“I am a member of the first generation who will be worse off than our parents”

When Holly Cairns succeeded Roisin Shortall and Catherine Murphy as Leader of the Social Democrats on 1st March, she called it as it is for a whole generation of young adults who have faced the recession caused by the banking crash, the austerity that followed, the Covid pandemic and now, the cost of living crisis and housing emergency. Very simply, the governments of Fine Gael and Fianna Fail, some in coalition with the Labour Party and now the Greens, for all their adult lives, have failed this generation.

It’s not only the younger generation that is locked out of home ownership or rental. New records of homelessness are being set every month. Over 11,500 nation-wide, including 3,500 children is absolutely horrific. These figures are going to get even worse with the sudden ending of the eviction ban. The Taoiseach now acknowledges that as a country, we have a shortage of 250,000 homes. If that isn’t an emergency, what is?

Holly speaks with a different and fresh voice.

Social Democracy means the State living up to its obligations in its social contract with its people, investing and delivering in housing, education, healthcare, public transport and communities.