Politics John Walsh: The centre-left needs an economic vision to match its political rhetoricGetting into government will be one thing for parties like the Social Democrats and Sinn Féin - making a success of it will be quite another, as the fate of Nicola Sturgeon shows
Politics New Soc Dem leader Holly Cairns aims to help more women into politicsCairns, at 33 the youngest leader of a party, says she hopes to reach 28 per cent of undecided voters, who may feel under-represented by the current system
Politics Elaine Byrne: For political inspiration, Holly Cairns should look to Dick SpringThe new leader of the Social Democrats can be a credible voice for her generation, but not if she adopts a policy of perpetual opposition
Politics ‘We don’t want to go into government for the sake of it’ – Holly Cairns takes over as leader of the Social DemocratsHer speech focused on the issues of housing, poverty, climate and healthcare, while Cairns took aim at the government parties of Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil
Politics New Social Democrats leader Cairns hits out at government’s ‘housing disaster’ Taoiseach Leo Varadkar told the Dáil he has not “thrown in the towel” on the crisis
Politics Holly Cairns to become next Social Democrats leaderThe Cork South West TD, who runs unopposed, confirmed on Sunday that she would be putting herself forward for the leadership role
Politics Roisín Shortall and Catherine Murphy to step down as co-leaders of Social Democrats Both leaders said ‘we feel that now is the time to hand over the leadership reins to the next generation’
Energy Push for government to follow Germany’s lead with cap on energy billsThe move would see prices guaranteed up to a certain portion of energy usage
Politics Social Democrats call for emergency energy supports similar to Covid-19 measures The party’s annual think-in began today with the focus on the need for urgent supports for families and businesses during the energy crisis
Podcasts Five Degrees of Change: Holly CairnsThe Social Democrat TD would like to see a science-led approach to agricultural policy and more incentives for planting forests
Agriculture Cairns calls for CAP subsidies to be shifted from farmers to consumersThe Social Democrats TD says the current system encourages below-cost selling and benefits supermarkets rather than farmers
Politics Full Sláintecare plan is ‘red line’ issue for entering government, say Soc Dem leadersCo-leader Róisín Shortall said the execution of the plan was critical to delivering equitable healthcare in Ireland
Social Democrats move to end pursuit of cancer patients by debt collectors The motion comes following a Business Post investigation last year into debt collectors pursuit of cancer patients
Data watchdog submits proposals for reform as criticism growsPressure is building to strengthen the structure of the DPC to help it cope as Europe’s frontline regulatory authority for Big Tech
The heave that never was: How Soc Dems leaders faced down mutiny challengeRóisín Shortall and Catherine Murphy were surprised last week to hear of a letter from 16 signatories calling for a party leadership contest, but have made it clear they are not going anywhere
Elaine Byrne: Soc Dems needs a leadership contest to help it decide where its future liesThe party has done well in its six years of existence, but has to find ways to make a much larger impact politically
Analysis: National Maternity Hospital issue is challenging for FG as by-election approaches The big question the opposition is raising in liberal Dublin Bay South is whether abortions will be carried out in the new National Maternity Hospital
Fine Gael may be benefiting from a lack of ‘acceptable’ alternativesFine Gael is maintaining its support, despite growing anger over the handling of the lockdown, while Fianna Fáil and the Greens are bearing the brunt of voter frustration
Government sought advice on greyhound funding cut Government got legal advice on unhitching the sport from the same grant mechanism as horse racing following pressure over animal welfare concerns
