🚨Social Democrats senator Patricia Stephenson today introduces a bill to stop ICE deportation flights landing in Ireland, challenge the claim that government can't inspect planes carrying munitions through or over Ireland – as well as penalise illegal weapon flight operators

Social Democrats foreign affairs spokesperson @patriciastephenson.bsky.social introduced a Bill today to give greater powers to prevent munitions being flown through Shannon Airport and Irish airspace, along with a suite of other measures. Read more:

Progressing the Occupied Territories Bill without the inclusion of a ban on services shows the Government is crumbling under pressure from the United States. The inclusion of a ban on services is what gives this legislation teeth. @patriciastephenson.bsky.social

Why do we need Míde in the Dáil? Well... where to start? Míde is a tireless, outspoken advocate for the Gaeltacht, for neutrality, for a better future for young people in Galway West and beyond. On May 22, vote Míde Nic Fhionnlaoich number 1.

Eight years ago, Ireland voted for choice, compassion and trusting women. Yet women are still being forced to travel for care. Contact your TDs and ask them to support the Reproductive Rights Bill this Wednesday. Give us the Repeal we voted for.

Follow Senator Patricia Stephenson for a day as she takes part in the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe…

Míde could win the seat in Galway West but it's too close to call. We need to send a message to FF/FG, and to those who want to sow division in our communities, now is the time for change. A voice for renters, neutrality and the Irish language - vote Míde #1 to ensure Galway retains a left seat.

New Hungarian Prime Minister Péter Magyar must follow through on his commitment to EU values and reverse Hungary’s draconian anti-LGBTI law. www.socialdemocrats.ie/hungary-must...

Letter to Minister for Foreign Affairs re Sumud Flotilla.

The Govt must intervene to ensure the safety of citizens illegally detained in international waters by Israel. Another egregious breach of international law by Israel. www.socialdemocrats.ie/minister-for...

My op-ed on my initiative to provide 3 months of free travel to survivors of domestic violence. The Minister for Social Protection has worked with me to launch this scheme. It will be available from 5th May.

Free travel can help people escape domestic violence. Leaving is dangerous and costly, especially with financial abuse and limited refuge spaces. This support removes one barrier but more is needed. Survivors deserve safety and justice.

An initiative by Senator Patricia Stephenson, which will result in three months' free travel for those fleeing domestic violence, is to be introduced by Social Protection Minister on May 5. This is a small but significant win for survivors of DSGBV. @patriciastephenson.bsky.social

Allowing 3,000 US troops to pass through Shannon last month radically undermines our country’s neutrality. Spain and Switzerland have closed their airspace to US aircrafts involved in the conflict in the Middle East. It’s shameful that Ireland has not. www.socialdemocrats.ie/irish-govern...

I had an excellent engagement with @commissionerhr.coe.int in Strasbourg this week. He is a champion of the ECHR & its centrality to the Good Friday Agreement. He has warned the British Govt. of the danger of flirting with altering elements of the ECHR. This applies to the Irish Govt. as well.

I met Francesca Albanese. Due to her her work, she has been targeted by the US with cruel sanctions. She has described these sanctions as “civil death” - unable to open a bank account, book hotels or flights, or use any payment or IT system linked to US companies. 1/3

Ireland must close its airspace to US military aircraft en route to fulfil military objectives in the Middle East. How can we be confident the Government knows there is nothing of concern in the military planes overhead when they can’t even accurately count them? @patriciastephenson.bsky.social

Letter to the Taoiseach and Minister of Foreign Affairs re suspension of the EU Israel Trade Agreement.

The Arbitration Bill, which govt is guillotining after 1hr of debate tonight, is a threat to Ireland. The Bill only exists because the previous attempt to ratify CETA was unconstitutional. Yet Govt are denying proper legislative scrutiny of the new version. www.socialdemocrats.ie/government-r...

The by-elections are coming fast, and we feel we have real momentum. This weekend, we saw over 50 people out canvassing in Dublin Central for Daniel Ennis. There's a real appetite for positive, honest politics – and no better man to embody that than Dan. Get involved here: bit.ly/3ObVocl

Social Democrats launch ‘Solar for All’ plan to reduce energy costs for households. Supports for solar panel installation need to be dramatically expanded and improved to help households cut their energy bills... www.socialdemocrats.ie/social-democ...

As Israel commits barbaric war crimes in Lebanon, the Taoiseach must join with the Spanish Prime Minister and demand a suspension of the EU-Israel trade agreement. The ceasefire agreed between the US and Iran included an end to Israel’s attacks on Lebanon. @patriciastephenson.bsky.social

Israel’s claim that a ceasefire deal to end the war in the Middle East does not include Lebanon must be immediately condemned by the Taoiseach and Tánaiste. On Sunday, at least 11 people were killed by Israeli strikes in Lebanon, including a four year-old child. @patriciastephenson.bsky.social

The Minister of Justice signed a letter in the Council of Europe which seeks to weaken Article 3 Protections under the ECHR. ECHR is a core pillar of the Good Friday Agreement - attempts to weaken it could seriously damage the crediblity of the GFA and social cohesion within the North.

"Trump is now raving like a murderous zealot, threatening nuclear war and the complete obliteration of the Iranian people. Moreover, he has the means to make good on this threat and no moral compass that would stop him." Read @patriciastephenson.bsky.social full statement: tinyurl.com/3pcvf8f2

The news about the loss of lives of at least 37 people in two devastating shipwrecks in the Mediterranean, between Libya and Lampedusa and between Bodrum and Kos, is deeply saddening. 1/2

Israel claims to be a modern, progressive country, and though this has long been exposed as fallacy, its decision to employ the death penalty for Palestinians reasserts the barbaric nature of its regime. This is another tool to subjugate the Palestinian people. @patriciastephenson.bsky.social

The Occupied Territories Bill received cross-party support in the Foreign Affairs Committee. During the last general election, FF and FG promised to pass it. Now, they're hoping we all just forget about it and move on. Shame on them.

The Minister for Justice signed a letter of 27 countries, proposing to alter ECHR Article 3 to reduce the threshold on torture & inhumane treatment. The Irish Govt wax lyrical about their commitment to Int’ Law, while signing a letter which has been described as insidious by human rights experts.

This week in the Infrastructure Committee, we lost a vote to conduct pre legislative scrutiny on the upcoming Critical Infrastructure Bill. This decision is shameful. This Govt. has sat on their hands for years, doing little to improve or expand infrastructure. 1/2

It's beyond pathetic that our Govt has buried the Occupied Territories Bill while Israel ramps up its ethnic cleansing in Palestine and Lebanon. Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael twiddle their thumbs and avert their gaze while innocents face annihilation. @patriciastephenson.bsky.social

I met with the Spanish Ambassador to Ireland to discuss solidarity with Spain. The Social Democrats commend principled & anti-war stance of Spain’s Prime Minister. I would like to see Ireland lead a principled alliance of EU countries in the face of the worsening threats to international law.

Micheál Martin must clarify if he formally invited US President Donald Trump to Ireland for a State visit later this year. Any State visit would involve Trump being feted and celebrated in this country – and cost the Irish people an enormous sum of money.

The Taoiseach remained almost entirely mute yesterday in the Oval Office, despite President Trump's tirade of misinformation. Now rumours are flying about a potential state visit by the US President to Ireland. We need clarity – has an invitation been extended to Trump, or is this just bluster?

The Irish govt seeks to amend Art 3 and Art 8 of the ECHR as they apply to migration cases. This insidious shift in policy is very concerning. The ECHR protects everyone's fundamental human rights. It's also central to the Good Friday Agreement. We can't allow human rights law to be watered down.

The evidence that the U.S. hit the girls’ school in Iran, killing scores of children, keeps growing. It’s horrific and not something from which the media, or anyone else, should just move on.

Letter to Taoiseach requesting urgent action in light of the illegal war with Iran and global uncertainty inflicted on us all by Trump’s rogue administration.

Brilliant to see Spain taking a moral position on Trump. We need more leadership like this in the EU, including Irish leaders. While Trump denigrated Spain, Merz said nothing. So much for EU solidarity. Silence is complicity. Pandering to Trump, a warmongering bully, is no longer an option.

Energy prices are rising again and households are already under pressure. Heating oil has jumped while hundreds of thousands of people are already behind on their bills. People can’t absorb another shock - the Government must act to protect households from soaring energy costs.

With Israel continuing its genocide & blockading Gaza & bombing Iran and Lebanon, putting the lives of Irish peacekeepers in danger as well as thousands of citizens in the region, it’s inconceivable that the Ireland-Israel fixture would go ahead. The Govt must support the FIA to boycott Israel 1/2

It is scandalous that Irish citizens stuck in a war zone are being charged €800 by their own Govt so they can get home safely. Irish people fleeing conflict in the Gulf should be assisted, not fleeced. This is a shakedown, not an evacuation. @patriciastephenson.bsky.social

The Irish government must give a categoric commitment that Shannon Airport will not be used to launch attacks on Iran as part of the and Israel’s illegal war. www.socialdemocrats.ie/shannon-airp...

The US/Israeli bombardment of Iran over the weekend is a clear breach of international law and completely destabilises an already volatile region. Govt must now prioritise the safety of our UNIFIL peacekeeping troops in Lebanon and Irish citizens in Gulf countries. @patriciastephenson.bsky.social

The violence we're seeing in the Middle East is spiralling out of control. We need to see an evacuation plan in place so that Irish citizens in the region, as well as Irish peacekeepers in Lebanon, can return home safely. There is no time to waste.

The Iranian regime is abhorrent. At the same time, a breach of international law by the US & Israel has taken place, plunging the Middle East & the world into insecurity. We must condemn all violations of international law and the UN Charter if we have any hope of retaining a rules-based order.

Just watched Trump’s remarks. The nuclear argument is incoherent (“They will be totally — again — obliterated”?) Can’t figure out what his argument actually is on an imminent threat to the U.S. And he ends by making clear the U.S. has begun a regime change war.

Bombs & warmongering will not lead to peace or global security for anyone. It is innocent civilians who will lose the most. The escalation of violence by the US & Israel is a direct provocation and it’s not borne out of concern for the human rights of the Iranian people.

www.eolasmagazine.ie/where-is-the... Ireland cannot dine out forever on the actions of our past. If the Govt. continues to fail to meet its legal obligations to ban trade with the illegally occupied settlements, we will lose our international credibility.

🗣️ "In the context of the removal of the triple lock, that is actually what it represents." – Social Democrats Senator Patricia Stephenson 🗣️ "How is the context of the triple lock relevant to this?" – Guest presenter Shane Coleman #TonightVMTV #MaritimeSecurityStrategy