The Social Democrats have a very real opportunity to build on recent electoral successes in next month\u2019s Dublin Central and Galway West by-elections, according to party leader Holly Cairns.<\/p>\n
Deputy Cairns made her comments after the writs for the by-elections were moved last night, with polling day confirmed for Friday, May 22.<\/p>\n
She said:<\/p>\n
\u201cI am excited and hopeful for the busy weeks ahead now that the starting pistol has been fired for these important elections.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn Daniel Ennis and M\u00edde Nic Fhionnlaoich we have two exceptional candidates running in Dublin Central and Galway West respectively. This gives us every chance of building on our party\u2019s successes in the most recent local and general elections, where we almost doubled our number of councillors and TDs, and later saw Patricia Stephenson win our first-ever seat in the Seanad.<\/p>\n
\u201cDaniel has a track record of tireless advocacy for the community and would be an incredible representative in the D\u00e1il for Dublin Central, along with our colleague Gary Gannon TD.<\/p>\n
\u201cDaniel was elected to Dublin City Council in the local elections in 2024. Since then, his work has focused on tackling poverty and the cost-of-living; pushing for greater provision of social and affordable homes; and increasing funding for community and sports facilities, youth diversion projects, and crime prevention initiatives.<\/p>\n
\u201cHaving recently visited Dublin Central with Daniel, I know he is running a campaign that\u2019s ambitious, inclusive and addresses the issues that matter in his constituency.<\/p>\n
\u201cM\u00edde Nic Fhionnlaoich brings similar values to her campaign in Galway West. In M\u00edde, the people of this constituency have a candidate who will fight tirelessly for a\u00a0Galway\u00a0that works for everyone.<\/p>\n
\u201cGalway\u00a0is a wonderful place but has been held back from reaching its full potential by decades of neglect and underinvestment by successive governments.<\/p>\n
\u201cLike many parts of Ireland,\u00a0Galway\u00a0has found itself at the sharp edge of the housing crisis, with people being pushed out of their communities in the city and in Conamara by rising rents and unaffordable property prices.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe failure to tackle gridlock in the city also negatively impacts daily life for residents, tourists and businesses, with badly needed projects such as BusConnects or a light rail system for\u00a0Galway\u00a0either delayed or not backed by Government while traffic congestion gets worse by the day.<\/p>\n
\u201cVoters now have an opportunity to elect a young, progressive candidate who is genuinely committed to tackling these issues head on and delivering a better future for everyone who calls\u00a0Galway\u00a0West home.<\/p>\n
\u201cThese by-elections are taking place at a time of unprecedented cost-of-living pressures, fuelled by skyrocketing energy bills and rising grocery prices. Households around the country are struggling under a Fianna F\u00e1il\/Fine Gael-led government that is completely out of touch and refuses to listen to people\u2019s everyday concerns.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf we want a more inclusive, equal society, we need to elect candidates that are committed to progressive, meaningful change \u2013 candidates like Daniel Ennis and M\u00edde Nic Fhionnlaoich.\u201d<\/p>\n
April 23, 2026<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The Social Democrats have a very real opportunity to build on recent electoral successes in next month\u2019s Dublin Central and Galway West by-elections, according to party leader Holly Cairns. Deputy Cairns made her comments after the writs for the by-elections were moved last night, with polling day confirmed for Friday, May 22. She said: \u201cI […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":17414,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[554,793,802,400,803,7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-17411","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-daniel-ennis","category-dublin-central-by-election","category-galway-west-by-election","category-holly-cairns","category-mide-nic-fhionnlaoich","category-press-release"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n