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The Social Democrats today called on the government to immediately introduce an emergency winter payment of €400 for people with disabilities. The call was made at briefing in Leinster House this morning, which was attended by representatives from the Disability Federation of Ireland, Access for All Ireland, and the Irish Wheelchair Association. Speaking at the […]

The government must urgently intervene to prevent children from being denied appropriate school places despite clear assurances given by the Minister for Education that this would not happen, according to Social Democrats education spokesperson Jen Cummins. Speaking in response to reports of an autistic child being refused a special school place because his parents contacted […]

The government is flailing around on the Grok AI scandal unable to get its story straight, according to Social Democrats media spokesperson Sinéad Gibney. “Last night, on Prime Time, AI Minister Niamh Smyth was clear that we have “very strong and robust” laws which criminalise the spread of non-consensual sexualised images of women and children, […]

Following today’s engagement of the Justice Committee with the Office of the Inspector of Prisons, Social Democrats justice spokesperson Gary Gannon said the Inspector’s appearance was a stark and hugely important intervention in the conversation on prisons and public safety. Deputy Gannon said: “The evidence presented to the Committee today by the Chief Inspector of […]

A Social Democrats’ motion calling on Dublin City Council to recognise housing as a fundamental human right was carried last night. The motion, tabled by Cllr Lesley Byrne, outlined a number of actions the council must take to enshrine this principle in all its housing policies and actions. Speaking on the matter, Social Democrats housing […]

Social Democrats TD Jen Cummins has criticised the government for what she described as a disrespectful and chaotic approach to announcing new special classes. Deputy Cummins, who is the party’s education spokesperson, said: “Ministers have drip-fed information about special classes through their personal social media accounts without making an official announcement or notifying schools in […]

We cannot afford to place greater strain on the national energy grid by removing the ban on data centre development in Dublin, according to Social Democrats environment spokesperson Jennifer Whitmore. Deputy Whitmore said: “I have major concerns with plans which went to cabinet this morning which seek to lift the ban on the development of […]

Former Finance Minister Paschal Donohoe must appear before an Oireachtas committee to answer questions about the government’s decision to provide an extra €10 million to the World Bank prior to him taking up a senior position with the international development organisation, according to Social Democrats TD Cian O’Callaghan. Deputy O’Callaghan, who is the party’s finance […]

The government is once again suggesting that refugees are placing unsustainable pressure on our systems, but the facts do not support this claim, according to Social Democrats justice spokesperson Gary Gannon. Deputy Gannon said: “This morning’s announcement that refugees will be forced to wait three years before they can seek family reunification is yet another […]

Legislation and proactive resourcing is urgently required to tackle spiralling hospital waiting lists, which present a genuine threat to the health and wellbeing of thousands around the country, according to Social Democrats health spokesperson Pádraig Rice. Deputy Rice said: “Almost 120,000 patients have been on a hospital waiting list for over a year – how […]