Social Democrats have 'not ruled out' entering coalition with Sinn Féin 

Holly Cairns says despite controversy over Sinn Féin's handling of child protection issues, the Social Democrats are willing to talk to all parties

Holly Cairns at the Social Democrats' disability policy launch on Thursday. Picture: Gareth Chaney

The Social Democrats have not ruled out entering a coalition with Sinn Féin following the general election, party leader Holly Cairns has said.

Despite recent controversy over Sinn Féin's handling of child protection issues, Ms Cairns said the Social Democrats are still willing to talk to all parties.

The party leader said that while there are concerns about child protection when it comes to Sinn Féin, there are also concerns over the issue with the coalition parties.

"Not only do they have a responsibility for child protection within their own parties but also children nationally and we see them falling down on that every single week," Ms Cairns said.

I think one of the biggest problems about this entire Sinn Féin story is that actually it has pulled away from the reality of how many children are living in homelessness, how many are waiting for scoliosis surgery, how many are living in poverty — and set to increase.

Speaking at the launch of the Social Democrats' disability policy, Ms Cairns said the establishment of a senior ministry for disability will be a "very clear deal-breaker" for the party when it comes to coalition talks.

The party leader said they will bring "strong priorities" such as health, housing, childcare, and climate into any discussions but a full ministry for disability is an "absolutely essential element" for a future government. There is a lack of political will to address the wide range of issues impacting the daily lives of people with disabilities and this can only be remedied with a change of Government and a full minister for disability, Ms Cairns said.

"We are the last country to bring in the UN Convention on the Rights of People with Disabilities and we still have not ratified the optional protocol," she said.

In five years of this Government, there were "constant excuses" as to why they could not ratify the protocol, which creates a path for disabled people to make individual complaints to the UN if they feel their rights are being denied in their country.

"Now it looks like they are going to do it in the last minute of their term in Government, to basically ratify it for the next government, which is a really cynical approach," said Ms Cairns.