Results 21-40 of 1,827 for speaker:Chris Andrews

Seanad: Disability Services: Statements (8 Apr 2025)

Chris Andrews: I welcome the Minister of State and congratulate her on her new role. I hope she is successful. It is important for many people that she is. The Minister of State may have heard of Involve Autism, an advocacy group based in Dublin 6. It is very constructive, positive, detailed and solution focused. One of the things it has highlighted is the cost of transporting children with special...

Seanad: International Trade and International Relations: Statements (3 Apr 2025)

Chris Andrews: I extend my condolences to Mick O'Dwyer's family on his passing this morning. He was an icon of Irish sport and football. His loss is a huge loss. On the issue of genocide in Gaza, I would like to know why this Government has accepted the normalisation of genocide. Israel continues with a colonial settlement project and there are absolutely no sanctions for it. Those colonial...

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (2 Apr 2025)

Chris Andrews: I raise the issue of animal welfare, particularly dog welfare. Last week, three dogs were shot and dumped in a bog in Westmeath. This Government's attitude to dog welfare, and animal welfare generally, is lamentable. We see images of horses around the country that are emaciated, have open wounds and are without water. Dogs are in pounds or are being shot and dumped. The Government needs...

Seanad: Housing: Statements (2 Apr 2025)

Chris Andrews: I wish the Minister the very best in his new position. It is important for everybody in the country that he is successful. I wish him the best. When it comes to housing, it is hard to know where to start. The list is extremely long. I will start with the regeneration of flat complexes in the city of Dublin. In my own constituency of Dublin Bay South, Pearse House is a large flat complex...

Seanad: Air Navigation and Transport (Arms Embargo) Bill 2024: Committee Stage (2 Apr 2025)

Chris Andrews: The Minister of State's colleague, the Minister, Deputy O'Brien, said that every member of Government was horrified by what was happening in Gaza. I hear that, but it is really hard to believe it because the actions suggest that is not the case. The Government's actions suggest that it is actually complicit in the horrors that are happening in the Gaza Strip. This Bill seeks to close one...

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

Chris Andrews: I wish Jeremy and George well. Best wishes in your new role, Jeremy. For George, it is like replacing Alex Ferguson after his time at Manchester United. He has big shoes to fill, as has been said. Best wishes to both of you. My colleague, Senator Ruane, brought up the issue of the peaceful protest yesterday by Mothers Against Genocide and the fact that protestors were removed. It is...

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (27 Mar 2025)

Chris Andrews: I want to raise the ongoing dismantling of Irish neutrality and the attempt to get rid of the triple lock, which it should be noted is being supported by many in the media. The reality is that the only people who will benefit from war and the ending of our neutrality are those in the armaments industry. That industrial complex makes billions of euro. It accounts for a tiny fraction of the...

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (27 Mar 2025)

Chris Andrews: On a point of order, in case there is any suggestion that I am not, I want to clarify that I am very proud of Irish Army personnel. The point I was making is that the vast majority of those fighting on the front line come from working families. I am very proud of the peacekeeping tradition and of Irish Army personnel.

Seanad: Special Education Provision: Motion (26 Mar 2025)

Chris Andrews: I acknowledge Sarah and Darren and the fight they are undertaking for their son, Freddie. They are replicating the battle that so many people and families have had to put up with in recent years. It does not seem a lot to ask that a child would have access to an education. I acknowledge the Minister of State's new role. It is important and I wish him success. It is important for...

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Child Protection (25 Mar 2025)

Chris Andrews: I thank the Minister of State for coming to the House. I wish him well in his role. It is an interesting role. It is in everyone's interest that he is successful. I rise here today to ask a question that weighs heavily on the minds of many in this Chamber but, far more importantly, on the hearts of countless survivors throughout the country.Why will the Department not commission a full...

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Child Protection (25 Mar 2025)

Chris Andrews: I thank the Minister of State. I have heard that response before - that is being honest - and it is not acceptable. No one has been held accountable for the abuse at St. John Ambulance. An apology is not enough. Survivors have been to hell and back. Some are struggling with homelessness and addiction and are struggling to cope. An apology is not good enough and accountability is what is...

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (25 Mar 2025)

Chris Andrews: In recent days, the Minister for housing has slammed the door on the redevelopment and regeneration of the Pearse House flats. This is devastating for the residents of Pearse House, who put up with completely unacceptable living conditions that are getting worse by the day. This is just another example of the Government abandoning the residents of the inner city, and it is a case of further...

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (20 Mar 2025)

Chris Andrews: Surgical insemination of greyhounds is deeply disturbing and inhumane. It is a practice that continues to plague the greyhound industry in Ireland. It is a procedure where a female dog's uterus is removed, semen is injected into the uterus, the uterus is then returned to the greyhound and she is then sewn back up and expected to carry the litter of dogs for 60 days while recovering from...

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (19 Mar 2025)

Chris Andrews: When you think the horror in the Gaza Strip cannot get any worse, it does. It gets worse on a daily basis. First, we had the genocide, the destruction of hospitals, the murder and the slaughter. Then we have the starvation, the killing, the terror, the blocking of food, the blocking of medicines and the turning off of electrical power, which impacts the desalination systems and water so...

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Public Parks (6 Mar 2025)

Chris Andrews: I congratulate the Minister of State on his new role. It is an important role, as we have seen, for communities across the country. It is also important the Minister of State is successful in it. I wish him the best of luck. The Iveagh Gardens is a green lung for this city. They are more than just a park; they are a piece of our living history. They are one of the few surviving...

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Public Parks (6 Mar 2025)

Chris Andrews: I thank the Minister of State. None of the issues I raised was addressed. The Save the Iveagh Gardens campaign is not happy with any proposals to destroy the area.The long boundary wall will be destroyed. I invite the Minister of State to visit the gardens at lunchtime. They ware magnificent. The OPW does a very good job within the boundary walls, but to allow the destruction of the...

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (6 Mar 2025)

Chris Andrews: I raise the ongoing crisis facing residents in Glovers Court, a Dublin City Council flat complex off York Street, and O'Carroll Villas. Drug dealers run these flat complexes. Glovers Court is like a 24-hour drug shop, with dealers using Kinder eggs to hide their drugs in the playground at O'Carroll Villas.Gangs of young people are egging those using the local shops and businesses. The pace...

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (5 Mar 2025)

Chris Andrews: Pearse House flats, which are located just off Pearse Street, are due to be regenerated as part of the flat regeneration scheme. This regeneration is taking place at a snail's pace. The conditions residents have to live in are absolutely unacceptable. In the past week, two residents have had to be moved out of their homes; both of their flats were completely flooded by raw sewage which...

Seanad: The Diaspora: Statements (5 Mar 2025)

Chris Andrews: I congratulate the Minister of State on his new portfolio. It is a really interesting role and is one that I know he is very interested in. I wish him the best of luck in it because it is important for everyone that he is successful. The Irish diaspora is a unique feature of our historical and cultural identity and is crucial to our global influence and political future. Irish men and...

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (4 Mar 2025)

Chris Andrews: Apartheid Israel has stopped bombing Gaza. It has decided to change its strategy and starve the people of the Gaza Strip. Withholding food and emergency aid is genocide. It is sickening. It is also against international law to continue to do that. Yet, the Irish Government still has not sanctioned Israel. There have been no sanctions. There are no consequences for Israel in the context...