Political Platform: Sinéad Gibney TD
Social Democrats TD Sinéad Gibney TD was elected to the Dáil representing Dublin Rathdown in 2024. She was previously chief commissioner of the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission.
What inspired you to get into politics?
Equality is my driving force in life. Over the course of my career I have moved ever closer to politics as the domain in which I believe I can best advance that goal: to make the world a more equal place. I find it fundamentally unfair that because of the circumstances of your birth – class, race, gender, disability – the likely outcomes ahead of you are statistically different. When it is as likely for a person from Finglas to achieve success and happiness in life as it is for someone from Foxrock, I will rest easy. Until then, I want to do everything I can to remove barriers, level the playing field, and keep naming the things that are not okay: poverty, homelessness, racism. I am in politics to govern, but right now I am in the role of opposition politician, doing whatever I can to shape law and policy to make Ireland a more equal place.
What has been your proudest achievement in politics?
Being a part of the team that elected President Catherine Connolly. We were the first party to back her candidacy, and I was one of the small group of our parliamentary party who first interviewed Catherine in the run-up to the presidential election, and I signed her nomination papers. She was, and is, an inspiration to me. Someone who sticks strong to her principles and speaks truth to power. It is President Connolly, and others like her, who drove me to enter politics, and she is someone who I think is going to genuinely be a brilliant president for all. I led a fantastic group of volunteers in my constituency of Dublin Rathdown, from across all left-wing parties, and together we secured a majority vote for President Connolly in our area. Quite the achievement for a constituency that traditionally does not vote majority left. Being involved in all of the different stages of the process, and holding so much admiration for her, really made it feel for me like I was a part of making history.
“I think we need to move from the more parochial approach which has dominated Irish politics.” Sinéad Gibney TD
Who do you admire in politics or public life?
As I said above, Catherine Connolly; and a lot of others in Dáil Éireann. Politics aside, there are many people working hard to represent their area and build law and policy that will serve the people of Ireland. I might not always agree with them but I respect and admire anyone who enters politics. I love Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, and Bernie Sanders in the States. I think Zack Polanski and Hannah ‘the Plumber’ Spencer are exciting voices in UK politics. Right now, my hero is Francesca Albanese, the UN Special Rapporteur on the Occupied Palestinian Territories. She is a badass.
What drew you to the Social Democrats?
The values of the party are heavily aligned with mine. For example, on the issue of international protection, we are unapologetically pro-immigration. As a party we are honest with the electorate. In an election, for example, we communicate clearly what we stand for. We want to build a strong social democracy in Ireland and that means a focus on quality public services. If you think that is what you want, vote for us. I do not apologise for being left-wing or tackling issues that are not popular – trans rights, prisoner rights, immigration – and I know that in this party, I am in a safe place to do that.
What are your key priorities for Dublin Rathdown?
Transport, childcare, Gaza, and most of all housing, are the issues that come up on the doors for us again and again. So those are my priorities for the area. But I am a national politician and I think we need to move from the more parochial approach which has dominated Irish politics. I am not going to promise to fix your pothole in return for your support on the ballot paper. That is because I cannot fix your pothole, the council does it. What I and my team will do is to help you navigate the system, find the solutions you are looking for, and represent your voices on national and local issues.
What are your interests outside of work?
I am a people person; my partner, daughter, mum, friends, and family are everything to me. That has been one of the toughest parts of this job: that I just do not have the time to tend to those relationships in the way I would like. But spending time with people is genuinely my happy place. I love music, I read a lot of books (and do book reviews for The Irish Times), I cook, bake, hill-walk, and watch lots of great movies and television. I do not drink, I gave up 14 years ago, so I do not hang out in pubs much but I love going out dancing.
