Results 21-40 of 120 for long speaker:Chris Andrews

Saincheisteanna Tráthúla - Topical Issue Debate: Housing Schemes (26 Jan 2023)

Chris Andrews: ...levels of damp and mould. We know that mould has a serious impact on the health of young and old, in particular. A young child died because of mould in a flat in the UK. The time for concern is long gone. We need action now. The chance of the council sorting out this mess and these issues is long gone. The Government needs to intervene directly. It needs to set up a task force with...

Climate Action Plan 2023: Statements (18 Jan 2023)

Chris Andrews: ...to reduce emissions, but the tenants in Bishop Street or Rathmines Avenue do not see or feel any benefit from all these announcements. They are living in neglect and have been neglected for too long. I was in McDonagh House and Pearse House recently meeting with residents and, almost without exception, every flat had serious dampness and mould problems, the level of which has serious...

Income Eligibility for Social Housing Supports: Statements (15 Dec 2022)

Chris Andrews: ...the levels should be greater than what is proposed. Inflation, which will continue, was mentioned. The thresholds have to be more flexible. We have called for an increase for years. For too long, workers and families have been penalised for getting slight pay rises into better paying jobs. I spoke to a number of employers this week who said they looked to increase staff wages but...

Saincheisteanna Tráthúla - Topical Issue Debate: Disability Services (8 Dec 2022)

Chris Andrews: ...months. If this trend continues, waiting this could rise by more than 15% in a year which is an enormous toll to put on any children with a disability and their families. These waiting lists are longest in Dublin in community healthcare organisation, CHO, 9 and CHO 7. In CHO 9, I understand 2,295 children have been waiting for more than a year for initial contact with the disability...

Patient Safety (Notifiable Patient Safety Incidents) Bill 2019: Report Stage (7 Dec 2022)

Chris Andrews: ...people can sign up to what is in the Bill. That is very important. The whole debate is very important. It is very important that the Bill is right. Families will understand if it takes a bit longer as long as we get it right. This is key. The devil is always in the detail. It is important that the Minister spells out the detail relating to anonymisation. Patients need to be...

Building Defects: Motion [Private Members] (6 Dec 2022)

Chris Andrews: .... Of course, they cannot sell as they cannot afford the cost of making things right. As has been said, they had no hand, act or part in causing the defects. The people who caused the defects are long gone and the Government wants the residents to pick up the tab for the Government’s light and no-touch regulation. This is what happened in Poolbeg Quay, where the residents had...

Gambling Regulation Bill 2022: Second Stage (6 Dec 2022)

Chris Andrews: Legislation to regulate gambling is long overdue and is very welcome. It is to the credit of the Minister of State and Government that it is being introduced now. Successive Governments fail to act on it every year. It is welcome and commendable that the legislation is in the Dáil now. I commend the Minister of State. As a society, we often fail to address and to see gambling for...

Finance Bill 2022: Second Stage (25 Oct 2022)

Chris Andrews: ...has ever faced. There are thousands upon thousands of people crying out for the chance to have a home in their community, where they grew up and among their family and friends. Sinn Féin has long called for a vacant homes tax in the face of Government opposition. A vacant homes tax must not exclude derelict property and must apply a rate for long-term vacancy. We need an effective...

Criminal Justice (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2022: Second Stage (13 Oct 2022)

Chris Andrews: ...has been strongly welcomed. In the context of deeply traumatising acts of violence, these measures will finally prevent accused persons confronting their victims in court. The measures are long overdue. As I stated, I very much welcome the Bill and the zero-tolerance approach being taken in respect of this offence. I wish to highlight the ongoing street violence on City Quay....

Financial Resolutions 2022 - Financial Resolution No. 6: General: Financial Resolution (Resumed) (28 Sep 2022)

Chris Andrews: ...step change in how the Government supports grassroots. The grassroots provide the foundation for all our international achievements. While increased funding for high-performance athletes is welcome and is long overdue, this must go hand-in-hand with increased supports for the grassroots of Irish sports that ensure young people have the opportunity to reach the highest levels of sports...

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (15 Sep 2022)

Chris Andrews: I understand thalidomide survivors are meeting the Taoiseach today. This is a long-overdue meeting. It is welcome but I ask that the Tánaiste and this Government step up to the plate and give thalidomide survivors, who have fought for more than 60 years, what they deserve. They deserve an apology and statutory redress. I seek a commitment that this will happen.

Summer Economic Statement: Statements (14 Jul 2022)

Chris Andrews: ...to good health and well-being, and for children, that cannot continue to be taken for granted. We need to increase investment in sports. Ireland has been lagging behind our European peers for too long. Our EU peer group invests on average almost three times as much as we do on sport and recreation. We urgently need to see real-time investment in sport and recreational facilities...

Payment of Wages (Amendment) (Tips and Gratuities) Bill 2022 [Seanad]: Second Stage (7 Jul 2022)

Chris Andrews: ...working in the sector, how challenging a job it is and how important tips are to staff right across the hospitality sector. My party and I support the Bill. It is important. There has been a long campaign on this matter. It is great to see it advancing through the various Stages. I commend the constant effort of hospitality staff. From personal experience, I know that when you...

Saincheisteanna Tráthúla - Topical Issue Debate: Regeneration Projects (23 Jun 2022)

Chris Andrews: ...are next to derelict and it is demoralising for residents and public representatives, across parties, to have to meet residents and hear their stories. Flat complexes have been neglected for too long and this has to end. They have to be resourced in order to ensure that residents have a decent quality of life.

Saincheisteanna Tráthúla - Topical Issue Debate: Regeneration Projects (23 Jun 2022)

Chris Andrews: ...complexes in the inner city are genuinely frustrated in respect of having been forgotten. They feel, and the evidence suggests they are right, that Dublin City Council has neglected them for too long, as has the Government. They are living in conditions that are just not acceptable. These are not all old flat complexes. Many of the newer flat complexes have serious issues as well. Not...

LGBTQI+ and Equality: Statements (23 Jun 2022)

Chris Andrews: ...football player in the Premier League. The last footballer who came out was Justin Fashanu back in the 1990s. I do not know whether the Minister remembers him. I remember him as I am around that long. When he came out, the abuse he got was horrendous. At the time I remember thinking it would be a watershed moment but it was not. Even today we do not have any Premier League player,...

Special Educational Needs: Statements (16 Jun 2022)

Chris Andrews: ...taxiing children out of their community. I have raised the issue previously. The Government is spending over €70,000 a day taxiing children with disabilities out of their community to schools a long distance away. This practice cannot be allowed to continue. I understand that a child as young as two and half is being taxied out of their community because there are not enough...

Urban Regeneration Report: Motion (2 Jun 2022)

Chris Andrews: ...the families living in them. Certain individuals are more concerned about the architecture than other people's living conditions. Dublin City Council has neglected inner-city communities for too long. They will not take it anymore. When one walks around Rathmines, Pearse House, Mercer House and other flat complexes, one sees the neglect. There are shocking conditions internally and...

Saincheisteanna Tráthúla - Topical Issue Debate: Refugee Resettlement Programme (24 May 2022)

Chris Andrews: ...that is willing to give labour for free and make it habitable. It wants to work with fire safety people to ensure it is habitable and safe. It could be used on an emergency basis and it is not a long-term solution for anybody for accommodation purposes. This is certainly an emergency and the Government must act accordingly. I guessed that the Minister of State would say it is on the...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Immigration Policy (10 May 2022)

Chris Andrews: ...To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality if an additional extension for expired immigration permits will be allowed ahead of the 31 May 2022 deadline given the current backlog and long processing time. [23248/22]