The Social Democrats is open to talking to all parties about forming a Government, Gary Gannon has said.

With 11 candidates elected across the country, it was a good General Election for the Social Democrats.

In Dublin Central, Gary Gannon retained his seat, and is now looking ahead to the future of the next Government.

On The Hard Shoulder, he said the Social Democrats are keeping an open mind when it comes to other parties.

"The Social Democrats are going to talk to all parties," Deputy Gannon said.

"However the first people we need to talk to is ourselves tomorrow when our parliamentary party meets, just to get a sense of where we are, where we’re travelling.

"We made our red lines clear long before the campaign started about our five dealbreakers; housing, health, disability, climate and childcare."

Dealbreakers

Deputy Gannon criticised the outgoing Government's ability to address these dealbreakers.

"You can’t have public services and massive tax cuts," he said.

"That’s one of the things we’ve always been clear on - it’s the foundation of our party.

"We want effective quality public services and we want to solve the housing catastrophe - you cannot do that while offering €7 billion in tax cuts and having a giveaway budget every year."

Deputy Gannon said the Social Democrats' approach to tax and public service distinguishes the party from Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael.

Policies

Deputy Gannon said he wants to be in Government in order to see the Social Democrats' policies enacted.

"But it has to be be a Government that believes in something - a Government that recognises that the same old policies have led us to the catastrophes that we've seen," he said.

Deputy Gannon will be joined in the Dáil by 10 party colleagues, including the party leader Holly Cairns.

Feature image shows Gary Gannon, Leah Farrell/© RollingNews.ie