Holly Cairns says Social Democrats will not 'just make up the numbers' in Government 

Ms Cairns said the last week has been “a bit of a whirlwind” but she feels “very excited and a bit nervous” at the prospect of taking up the leadership of the Soc Dems , founded in 2015. Picture: Moya Nolan

The Social Democrats will speak to all parties about forming a Government after the next general election, but new leader Holly Cairns says they will not “just make up the numbers”.

Ms Cairns will take her first Leaders’ Questions in the Dáil today, hours after she is confirmed as leader of the party.

Speaking to the Irish Examiner, she said her aim is for the party to build “critical mass” and become a viable part of a Government after the next election.

Ms Cairns will be the only nominee to fill the role vacated by party founders Catherine Murphy and Róisín Shortall after they stepped down last week. Her other three Dáil colleagues pledged their support for the Cork South-West TD, who will become the youngest party leader in the Dáil.

Ms Cairns said the last week has been “a bit of a whirlwind” but she feels “very excited and a bit nervous” at the prospect of taking up the leadership of the party, founded in 2015.

Her journey began with her election as a Cork county councillor by a single vote in 2019.

She said the referendum on the Eighth Amendment the year before had been pivotal in getting her involved in politics. She will aim to attract voters who feel like they do not have a political home.

“The lightbulb moment for me was knocking on doors for Repeal five years ago and that feeling of how you can connect with people,” said Ms Cairns.

“One of the reasons I felt I was going to give this 100% was that there are people now across the country who are like I was then, who feel a bit disillusioned and unrepresented.”

It is her intention to grow the party to be in a position to negotiate to form part of the next government.

“We need a critical mass to be a party that can govern — more candidates, more seats. None of us take our seats for granted at Oireachtas or county council level, but we have councillors around the country who have a shot — Laois-Offaly, Limerick, Meath West.

“So I am making an appeal to people who might think they could be a candidate, or work with us. We need feet on the ground to reach the people who want a more progressive style of politics.

We would talk to everyone. We want to govern and implement social democratic policies, so it would be hard to imagine how Fine Gael and the Social Democrats could govern together. They’re at the other end of the spectrum to us. Our door will be open, but we’d drive a very hard bargain. We wouldn’t go into Government for the sake of it, or to make up the numbers.

Ms Cairns paid tribute to Catherine Murphy and Roisin Shortall, who she said had "given the party an incredible base". She will work now to keep her own seat while leading the party.

“I don’t take my seat for granted. People constantly said to me that it was a Fine Gael or Fianna Fáil seat but it’s a Cork South-West seat. Who sits in it is up to the people of Cork South-West.

“People value hard work and honesty and I hope that the people of the constituency feel I’ve kept my word on that.”