News

We cannot allow a situation to develop in which developmental assessments for babies are based on a postcode lottery The HSE must explain why developmental assessments for babies and children, from three months to 48 months, have been withdrawn in Dublin West, according to Social Democrats Health Spokesperson Róisín Shortall. “It has come to my […]

Parliamentary Assistant (full-time) Job Details: Deputy Gary Gannon is seeking to recruit a full-time Parliamentary Assistant (PA) to support him in his work in Dublin Central. The Parliamentary Assistant will work closely with the Secretarial Assistant as well as other members of the party, to provide an exemplary service to Gary’s constituents and to support […]

People are becoming homeless in areas which are not designated as Rent Pressure Zones The Government’s decision to limit stricter controls on short-term lets to Rent Pressure Zones is a huge mistake, according to Social Democrats Housing Spokesperson Cian O’Callaghan “The Social Democrats have been calling for stricter controls on short-term lets for many years, […]

We do not know if Mr Hyde had sight of a draft copy of the Farrell review before he tendered his resignation Housing Minister Darragh O’Brien must make a statement to the Dáil outlining a clear timeline for the publication of the Farrell review into An Bord Pleanála, according to Social Democrats Housing Spokesperson Cian […]

The failure to resolve the housing crisis will have catastrophic consequences for entire generations of young people Ireland’s housing crisis is creating a poverty time bomb due to the soaring numbers of people who will be forced to continue to pay rent long after they retire, according to Social Democrats Housing Spokesperson Cian O’Callaghan. Deputy […]

We need to make primary and secondary school education genuinely free An increase in the number of families struggling to pay back-to-school costs underscores the depths of the cost-of-living crisis, according to Social Democrats Education Spokesperson Gary Gannon. Deputy Gannon was responding to a new study from the Irish League of Credit Unions which found […]

A Social Democrats’ motion – to introduce a €20 ‘Cost of Disability’ payment and increase Disability Allowance by at least €15 – will be debated in the Dáil tomorrow  The government must commit to introducing a Cost of Disability payment in the forthcoming budget, according to Social Democrats Disability Spokesperson Holly Cairns. “The cost of […]

The government’s approach is to watch people fall into further debt and poverty before it is willing to act  The Summer Economic Statement shows the government can act and introduce an emergency budget now, according to Social Democrats Finance Spokesperson Róisín Shortall. “The summer economic statement has again confirmed that the government has the capacity […]

This Wednesday, 6th July, 2022, the Social Democrats are using their limited ‘Private Members’ Dáil time to put forward a motion for urgent action on disability. The sheer scale of inequality and injustice faced by disabled people, and families of children with special needs and disabilities, is disgraceful.  A lack of school places, under-staffed HSE teams, […]

The cost-of-living crisis is now an emergency, but the government is callously refusing to act. It is essential that the government introduces an emergency budget given inflation is now running at nearly 10pc, according to Social Democrats Finance Spokesperson Róisín Shortall. “Inflation is now running at nearly 10pc. Price increases are becoming embedded across the […]