan Farrelly. Deputy Farrelly said: “A senior garda from the Garda National Cyber Crime Bureau has warned that children are being groomed and exploited on online gaming […]

State negligence has led to parents footing the bill to keep our schools afloat to the tune of €23 million per year, according to Social Democrats education spokesperson Jen Cummins. Deputy Cummins said: “During yesterday’s meeting of the Oireachtas Education Committee, officials from the Department of Education confirmed that voluntary contributions and fundraising from parents […]

The government must fund a clear and viable solution to reducing long waiting lists for patients in need of groundbreaking surgery for Parkinson’s Disease, according to Social Democrats TD Pádraig Rice. Deputy Rice, who is the party’s health spokesperson, said: “Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS) is a life-changing intervention that can dramatically improve the quality of […]

The Minister for Justice is acting in bad faith by progressing migration proposals which lack justification, according to Social Democrats justice spokesperson Gary Gannon. Deputy Gannon: “Today, the Cabinet is signing off on new migration proposals which have one overriding aim: to make life more difficult for migrants. “One of the more performatively punitive measures […]

The government cannot invest in Ireland’s future while hollowing out the tax base, according to Social Democrats finance spokesperson Cian O’Callaghan. Responding to today’s damning assessment of Budget 2026 by the Irish Fiscal Advisory Council (IFAC), Deputy O’Callaghan said: “The government has the gall to lecture families about protecting the national finances, yet their latest […]

Uber’s plan to introduce fixed-rate fares to their service presents an existential threat to taxiing, according to Social Democrats TD Jen Cummins and transport spokesperson Jennifer Whitmore. Deputy Cummins said: “Taxi drivers are being pushed out of their livelihoods by the greed of multinational corporations, who are allowed to act with impunity despite the implications […]

A scoping inquiry into Michael Shine, the former surgeon convicted of multiple counts of child sexual abuse, is welcome but must lead to a full statutory inquiry, according to Social Democrats health spokesperson Pádraig Rice. Deputy Rice said: “I welcome the news that the cabinet is set to approve a scoping inquiry into Michael Shine […]

Ireland must fight EU attempts to erode environmental and human rights protections after the European Parliament voted to exempt more companies from green reporting rules, according to the Social Democrats. Sinéad Gibney TD, the party’s enterprise spokesperson, said: “A majority of MEPs recently voted to rollback crucial human rights and environmental protections in favour of […]