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Updated 3.37pm
STEPHEN DONNELLY TD has left the Social Democrats.
The party announced this afternoon that the Wicklow and East Carlow TD has left the party which was founded in July of 2015.
The TD has also confirmed that he is leaving the party.
In a statement, the party says that he has “walked away”.
“We are disappointed that he has decided to walk away from the project, we undertook, to establish and build the party,” the statement said.
Donnelly was one of the party’s three elected TDs along with Catherine Murphy and Róisín Shortall. The three worked in partnership with the party having no single elected leader.
In the statement confirming his departure, Donnelly said that the three-person partnership was not working.
“It is a fact that some partnerships, in every walk of life, simply don’t work no matter how hard all of the parties to that partnership try to make it succeed,” Donnelly said in a statement.
My decision is based on the fact that for the Social Democrats to achieve its potential as a party of significant influence and scale, despite the many obstacles new parties face, one critical component is that the leadership team must function very well together as a team. In spite of everyone’s best efforts, I have concluded that our partnership did not have that.
“I further believe that this would be the case whether the leadership had continued to be shared or was vested in one person, which was not something I or anyone else had sought,” he added.
After the announcement that one of its most well-known voices was leaving, the party said in a statement that it remains ”fully committed” to their project.
The project, it says, is not “dependent on one personality or politician”:
This is a long term project which requires dedication, hard work, long hours and a major commitment from all involved including our elected representatives. The levels of dedication required for such a major undertaking can be overwhelming for some.
Stephen Donnelly / TwitterIt is with sadness that I'm announcing my departure from the Social Democrats today. Thanks to all involved. https://t.co/OrLleqxcOw
— Stephen Donnelly (@DonnellyStephen) September 5, 2016
Speaking on Newstalk Lunchtime this afternoon Shortall expanded on his departure, saying that Donnelly has been “somewhat disengaged” from the party in the past few months and that his decision “hasn’t come as a shock” within the party.
“It’s not an easy task taking on setting up a party and we were set up just over 12 months ago, and obviously there’s a lot of groundwork to be done building a party from scratch, building it brick by brick,”she said.
A huge number of people are involved in that and I think it’s the case that involvement in our party hasn’t suited Stephen. It’s a very different thing being a party member than being an independent.
Shortall said that his opinion on the Apple tax issue was “slightly nuanced” compared to some members but “not fundementally different”.
On Friday, the Social Democrats said it was opposed to the government’s decision to appeal the Apple ruling.
Donnelly has said that he “remains committed” to the principles he has worked for since he entered politics in 2011. He says he will now be consulting with his supporters “on the best way forward”.
The Social Democrats ran a total of 11 candidates in the February general election and secured 3% of first preference votes nationally.
Its three leaders were re-elected, topping the poll in each of their constituencies, but no new candidates were elected.
The party also has 11 councillors nationally.
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You spend ages waiting on a bus and then 800 come along at once…
@The Alchemist’s Head: Rail seems to be the only way forward for inner city commuting. Its a logistical nightmare trying to set it up but I’d say its well worth it in the long run.
Great news but did I miss where the country has won the lottery recently? Where is all the money coming from? Or is it a case of when you are broke you might as well spend big?
@Bo bo: Interest rates are set at zero or negative by the European Central Bank and they are printing endless amounts of money for capital spending. The EU is providing lots of funds for green initiatives as well. There will never be a better time to do this.
@Bo bo: credit card!!
And where does the recharge power come from? Solar, wind, tidal? No, it would be fossil fuels.
This is window dressing.
@Fred the Muss…: Fossil fuel is being phased out rapidly. Moneypoint and coal will be gone by 2025.
@Fred the Muss…: The thousands getting hosed down by, & / or inhaling, diesel exhaust fumes daily probably won’t agree with that… besides, electric from renewables increasing every year – 15% in 2010, 33% in 2018, 37% in 2019. Compare that to the 15 years Euro 4 to Euro 6′s been around – zero improvements required re: CO2, & as for NOX – well, we all know how manufacturers have been getting around that.
@Fred the Muss…: yes Window Dressing that’s a great way of putting it, how the power is generated (electricity) and all the manufacturing processes especially the batteries the maintenance etcétera, then it has to start somewhere for it to develop
Good news for the environment but I wonder what the lasting impact of COVID on public transport will be. As someone sitting on a bus writing this right now it’s very hard not to view them as giant germ boxes with poor ventilation and inconsiderate fellow passengers. Will everyone who swapped the bus or train for the car over the past few months suddenly rush back after there’s a vaccine? I have my doubts.
@David Law: very simple. Your Leap card is replaced with the microchip you get as part of vaccination. You can’t get in the bus without the microchip.
@David Law: They will if the traffic is appalling.
How is the electricity required for the batteries produced?
@Claude Saulnier: How are the batteries actually produced ? Interesting to see how manufactured and recycled at scale when everyone drives electric
@Wadi:
‘We now have a contractual agreement with our cell manufacturers that they will use only green power to produce our fifth generation battery cells,’ BMW Chief Executive Oliver Zipse said…
https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-bmw-electric-batteries/bmw-to-source-battery-cells-produced-using-renewable-energy-idUKKBN24114R
As for battery recycling, VW’s building a plant for that
https://www.volkswagenag.com/en/news/stories/2019/02/lithium-to-lithium-manganese-to-manganese.html
At what cost?
Don’t suppose any of these buses will be running all week so i can use them for work? or will it just be part time like the rest of them?
This looks like total greenwash as (It’s reported) the buses will still run for about 85% of the time on diesel and all need to be recharged at night at the same time. A much cheaper and better solution would be to buy the sort of modern Trolleybuses that are used in 300 odd cities worldwide. Modern Trolleys have enough battery power to run 50 or 60 Km in town and recharge from the overhead wires while in use. They also have lowered floors like all other modern buses. Also the problems with the poles coming off the wires is largely solved now but most importantly they are POLLUTION FREE.
@mmz: ‘the buses will still run for about 85% of the time on diesel’
Huh? This tender seeks buses with a 300kWh minimum battery. Think you’re confused with the hybrids.
Its a start but they will be refundant in 7/8 years with the batteries depleted and the cost of replacement prohibitive…..why are we once again the last country to look at hydrogen fuel cell technology…we should be following the advances made in Japan, Korea, China and Australia and adopt hydroggen for all HGV goods as well as promoting a whole new indusry for green hydrogen production….
have your say