The Social Democrats’ 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’s programme – which will close with a keynote address by the Palestinian Ambassador to Ireland, Dr Jilan Wahba Abdalmajid – party leader Holly Cairns said:
“This 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’s successful presidential election campaign – which united the Left and sparked a nationwide movement.
“With 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.
“This is set to be another eventful year, with our by-election campaigns now in full swing.
Councillor Daniel Ennis – an amazing community activist for the North Inner City who has done incredible work championing inclusivity and access to sport – is our candidate in Dublin Central.
Míde Nic Fhionnlaoich – a Gaeltacht native from Connemara who is a passionate advocate for mental health reform – has been selected by the party to contest the by-election in Galway West.
“This is our biggest ever conference – and our first to be held outside Dublin – where we will be discussing our evidence-based and innovative solutions to the major problems we face as a country.
“Broken promises – such as the fabricated pre-election claim that 40,000 homes would be built in 2024 – have destroyed trust in politics and made people lose hope.
“Fine Gael’s pledge to provide a roadmap for reduced childcare fees within 100 days of taking office also failed to materialise within that timeframe.
“And in a shameful betrayal of the people of Palestine, this government has effectively abandoned its commitment to enact the long-awaited Occupied Territories Bill.
“The Social Democrats want to restore people’s hopes for a better future, because the problems we face are not inevitable – they can be overcome.
“The 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 – particularly in areas such as housing, health, cost-of-living, childcare, public transport and climate action.
“A major focus of this weekend’s 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.
“But we have a hopeful message for those people – the wrong political choices got us into this crisis, the right political choices can get us out.”
February 6, 2026