THE SOCIAL DEMOCRATS have outlined their plans to trial a four day working week, with deputy leader Cian O’Callaghan saying he is confident we will see it rolled out in our lifetime, despite scepticism from the larger parties. 

Launching his party’s general election manifesto today in Dublin, O’Callaghan said the campaign to date has been “derailed” by the “phoney war” between Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael. 

O’Callaghan, who was standing in for heavily pregnant party leader Holly Cairns, outlined his party’s “deal breakers”.

“We’ve been very clear in this election that the Social Democrats will only enter a government which delivers 50,000 affordable purchase homes, full implementation of Sláinte Care, investment in disability services, headed up by a senior Minister for Disability, public child care system that offers affordability and high quality child care and also a revised Climate Action Plan.

“Making sure these are in the next program for government is absolutely key for us,” he said. 

Last night, O’Callaghan represented his party during the first televised debate of the election on RTÉ.

He was asked today to review his performance in the debate and if he thought he was the right person to take Cairns place. 

“I hope I was the right person to deputise for Holly Cairns.

“I was happy with my performance. I felt I got across a lot of key points in terms of what we’re fighting on in this campaign. And it was obviously my first time doing a debate like that. I was happy with my performance overall,” he said. 

The Social Democrats’ manifesto is a chunky and detailed one, spanning over 130 pages.

Other commits in the document include:

• End ‘no-fault evictions’ and introduce a temporary three-year rent freeze.
• Replace rent pressure zones with a ‘reference rent’ system.
• Phase out Help to Buy and the First Home Scheme and redirect resources to building new affordable homes
• Increase the vacant property tax from 0.7% to 10%
• Abolish the means test for carers
• Introduce a €30 per week cost of disability payment 
• Introduce a new public model of childcare
• Extend paid parental leave to the first year of a child’s life
• Increase maternity, paternity and parent’s benefit to €350 per week.
• Introduce free public transport for under 18s and €1 off peak fares for adults
• Install solar panels on 500,000 homes during the lifetime of the next government and make solar panels free for low-income households.

Four day week

On a four day week, the party has committed to establishing a commission to “research, trial and set a pathway to the introduction of a right to flexible working including working from home, term-time working, and a four day week.”

This commitment is similar to proposals by the Green Party and People Before Profit.

However, Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael have been unenthusiastic about the idea, with Simon Harris flatly saying “no” last night when asked by a reporter if he was in favour of it.

Responding to this today, O’Callaghan said he wasn’t surprised to see that either party was “behind the curve”.

“Flatly rejecting looking into it and exploring it, I think is very close minded approach,” O’Callaghan said.

“Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael over the years have been behind the curve on so many different issues. And it’s not surprising to see them behind the curve on this as well.

“Often they have to be pulled in the right direction, and this is just another area where that is the case.”

“I think it is something that we will see in our lifetime,” O’Callaghan said.