Holly Cairns: 'seismic' change possible in fresh government without ...

Looking forward to a government led neither by Fine Gael nor Fianna Fail, the Social Democrats leader Holly Cairns told her party’s annual conference last night that “a year of election” gave voters the chance to achieve “change” that she would be “seismic”.

Ms Cairns, who became leader of the party unopposed just under a year ago, told delegates attending her first conference as leader in UCD that there was an air of disillusionment in the country because of the government’s failure to provide basic services to people.

But, she said, “the tide is turning in Irish politics. I can feel it. I think we all can”.

In a speech that dealt with a range of subjects including healthcare, disability services, housing, immigration and the situation in Gaza, Ms Cairns avoided making few concrete pledges but instead appealed to voters to hear her message of change.

“We won’t engage in auction politics – and promise the sun, moon and stars,” she told delegates at UCD’s O’Reilly Hall. But we will be honest. We will work hard. And we are determined to never lose your trust. Now is the time to effect real and lasting change. We need to seize this opportunity,” Ms Cairns said.

One of the few concrete promises the Social Democrats leader made in the course of her televised leaders’ address was that the “full, accelerated implementation of Sláintecare” would be a “red line issue for the Social Democrats in any programme for government”.

Ms Cairns also confronted the idea that “Ireland is full”, increasingly a message pushed anti-immigration campaigners.

“You have probably heard those voices shout that Ireland is full – that all of the problems we face in housing and health are the cause of a small number of vulnerable migrants,” she said.

“I want to assure you that this is completely and utterly untrue. Ireland is not full, it’s just not working properly. And that can be fixed,” she said to applause.

Holly Cairns greeting Dr Jilan Wahba Abdalmajid, Palestinian Ambassador to Ireland at the Social Democrats national conference at UCD. Photograph: Alan Betson

In a speech that criticised the Government’s performance especially on housing and disability services, Ms Cairns also singled out what she said was Government inaction on the conflict in Gaza describing it as “genocide”.

“We must stand with the Palestinian people today, tomorrow and always,” she said. “Because in the face of genocide, inaction becomes complicity.”

Ms Cairns sought to encourage new Social Democrats candidates, many of whom were present, by recalling that she won her first election – just five years ago – “by a single vote”.

But her chief audience was the television viewers watching from home. “If you want change,” she told them, “please get out there and vote for it.”

Earlier in the day, Ms Cairns said the housing crisis has gone from being an emergency to a “complete disaster” speaking to reporters at the conference, adding that a ban on no fault evictions would be a red line for the party entering government.

There needed to be a “complete ban” on the bulk-buying of homes by companies or funds, along with greater protection for renters, she said.

Rebuffing questions about any future merger with the Labour Party, she said the party had failed during its previous coalition government with Fine Gael. “You could talk about policies all day. It’s what you do with those policies when you get close to power. That’s the true test of any left party in government, and they failed that test,” she said.

Some of Social Democrats’ red lines in any future talks to form a government would be the delivery of affordable housing, progress on planned reforms of the health service and action to tackle climate change, she said.

Ms Cairns said the reintroduction of a ban on no-fault evictions was needed to provide “basic protection for renters”.

When asked how many seats the Social Democrats would be targeting in the upcoming local and European elections, Ms Cairns said “as many as possible”.

“We’re still going through the process of selecting candidates, it’s difficult to make a prediction and I’d just be plucking numbers out of the sky, so I’m going to do that,” she said.

[ Pat Leahy: After the Holly Cairns bounce, the Social Democrats must face up to three key questions ]

[ Holly Cairns interview: leader pitches for end to 'tried-tested-failed' politics ]

Ms Cairns said she understood that some people on the left had wanted the Government to “go further” on the proposed recognition for carers in the Constitution, in the upcoming referendum next month.

“We will be voting yes based on the two options that we have, of keeping the current wording and changing it to the new one,” she said.

Ms Cairns, a first time TD for Cork South-West, said she had never taken her own re-election “for granted”.

“I try to work as hard as I possibly can, and hope that people feel like it was worthwhile taking that leap of faith [in me] and I continue to work to try to keep people’s trust,” she said.

Former co-leaders Catherine Murphy and Róisín Shortall both said at present they intended to run again in the next general election.

“I could get knocked over by a bus, as of today that’s the plan [standing for re-election], and I’ll be trying to make sure I don’t get knocked over by a bus,” Ms Murphy said.

The televised speech was received with raucous enthusiasm by about 250 delegates, who gave Ms Cairns a mid-speech standing ovation for her comments demanding action from the Government on Gaza.

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