Chris Andrews (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I congratulate the Cathaoirleach. I know he will be a very fair Chair. Thanks to Mr. Martin Groves and his team in the Seanad Office who facilitated the count. Thanks also to those who voted for me to be a Senator. It is a real honour to be elected to the Upper House. I will be working on various issues with all Senators. I am looking forward to that process and to bringing about positive change.

I will keep fighting for residents in the inner city who continue to be neglected by Government. Regeneration of flat complexes is happening at a snail's pace and it does not happen at all for many flat complexes. Residents are left to live in accommodation that is simply unacceptable in 2025. Flats are rotting, with dampness and mould, from the inside out. I will also work with families with neurodiverse children who are struggling for services and who are effectively left to fend for themselves without the resources they need. Special schools are also struggling for resources.

Important to me and Sinn Féin is our neutrality. Neutrality has significant support among the Irish public, yet we continually have the Government and many in the media making a case to scrap it. We must protect our neutrality and see it for what it is, which is a force for good in this increasingly fragile world.

I will also continue to highlight the injustice faced by Palestinians. Palestinians have significant support among the Irish people, yet we still have many in the media and in politics trying to silence those who stand up for the nation of Palestine and those who look to hold to account apartheid and genocidal Israel. It is important that we challenge this. We are not just responsible for what we say.We are also responsible for what we do not say. We have to ensure that we are not quiet when it comes to standing up for Palestine and those Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza who are facing ongoing terror by Israel. We have a Government that merely pays lip service to criticising apartheid Israel, with zero sanctions against the terror state and a row-back on passing the occupied territories Bill. It is a Bill it committed to passing if returned to government yet, now the election is over, it has thrown those commitments in the bin.

A united Ireland is something I will be working for in the Upper House. I believe a united Ireland is going to happen. I see the challenges also as opportunities, unlike the Government, which only pays lip service to a united Ireland. There is an onus on us to deliver a united Ireland for those who have fought for Ireland and for future generations. Our young people deserve this from us.

Another issue I will be working on is dog welfare. Volunteer dog rescues are under-resourced and overwhelmed. We have a lot of legislation on animal and dog welfare but very little of it is enforced. The State has a sad legacy regarding the treatment of dogs. The populist decision to ban XL bullies shows the Government’s contempt for dog welfare. Early last year, a Government Minister stood holding a poster stating that if your dog attacks sheep, it is your fault, not the dog’s. Then, three months later, the same Minister was holding a poster saying that if your dog attacks, it is the dog’s fault. It is utter populism. The XL bully ban should be amended to at least have an appeals process. We need to target the bad behaviour, not how a dog looks.

There is another issue that is important to me. While I was never very good, I was an enthusiastic footballer. Irish football is in a great place, with Shelbourne winning the President’s Cup last week and Shamrock Rovers and Bohemians playing in the Aviva Stadium this Sunday. The future is bright for Irish football but we have to invest in the facilities, infrastructure and academies. Just like we invested in the film industry, we need to invest in football so we create a football industry. Football and sport generally have many benefits for individuals and communities and we need to invest in them. We need to invest in football so we do not stay rooted to the bottom of the European table when it comes to investment in sport.

We also need to invest in young people and youth services. In the south inner city, Talk about Youth on Pearse Street does fantastic work with young people but it is still under-resourced, and the same goes for SAYS, the South Area Youth Service on Mercer Street, both within a stone’s throw of Leinster House.

I look forward to working with everybody but we have to ensure we get our priorities right. We have to support the underdog and those who have been left behind, and I look forward to doing that.

Best wishes to you, a Chathaoirligh.