Results 1-20 of 1,827 for speaker:Chris Andrews

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Suicide Prevention (8 May 2025)

Chris Andrews: I thank the Minister of State for coming in. I appreciate that she took the time. Your day really is not all that different. You leave the house and go to work. It is the same as it is every day. Maybe you go for a drink with colleagues or to a match afterwards, then you come home and it is so empty. The house is so unbearably empty. A piece of your life is gone forever in one tragic...

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Suicide Prevention (8 May 2025)

Chris Andrews: The reduction in income from Darkness into Light walks and various activities means that Pieta will need more from the State for services, otherwise services are unfortunately going to close. I acknowledge the thousands of volunteers who wake up extra early in support of Pieta's Darkness into Light walk. Funds raised by Pieta are already down for Darkness into Light, and there is a real...

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (8 May 2025)

Chris Andrews: Can we ask that the Minister for Justice attend today to explain why the barriers surrounding the International Protection Office on Mount Street have been up so long and when they are coming down? The Mount Street residents in Power's Court and Verschoyle Place have been living with tents and metal barriers in their neighbourhood for over 18 months. The tents are gone but the barriers...

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (7 May 2025)

Chris Andrews: I acknowledge and welcome the Laois camogie players today from Camross, O'Moore's and The Harps clubs. It is great to see young people and young athletes being interested, engaged and concerned about what is effectively an equality issue. The issue at the weekend has highlighted the demand for women to wear skorts playing elite sports. As a father of two daughters who play and love camogie...

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (1 May 2025)

Chris Andrews: The crisis in dog welfare continues daily and is obviously having an impact on dogs. I know the Minister has been very supportive of dog and animal welfare. This is also having a hugely damaging impact on those working in rescue centres. It is devastating for those who work tirelessly in this area to pick up the tab for Government failure on dog welfare. I highlight the many measures the...

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (1 May 2025)

Chris Andrews: I forgot to acknowledge Senator O'Loughlin's fantastic work on Alzheimer's disease and her ongoing advocacy. I should have mentioned that because it is excellent and very important.

Seanad: Europe Day 2025: Statements (1 May 2025)

Chris Andrews: I thank the Minister of State for coming in for this important debate. We cannot categorise people as scaremongering when they have a different point of view.

Seanad: Europe Day 2025: Statements (1 May 2025)

Chris Andrews: People are entitled to different points of view. It does not mean they are disrespectful or scaremongering. We are happy to debate with anyone at any time.

Seanad: Europe Day 2025: Statements (1 May 2025)

Chris Andrews: I am not misleading. We are happy to have a respectful debate. We do not necessarily agree with the Government, but that does not mean we cannot discuss issues and have differing opinions. In the more than 50 years since Ireland joined what would eventually become the European Union, we have experienced rapid and welcome change. Membership of the EU has served as a catalyst for so much...

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (30 Apr 2025)

Chris Andrews: There has been a lot of discussion in the media about Kneecap and what its members said or did not say. It is important to note that they did issue an apology. I find it incredible that the Taoiseach would take time out to criticise Kneecap, yet I have not once heard him criticise Benjamin Netanyahu. Benjamin Netanyahu is overseeing the slaughter and genocide in Gaza - the killing of tens...

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (30 Apr 2025)

Chris Andrews: They did apologise for that.

Seanad: Protection of Retail Workers Bill 2025: Second Stage (30 Apr 2025)

Chris Andrews: I thank Senator Fitzpatrick for introducing the Bill. It is important that retailers and retail staff are protected. The suggestion that it would be extended to hospitality workers should be considered. Having worked in bars and restaurants and having been a retailer myself at one stage, I know quite well the challenges that retailers are facing. I do not think there is anything in this...

Seanad: Protection of Retail Workers Bill 2025: Second Stage (30 Apr 2025)

Chris Andrews: The Senator cannot pretend it was not Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael who oversaw the issues.

Seanad: Diverting Young People from Criminal Activity: Statements (30 Apr 2025)

Chris Andrews: I thank the Minister of State for coming to the House. As outlined by the previous speakers, this is an important issue. Speaking for my constituency, there is a real demand and need for gardaí right across the inner city because in nearly every aspect it has been neglected for years - the south inner city in particular. The Dublin city task force report did not include the south...

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (29 Apr 2025)

Chris Andrews: I, too, extend my good wishes to Martin Groves on his retirement. He obviously knew something we did not and picked his moment when the weather was good. He has always had a good sense of judgment. Over Easter, news came out that an International Protection Accommodation Services, IPAS, centre was not going ahead. All we hear from the Government is that communities do not have a veto....

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (9 Apr 2025)

Chris Andrews: Yesterday, I put a specific question to the Minister of State, Deputy Troy, as to why Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael had proposed in their manifestos a betting tax levy increase of 1%, from 2% to 3%, yet when they got into government, it was abandoned. There is no sign of it in the programme for Government. I got absolutely zero answers as to why it has been abandoned. It is not good...

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (9 Apr 2025)

Chris Andrews: Deputy Harris.

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Gambling Sector (8 Apr 2025)

Chris Andrews: Prior to the last election, both the Minister of State's party and its coalition partners made firm commitments in their manifestos to increase the betting tax from 2% to 3% and to use this funding for investment in sport. This commitment strangely vanished from the programme for Government with no mention of the betting tax or additional capital investment in sport infrastructure and...

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Gambling Sector (8 Apr 2025)

Chris Andrews: It seems that the Government has bowed at the altar of the gambling industry, while sport and Irish football have to pick up the tab. I find it hard to take that the discredited and abusive greyhound industry gets €19 million a year, and Irish football and other sports get hardly a fraction of that figure. Governments will talk about sports capital and individual funding projects, as...

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (8 Apr 2025)

Chris Andrews: Last week, a young zebra was brought into a bar in County Clare. Colleagues might imagine I am about to tell a joke but this is actually true. Many people thought it was an April Fool's Day joke. Bizarrely, this is not against the law and it highlights the lack of legislation and enforcement relating to animal welfare. My Lovely Horse Animal Rescue recently called for urgent reform of...