Sinead Gibney is the former chief commissioner of the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission. She is the chair of One Family, an organisation that supports single parents.

Housing is the most important issue in the European Union right now. While some candidates say that housing is not an EU issue, I challenge that narrative - it is an EU-wide crisis that requires an EU-wide response.

Housing is a fundamental right. So many of our other rights are dependent on it - privacy, family life, health, and so on.

Several aspects of EU policy affect the delivery and regulation of housing at national level. The EU, for example, has a role in regulating institutional investors, and the short-term letting sector. Eurostat’s designation of debt of the Approved Housing Body (AHB) sector as being “on the public books” can limit public investment in housing. Recently proposed reforms of the EU Fiscal Rules seem unlikely to improve matters. Expediting the removal of AHBs from calculations of public debt will be a priority for our MEPs.

I will push for fiscal policy that allows member states to respond effectively at domestic level to the housing crisis, advocate to unlock funds that the State can use to deliver affordable housing, and work on the development of an EU-wide affordable housing plan, similar in scale to the Covid response.

The Social Democrats, as a party, have not yet affiliated with any European Parliament grouping. We will be examining positions on climate action, immigration, Gaza, and other key policy issues to decide which grouping best aligns with our party policy.

I love Dublin and I’m passionate about making it a fairer city, where decent housing and decent work are within the reach of all, not just the wealthy few.

I’m the former Chief Commissioner for Human Rights and Equality in Ireland, and I have leadership experience in business and public sector organisations. I raised my daughter as a lone parent which led to me becoming chair of One Family, an organisation that supports people parenting alone. I understand that we need a new approach, where the State and the EU are there for people, where politics is honest, and where policies actually deliver for you, the voter.

My priorities are housing, a fair city, climate action, an end to the genocide in Gaza and change that you can trust. That means better quality public services, a safe community, clean air and water, and thriving homegrown businesses. Most of all it means a voice people can trust, on the issues that are important to them, in Europe. We need to take all that we love about our city, and safeguard it for our younger and future generations.