SOCIAL DEMOCRATS LEADER Holly Cairns took aim at the government this evening for giving “empty promises” to voters in the last election. 

In her speech at her party’s national conference in Cork this evening, she said housing figures spoken about by ministers “turned out to be a complete fabrication”, while promises of enacting the Occupied Territories Bill have amounted to nothing. 

“I know some people might say, this is old news – and sure, isn’t that just the way politicians act in an election.

“But we simply cannot accept this dishonesty as normal. Empty promises should not be a given in our elections. It makes people lose faith in politics. And it robs people of hope for the future,” she said.  

The party leader went on to speak about the jolt of fear that many face when they see bills come through the door, stating:  

The cost of simply existing in this country is getting harder and harder to manage every month. 

Triple lock referendum

Turning to the government’s plans to scrap the Triple Lock mechanism, Cairns said the SocDems want to protect Ireland’s neutrality. 

Gareth Chaney Gareth Chaney

Earlier in the day, she told reporters called for more investment in the defence forces, stating that to be neutral should not mean being defenceless. 

“Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael want to remove the triple lock. They claim they have a mandate to do it. 

“So I would like to say to them – prove it. Put it to the people. And let us vote on it,” she said in her speech this evening. 

Cairns used the televised speech to appeal to those watching who think they might not have an interest in politics to get involved, particularly women. 

Addressing the issue of migration, Cairns said: 

We need the government to step up. Stop scapegoating. And start leading.

She said so often the problem with debates on migration is they erase the people at the heart of it. The Soc Dems leader said that improvements to the system need to be made, such as faster processing times “so people aren’t stuck in limbo for years on end”.

Cairns called for state-run reception centres, so as to free up hotels in towns and villages.

“There are people out there who will try to convince you that migrants are responsible for the problems we face in our society. That minorities are to blame for a chronic lack of investment in our services and our communities.

“And when those voices are growing louder, when misinformation spreads like wildfire, when migrants feel increasingly unsafe. Where is the government? Where is their positive message about our migrant community?

“A community that is made up of our friends, our family, our neighbours. These are people who keep our public services from collapsing, who drive our economy, and contribute so much to the culture of this country,” said Cairns.

Touching on the issue of housing, which she said is a central theme of the conference this weekend, she said having 17,000 people living in homelessness, including 5000 children, should never be normalised.

“I know that so many of you aren’t planning for the future you dreamed of anymore, you’re deciding which parts of it you can live with letting go.

“You have heard so many promises, and been failed so many times, that you just don’t believe there is any way out of this mess.

“The real challenge for those of us in Opposition is not just to hold government to account but to come forward with solutions that are credible, costed and will work,” she said. 

She told the crowd this evening that government often say that her party don’t have solutions, something she denied, stating that the Social Democrats have published detailed plans on our housing policy., including a plan to create a state construction company.

The party leader said that politics is about choices, adding that the choices that are made now will shape our future.