The Social Democrats\u2019 seventh National Conference takes place in Cork this weekend (February 6&7) at a time of significant growth for the party.<\/p>\n
Speaking ahead of this evening\u2019s programme \u2013 which will close with a keynote address by the Palestinian Ambassador to Ireland, Dr Jilan Wahba Abdalmajid \u2013 party leader Holly Cairns said:<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is an exciting time for the party. Since our last conference, we have nearly doubled our number of councillors; doubled the size of our parliamentary party; had our first senator elected; and were the first party to support Catherine Connolly\u2019s successful presidential election campaign \u2013 which united the Left and sparked a nationwide movement.<\/p>\n
\u201cWith support for the Social Democrats growing, much of this momentum is down to the excellent work being done both at constituency level and in the Oireachtas by our enlarged parliamentary party.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is set to be another eventful year, with our by-election campaigns now in full swing.<\/p>\n
Councillor Daniel Ennis \u2013 an amazing community activist for the North Inner City who has done incredible work championing inclusivity and access to sport \u2013 is our candidate in Dublin Central.<\/p>\n
Mi\u0301de Nic Fhionnlaoich \u2013 a Gaeltacht native from Connemara who is a passionate advocate for mental health reform \u2013 has been selected by the party to contest the by-election in Galway West.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is our biggest ever conference \u2013 and our first to be held outside Dublin \u2013 where we will be discussing our evidence-based and innovative solutions to the major problems we face as a country.<\/p>\n
\u201cBroken promises \u2013 such as the fabricated pre-election claim that 40,000 homes would be built in 2024 \u2013 have destroyed trust in politics and made people lose hope.<\/p>\n
\u201cFine Gael\u2019s pledge to provide a roadmap for reduced childcare fees within 100 days of taking office also failed to materialise within that timeframe.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd in a shameful betrayal of the people of Palestine, this government has effectively abandoned its commitment to enact the long-awaited Occupied Territories Bill.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Social Democrats want to restore people\u2019s hopes for a better future, because the problems we face are not inevitable \u2013 they can be overcome.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Connolly campaign made the prospect of a left government tangible for people. Now we want to outline the key differences a social democratic government would mean for this country \u2013 particularly in areas such as housing, health, cost-of-living, childcare, public transport and climate action.<\/p>\n
\u201cA major focus of this weekend\u2019s conference is housing, which has morphed from a crisis to a disaster to a social catastrophe. There have been so many broken promises that those locked out of homeownership or struggling to pay exorbitant rents have lost hope that things will ever improve.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut we have a hopeful message for those people \u2013 the wrong political choices got us into this crisis, the right political choices can get us out.\u201d<\/p>\n
February 6, 2026<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The Social Democrats\u2019 seventh National Conference takes place in Cork this weekend (February 6&7) at a time of significant growth for the party. Speaking ahead of this evening\u2019s programme \u2013 which will close with a keynote address by the Palestinian Ambassador to Ireland, Dr Jilan Wahba Abdalmajid \u2013 party leader Holly Cairns said: \u201cThis is […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":14132,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[400,804,7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-15357","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-holly-cairns","category-national-conference-2026","category-press-release"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n