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Spokesperson for Agriculture, Food and the Marine; Rural Development; Social Justice; and Disability, Holly Cairns is the youngest party leader in the Dáil. Her journey into the realm of politics began back in 2018 when she first began campaigning to Repeal the Eighth Amendment. Just a year later Holly won a seat on Cork County Council by a single vote and in 2020, was elected as a TD. In the last Dáil, there were a total of 18 TDs in Cork — Holly Cairns was the only woman.
As the Leader of the Social Democrats and a TD for Cork South-West, Holly’s priorities include—but are not limited to—holding the government to account for locking an entire generation out of home ownership, fighting for fairer compensation for survivors of mother and baby homes, meaningful climate action, and a sustainable future for the farming sector.
Leading the SocDems campaign from West Cork while heavily pregnant, we hear from Holly on her intentions ahead of the election, why representation matters, and how she advocates for women through her work…
Our focus is tackling the crises we are facing in housing, health, disability services and childcare because these issues fall disproportionately on women. Unaffordable childcare and a shortage of paid leave is forcing mothers to leave employment. We would introduce an affordable public model of childcare and 12 months of paid leave for parents.
The lifting of the eviction ban has resulted in one parent families (the vast majority of which are women) making up 75% of those entering homelessness. We would introduce a no fault eviction ban and build 75,000 affordable homes to rent or buy.
A lack of adequate disability and health supports mean that responsibility falls on the family carer, who is most often a woman. We would deliver on the promise of universal healthcare, quality disability services and a right to home care. We also want to reform our abortion services and increase funding for measures to combat and prevent domestic, sexual and gender based violence.
It is undeniable that the amount of women in politics is incredibly low. Ireland is ranked 104th globally for female representation in parliament. There were 18 TDs in Cork in the last Dáil, and I was the only woman. There were six times as many TDs named Michael than there were women elected in Cork. We absolutely need more mná in politics!
Every day in my office I am contacted by women in my community and across the country who are experiencing great difficulties. Women who are facing homelessness, who are struggling to get their child a school place, who are experiencing domestic violence. I do everything possible to assist them and to raise their struggles directly with the Taoiseach at leaders’ questions. I work alongside survivors of Mother and Baby Institutions to campaign for justice.
I have also been consistently raising the fact that Ireland’s so-called ‘zero tolerance’ approach to domestic, sexual and gender based violence is a myth. Our refuge services are underfunded, our justice system is fatally flawed and survivors are being failed. I am absolutely determined to make Ireland a safer and more equal place for women.
It’s definitely a part of the job but can be incredibly jarring, especially at the beginning. Social media is an excellent platform to really connect with people, but it’s a balancing act. I’m typically a very open person and I’ve had to become much more conscious of what I choose to make public about my personal life. The abuse on platforms like X is awful, especially since Elon Musk took over. I tend to avoid it as much as possible and to try and remember that the loudest voices online are not reflective of the real world.
I’d hope every voter is aware of the power of their vote on election day. When I ran for the council in 2019, I lost by a single vote. After I called a recount, I won by a single vote. Your vote can make a difference. With our vote we choose who runs this country. We choose the direction of this country. And we can choose to take a different approach.
