SocDems hit back as Steenson accuses members of 'banging coke up their noses'

Social Democrats Councillor Cat O'Driscoll has hit back at Independent Councillor Malachy Steenson after he accused her party of supporting drug decriminalisation because members take cocaine at weekends

Add to preferred sources News Stephen Holland Local Democracy Reporter 13:00, 18 Sep 2026 Updated 13:02, 18 Sep 2026 View 3 Images Councillor Malachy Steenson speaking at the Central Area Committee

A Social Democrats councillor has hit back at Independent Cllr Malachy Steenson after he accused her party of supporting drug decriminalisation because members are "banging coke up their nose at the weekend".

Tensions were high in the Dublin City Council's Central Area Committee meeting on Tuesday during a discussion on anti-social behaviour. The row erupted after Cllr Steenson challenged a decision to rule his emergency motion out of order and refer it to a local community safety partnership .

Cllr Steenson had sought to require the Garda Commissioner to appear before the committee to address inner-city policing, drug prosecution policies, and high-profile Garda corruption cases. When Social Democrats Cllr Cat O’Driscoll pointed out that councillors were being asked to discuss a motion that had not been circulated on the agenda, Cllr Steenson claimed that the Social Democrats only support decriminalisation so their own members can take illegal drugs recreationally.

Cllr Steenson’s emergency motion was related to “the breakdown of law and order” and was requesting that Garda Commissioner Justin Kelly attend their committee and provide a briefing on garda members brought before the courts. “He said he wasn’t going to prosecute people for possession of small amounts of drugs. He went on later that week and told the same young fellas, if you don’t wear a high-vis and a helmet when you’re selling drugs we’ll fine you for that,” Cllr Steenson said of the Garda Commissioner.

Cllr Steenson believes that open drug dealing has been “effectively authorised by gardaí". Cllr Steenson also commented on a new Superintendent being appointed to Store Street Garda Station without their committee being informed.

Chair of the committee, Cllr John Stephens attempted to shut down Cllr Steenson following his accusations against the Social Democrats, telling him “this is not an appropriate place to say those things”. But, he refused to quieten and referenced a case where a Garda was charged with receiving corrupt payments.

When contacted by Dublin Live, Cllr O’Driscoll flatly rejected the accusations toward her party, describing them as "screaming, roaring, and name-calling" in an attempt to override council rules rather than using proper appeal procedures like the protocol committee. She said this is not the first time Cllr Steenson has targeted her party with false allegations, as he made similar comments during a debate on decriminalisation last July .

“The last time he brought it up, I articulated very clearly that I've never done drugs outside of prescription medication that I'm on because I've chronic illness,” she said. “I think he's painting us as this hyper-elite corporate party, which we are the opposite of. I'm a learning and development officer in my day job.

"Others are teachers and SNAs. To make up things about what we do on the weekend is just really unfair when we're a very diverse group. Putting us all in one pile of party animals is just really disrespectful."

Cllr O’Driscoll explained her main issue with the debate was his refusal to respect council standing orders. She said that rather than utilising the appeal process, he disrupted the meeting and derailed a motion submitted by Independent Cllr Cieran Perry regarding anti-social behaviour and upgrading the green in Dunard in Cabra.

“The debate was actually about a very positive addressing of anti-social behaviour, but nobody's going to pay attention to that now. The people of Cabra aren't having their views or their needs highlighted. It's the roaring and shouting of Malachy that gets all the oxygen,” she said.

Cllr O’Driscoll claimed that council meetings are becoming increasingly hostile, with female reps frequently bearing the brunt of aggressive behaviour from certain councillors. "I'm very happy to listen to the views of somebody I disagree with in the chamber if they communicate the way everybody else is, but they go way beyond with their absolute screaming and roaring and you can't even understand what they're saying because they're shouting so loudly and not being the most coherent,” she said.

“I chair the Women's Committee at Dublin City Council , and the intimidation within the chamber has come up. I attended the Eastern and Midlands Regional Women's Caucus, and we talked about the intimidation and verbal assaults that are happening in the chambers as unacceptable. A lot of the time they're being aimed at women councillors, even though we are the minority.”

Reiterating her party's stance on drug policy, Cllr O’Driscoll said the Social Democrats advocate for a health-led model because the criminal approach "isn't working". She highlighted her work with constituents facing housing instability and active addiction and pointed out the need to address underlying social issues.

“I haven't made any assumptions about Malachy, I haven't been in the council chamber or in the press making assumptions about his background or what he gets up to in his private time. I won't ever do that because, for me, that's none of my business. I'm there to be a public rep, and he's supposed to be doing that too,” she added.

When contacted for comment by Dublin Live, Cllr Steenson said his comment was not directly personally at Cllr O'Driscoll, but at the Social Democrats and "the whole liberal left". On left leaning parties support for drug decriminalisation, he said: "It's because they don't want a conviction themselves. The middle classes don't want their student visas to the US being stopped."

On claims of intimidation and verbal assaults against female councillors, Cllr Steenson said if someone feels intimated by someone speaking “clearly and strongly” then they should not be in politics.

“Imagine how petrified people are walking around, going around the streets, elderly people, young people, going around the streets where drugs are being plied outside their doors, where there's no law and order. Those are the people I'm concerned about. I'm not concerned about the feelings of politicians, whether they're male or female,” he said.

“I was speaking in response to a motion brought by Ciarán Perry about anti-social behaviour. So I was in order to able to speak and say whatever I wanted. The fact is they cannot contradict anything that I have said, so they resort to this nonsense. I don't care whether she's a man, woman, or any of the other 99 genders, or any of the rest.”

“I challenge any of them to debate these issues in any forum. And they get away with this nonsense of, ‘Oh, you know, because she's a woman and she's upset because she was shouted at.’ I don't care. If you can't stand the heat, then get out of the kitchen."

Cllr Steenson stood by his decision to speak about issues of policing and anti-social behaviour as he believes they were relevant to Cllr Perry's tabled motion. He said that his actions aligned with Standing Orders and that he will be placing his emergency motion as a regular motion for discussion at a future Central Area Committee meeting.

He said: "To be told that elected representatives for the inner city can't discuss the breakdown of law and order in the council - if that's somebody's attitude to what can and can't be discussed, well then, they shouldn't be in politics. The Social Democrats will bang on about all these woke, liberal things and waste time. Ordinary people out there are not concerned about whether a tree needs to be trimmed or whether we need more grass cut; they're concerned about the breakdown of law and order."

Cllr Steenson took further issue with his emergency motion being ruled out of order by an Executive Manager within the council and said it is not up to non-elected council staff to decide what can or cannot be discussed in the chamber. He described the decision to take issue with the content of his motion as "political dictatorship".

During the meeting, Executive Manager Michelle Robinson said she noted the issue of policing raised in the emergency motion and considered it a more appropriate topic for the local community safety partnership.

This content is funded by the Local Democracy Reporting Scheme

Want to see more of the stories you love from Dublin Live? Making us your preferred source on Google means you’ll get more of our exclusives, top stories and must-read content straight away. To add Dublin Live as a preferred source, simply click here .

Join our Dublin Live breaking news service on WhatsApp. Click this link to receive your daily dose of Dublin Live content.

We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don’t like our community, you can check out any time you like. If you’re curious, you can read our Privacy Notice.