The Social Democrats will not go into government “for the sake of it” or to make up the numbers, party leader Holly Cairns has said as TDs and candidates gathered for the traditional preterm think-in.
Ms Cairns said the Social Democrats will run as many candidates as possible in the coming general election, with names now selected for about half of constituencies.
“I didn’t go into politics to go into opposition,” she said. “Our aim is to go into government, but we won’t go into government for the sake of it, to make up the numbers. What we want is to see the biggest mandate for the Social Democrats in government and that’s the focus for now,” she said, adding it was “fingers crossed” at this point.
Ms Cairns hit back against Tánaiste Micheál Martin, who said her party were among those who put forward a narrative of state failure. “I heard the Tánaiste on the radio and I was surprised to hear him say that,” she said.
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“It’s been extremely frustrating to watch this Government and successive governments miss opportunities when we have a booming economy, record employment and a huge surplus,” she said, saying it coincided with record levels of homelessness, “threadbare” disability services and increasing child poverty.
“The prospect of being able to turn our policies and ideas into a reality for our communities feels within reach,” she said, promising that the party would be “straight talking” with voters, not promise everything, and that certain policies would have to be prioritised.
“It’s not a failed state – there is a failure of Government though,” she said. “(Mr Martin) can say that he thinks we’re highlighting a failed state, the reality is, the fact is, it’s a failure of Government that those things happened.”
The party is of the centre left and the approach of the current and successive governments was a failed one, she said.
The Cork South West TD said that after the last election, they dropped out of Government negotiations due to a “tried, tested and failed” housing policy that was on the table at the time.
Asked about whether her party would have an interest in engaging with the Greens and others after the election but before substantive programme for government talks got under way, she said her party would talk to everyone after the election but the focus was not on who they would speak to first.
Ms Cairns said it was “of limited importance” whether the election was in February or November. “What is important is what voters will be offered between now and polling day,” she said, adding that the party had a clear goal of being in government.
She did not respond to a question as to whether she would encourage supporters to transfer to the Labour Party, with the two perennially linked to a potential merger due to broad policy similarities. She would favour a “vote left, transfer left” approach, she said.
She said there was a very clear proposal to the people which would not involve large tax cuts alongside huge investment in public services.
She said the party’s priorities were housing, healthcare, climate, disability and childcare, with investment in the non-profit housing sector and an end to favourable deals for investment funds. The Social Democrats will launch a plan for affordable housing in the coming weeks.
The party is promising to increase maternity benefit payments to €350 per week, dismissing Government “kite flying” on bumper payments in the first month after a baby is born. She said Coalition statements around a public childcare model were coming late in the day.
She said disability services were “on their knees” and that action and political will was needed to address it.
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