Calls for Labour and Greens to pull plug on Dublin City Council coalition

Ahead of Monday’s vote for Lord Mayor on Dublin City Council, the Progressive Alliance (consisting of the Social Democrats, Sinn Féin, People Before Profit and left-leaning independents) has called on Labour and the Greens to walk away from the coalition.

In a statement issued on Friday afternoon, the various party leaders on Dublin City Council (Cat O’Driscoll of the Social Democrats, Daithí Doolan of Sinn Féin, Conor Reddy of People Before Profit and independent councillor Cieran Perry), wrote to Labour and the Greens, saying they should pull the plug on Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael.

Last June, an attempt was made by Sinn Féin and the Social Democrats to bring Labour and the Greens into a left-wing coalition on Dublin City Council.

The alliance also had the backing of People Before Profit’s two councillors as well as the backing of independents such as Cieran Perry and future TD Barry Heneghan.

The talks famously collapsed after a disagreement over the issue of property tax, and Labour and the Greens teamed up with Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael to run Dublin City Council between 2024 until the next set of local elections in 2029.

32 seats are needed for an overall majority on Dublin City Council: a combined grouping of the Soc Dem (10 seats) Sinn Féin (9 seats), the Greens (8 seats) and Labour (4 seats) would have 31 seats.

At last June’s meeting of Dublin City Council, the alliance proposed North Inner City Social Democrats councillor Daniel Ennis as the candidate; this year, it will be the turn of Sinn Fein’s South-East Inner City councillor Kourtney Kenny.

In the statement, signed by O’Driscoll, Doolan, Reddy and Perry, they said “we are now one year into the current council term and what is clear from the last twelve months is that Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael have failed Dubliners on housing, community safety, and on the delivery of crucial public infrastructure.”

They said that the government parties have “deepened inequality and social crises in our city.”

The Progressive Alliance have called on Labour and the Greens’ combined 12 councillors to “reconsider” their partnership with Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael.

The governing coalition on Dublin City Council will nominate Fine Gael councillor Ray McAdam as their Lord Mayor candidate on Monday.

“The choice is clear; two men from Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil offering more of the same, or an alternative, two progressive women to lead our city through 2025 and 2026.”

The statement noted that the “Combined Opposition” in the Dáil consists of Sinn Féin, the Social Democrats, Labour, and the Greens, and said that the same movement should also happen on Dublin City Councill.

“That unity has offered real hope to many across the country, it shows that a different kind of politics is possible,” and called for Labour and Greens to give the invitation “serious consideration.”