Chris Andrews
Labour Panel · Sinn Féin · Ireland
“I want to move an amendment to No. 1 on the Order Paper, proposing an orderly winding down of the accommodation recognition payment scheme in a way that is fair and efficient. I note today is the last day of Dáil and Seanad sittings before the summer recess.”
“The Government can point to housing and claim that there are huge successes. There is only success for the wealthy, the well-off, the developers and the landlords. They are all delighted with Government policy.”
“Government will say, "Look at the positives", but there are a huge amount of challenges. You need not look any further than the housing crisis. Of course, the Government will point to an increased number of housing developments. However, those housing developments are for the very well-off.”
“We supported the development of housing on the Glass Bottle site. We worked hard to ensure to get more social housing. Unfortunately, the Government would not do that. Now it seems that the so-called "affordable housing" on the Glass Bottle site will be unaffordable.”
“I move amendment No. 14: In page 7, between lines 25 and 26, to insert the following: “Annual report 11. The Minister shall, within the first six months of the year, lay before both Houses of the Oireachtas a report outlining the application of this Act, providing an update on— (a) how many successful actions were brought under section 14…”
“I move amendment No. 2: In page 4, between lines 4 and 5, to insert the following: “ “settlement service” means a service provided in whole or in part within a postal code or relevant occupied territory to which this Act applies;”.”
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“He also stated that through his work fundraising with ACLAÍ Palestine in the Aida refugee camp, he has seen first hand the impact that occupation and violence have on people's daily lives. He further stated that Gaza - as I just noted - has the highest number of child amputees per capita in the world, with thousands of children there having lost one or more limbs. Alan also stated that he believes what is occurring constitutes genocide, and is described as such by numerous human rights organisations and legal experts. He noted that sport is a powerful platform that can create social change and that he believes that athletes have a responsibility to take a stand when fundamental human rights are at stake. It is great to see an individual take action and highlight the Government's inaction.”
“Irish Wheelchair Rugby is due to play an European championship match against genocidal Israel on 27 May in Spain. Israel is a military, colonial, occupying regime currently on trial for genocide, apartheid and occupation and is in breach of multiple international laws. The United Nations has reported that Gaza has the highest number of child amputees per capita in the world. There are a total of 4,000 child amputees in Gaza. That is why Alan is boycotting the game against Israel. He sent me a message about the reason he is boycotting the game against Israel and stated that he is doing so because he cannot separate sport from the reality of what is happening in Gaza and Palestine.”
“I send my condolences to the friends and family of Yves Sakila. It is important that there is an investigation. No one should end up dead in this way. I also raise the matter of the human rights activists who have been kidnapped from international waters. Once again, the Government has condemned the act without actually doing anything. It seems to repeat itself. There is condemnation and no action. Israel faces no consequences for the kidnapping of activists, who are trying to do what Government should be doing and hold genocidal Israel to account. The Government's behaviour contrasts with that of Alan Dineen from Cork. Mr. Dineen is a para-athlete who plays wheelchair rugby for Ireland. He has taken the brave decision to boycott the upcoming game against Israel.”
“Before we move on, I will break with the normal rules of the House and ask Members to join me in giving a warm céad míle fáilte to an incredible young man, Austin Appelbee, aged 13. Members may have heard Austin's story from February of this year, when he undertook an incredible act of bravery in Western Australia in order to save the lives of his mother Joanne, his brother Beau and his sister Grace. Austin undertook a four-hour, 4 km swim, followed by a 2 km run, to contact emergency services, which ultimately led to everyone being rescued by the emergency services. What an incredible feat. We are delighted to have Austin and his family in the Visitors Gallery today as the guests of Deputy David Maxwell. They are very welcome. I imagine Austin will be doing triathlons soon. It is a huge credit to him and his family. Well done.”
“I do not think that anybody believes for a minute that it is the Cathaoirleach. It is clearly coming from the Department of justice. It is clear that the Department has ruled it out of order. There is no reason the Minister could not take on these amendments to allow them to be integrated into the legislation. We certainly disagree with these amendments being ruled out of order. I will support Senator McDowell on this.”
“The Department has said that it is being ruled out of order for money reasons. If that is the case, will the Minister take on these amendments and introduce them himself? In that way, we could reach some form of agreement. They have been ruled out of order for money reasons as we submitted them, so if the Minister took them on board-----”
“I, too, would like to object to these amendments being ruled out of order. It is very unfair. It is basic information which gives protection to various cohorts in Irish society that evidence has clearly shown need protection. It is about ensuring that we have all the information we need. It only requires another line on the PULSE system. It is not trying to reinvent the wheel, nor does it involve some huge endeavour. It is clear that there is a need for data. As has been said, in the North of Ireland this is in place. Many judicial systems have it in place. It is about transparency and ensuring there is evidence and that people have access to such evidence. I strongly object to this amendment being ruled out of order. I agree with everything Senator McDowell has said.”
“Residents are going to have to pick up the tab for failure in proper planning and delivery of infrastructure. No doubt we will hear local Fine Gael councillors and Senators complaining about this even though their party introduced the limits on parking spaces and kicked out the plans for the Luas down to Poolbeg. Residents were recently saying to me that they saw there was to be a public meeting by a Government TD calling for the Luas delivery to be fast-tracked in the area even though it was his party that cancelled the delivery of the Luas into the area. Residents see it as cynical. They want solutions, not just the constant withdrawal of transportation services.”
“That Fianna Fáil-Fine Gael Government also postponed the new Luas connection to the area for at least ten years, so not only will there be no parking, there will be no Luas and less public transport. You would think the Government would have learned from past mistakes but seemingly not. For new residents, this means they are going to find parking in the areas closest. What is known as the new houses off Sean Moore Road are going to be inundated with cars parking there and it is going to lead to tensions. Whether planners want that or not, that is what is going to happen. Bremen Road, Kerlogue Road, Cymric Road and many other roads like them are going to be inundated with traffic. This is unfair on the residents in the older housing units and homes there who will have to pay the price for poor planning once again.”
“RTÉ recently highlighted that new housing developments are being built with limited car parking spaces and no additional transportation routes. What is happening is that the new residents are parking on existing housing estates close by, which leads to a lot of tension among residents. An example is the Glass Bottle site in Ringsend, where 3,500 new homes are going in, but a limited number of car parking spaces are being allocated. Residents at the Glass Bottle site will be moving into their new homes very soon, which is long overdue but also welcome. The difficulty is that almost no parking spaces have been allocated to the new homes. This will have a huge impact on the wider community. The previous Government limited the number of spaces that could be put in the new development.”
“When it comes to policing, will the Government engage with the FAI and An Garda Síochána to ensure that participants in the match with Israel will be security screened or are they going to look the other way and allow Israel Defense Forces, IDF, members who have participated in genocide to come into this country? Is there any sense that the Government is going to take action and hold Israel and the Israeli authorities to account or is it going to allow killers to come here and enjoy and sportswash football, and then off they go again? It will obviously be a big security job, and the Government has to take responsibility for it.”
“The Government says it is not up to it whether the match goes ahead or how it is policed. It is leaving to An Garda Síochána and the FAI to decide something like this. When Poland refused to play Russia, there were no consequences for Poland because it had government support. In Ireland, RTÉ is not participating in Eurovision, which is very welcome, so there are plenty of precedents for refusing to engage with genocidal Israel. It is disappointing that the FAI is willing to ignore Irish football and its own congress by facilitating sportswashing.”
“There needs to be high visibility policing, and that has definitely improved, but there is a long way to go before residents in Ringsend, Pearse Street, Kevin Street and across the inner city feel safe. I have another issue that I want to raise. Israel will come here to play Ireland in the Nations League on 4 October 2026. I honestly do not know why the Government is sticking its head in the sand and looking the other way in relation to that. The Government says it is up to the FAI to decide if the team plays Israel and the decision has nothing to do with the Government. This will come during the time Ireland holds the EU Presidency. There will be a lot of policing requirements for that, and there will be policing requirements for the Ireland-Israel match, if it goes ahead and I sincerely hope it does not.”
“It is just not right that they have to face that when they go out to work each day. Inspector Aidan Murphy and his colleagues Mark Scanlon and Niamh McCarthy in Pearse Street station, and John Healy, Anthony Kelly and Cathal Dunne in Irishtown Garda station, go above and beyond. They are very committed. They do so much work that is not seen and they really care for people in the community. The difficulty is, as Senator McDowell mentioned, that they do not have the numbers, and they are stretched to breaking point. Garda numbers in the south inner city of Dublin have essentially been stagnant for the past decade, despite significant population growth. There is significant criminal activity in the inner city. Gardaí cannot challenge that on a shoestring budget in terms of numbers.”
“City Quay, which is not too far from this House, and Pearse Street have constant issues with serious criminality, and gardaí regularly meet residents and work through the particular issues. The residents appreciate what gardaí do and they have regularly acknowledged that to me and to the gardaí themselves. Gardaí regularly get abuse and harassment and they have to deal with it. By and large, they do so very professionally, and genuine residents know and appreciate the difficulties that gardaí have. As was mentioned, if something happens in the course of a garda's work, for example, while chasing people on scramblers, they should not face legal action. They are fighting some criminals with one arm tied behind their back and they are fearful of the consequences of legal action.”
“I acknowledge the fantastic work An Garda Síochána does, in particular community gardaí. I also acknowledge the recent departure of Superintendent Dermot McKenna from Pearse Street Garda station. He was very committed, helpful and engaged with the local community. The residents appreciated the hard work and commitment he put in and his engagement with them. I also wish the new superintendent in Pearse Street Garda station, Mick O'Keeffe, well. He has big shoes to fill but he has already hit the ground running on some local issues, and I know he will continue that commitment to the local community. I cannot speak highly enough, as others have done, of the work and commitment of local community gardaí. They do a fantastic job working with local groups, individuals and resource centres in so many ways.”
“All victims and their loved ones deserve truth and justice and it is imperative that the Government plays its part in making that a reality. We support the Bill.”
“In the past we have seen the British Government misuse a provision in relation to national security and fail to disclose information related to collusion. It is worth remembering that collusion between agents of the British state and loyalist paramilitaries was widespread and there has yet to be transparency on the part of the British state. The Irish Government should redouble its efforts to get full disclosure from the British Government on its illegal covert activities in Ireland. In particular, the British Government urgently needs to release all of the files on the Dublin-Monaghan bombs to Irish authorities, including material given to the Denton review, and to support a full truth recovery process.”
“It sets procedures for requesting, giving and protecting such evidence. It provides judicial oversight and amends existing international co-operation law to facilitate this process. The mechanism provided for in the Bill is modelled on that contained in section 3 of the Criminal Justice (International Co-operation) Act 2019 for the taking of oral testimony from members of An Garda Síochána for the purposes of Troubles-related inquests. National security limits could restrict disclosure because governments often protect intelligence sources and operations. While the Bill aims to support the Omagh inquiry, its consent-based approach means officials may decline to provide evidence and broad security claims could be used to justify withholding sensitive or potentially embarrassing information.”
“We in Sinn Féin also support the Bill. The Omagh bombing inquiry was established by the Northern Secretary of State in February 2024 to investigate whether the bombing in the town of Omagh, County Tyrone, on 15 August 1998 could have been prevented by the British authorities. The Irish Government has rightly made commitments to assist with the inquiry and this Bill is to facilitate that assistance. Sinn Féin has supported the demand of the families of the victims of the 1998 Omagh bombing for a full cross-Border public inquiry. The families deserve full transparency and full disclosure about the events which led to the killing of their loved ones. The Bill allows the authorities to take evidence from the Garda, Defence Forces personnel, civil servants and former Ministers to support the Omagh bombing inquiry.”
“We need the Minister in here, he needs to reverse the decision to cancel the regeneration schemes and he needs to show the residents the respect they deserve to meet with them, to go through alternative plans and reverse the decision to cancel regeneration.”
“The Pearse House regeneration proposal was cancelled, the Oliver Bond regeneration proposal was cancelled and they cannot meet the Minister, Deputy Browne. He is the invisible housing Minister; he has not been showing up and will not meet with them. He has not met them at all, just like the Glass Bottle housing group in Ringsend. They have not seen or met with him. The Minister needs to reverse the decision to cancel the regeneration plans for Pearse House and Oliver Bond House. Residents in Pearse House and Oliver Bond House and the inner city deserve better. When you look at the Dublin regeneration authority, the remit is to regenerate the inner city. Most people would say Pearse Street and Oliver Bond House are in the inner city, yet they are not being factored into this new special purpose vehicle. It is just not acceptable.”
“I acknowledge and congratulate Senator Nicole Ryan on the birth of her little daughter, Réidín. I remember, back in 2024, when the Dublin city task force was announced with great fanfare. It had ten big moves and one of those was social housing regeneration. That has morphed into the Dublin city regeneration authority. The CEO of that authority gets a payment of €280,000 per year. I cannot help thinking this is like jobs for the boys. When you look at the community groups that work with regeneration groups, they get zero funding or a very small amount of it. Yesterday at the housing committee, residents and community groups from Pearse House, Oliver Bond and Dolphin House came in to outline the concerns they have.”
“I ask that either the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine or the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration come to the House to discuss the appalling abuse of animals in this country, which is tolerated by society.”
“Cases like this happen every day of the week all over the country and next to no action is being taken to investigate the perpetrators of animal cruelty or to prevent it from happening in the first place. There seem to be no consequences for people abusing animals and pets. We can have all the strategies and plans we want but there is no enforcement. There needs to be enforcement. Thousands of dogs are handled by rescue centres each year but there are only 24 prosecutions each year, so that suggests a clear lack of enforcement. Over 3,000 greyhounds were killed last year and there are no consequences for that. There are no consequences for puppy farms and there are countless other examples of animal and pet abuse.”
“I know animal welfare is close to the Deputy Leader's heart. I was at the petitions committee earlier and a petition was looked at from My Lovely Horse Animal Rescue. It highlighted the concerns all rescues probably have. Last week a pregnant horse was found dying, tied up and neglected in a field in Rathcoole, County Dublin. She was abandoned by her owners to give birth and die in the field. When she was found, her two-day-old foal was already lying dead next to her. The images are distressing. The treatment is barbaric. My Lovely Horse Animal Rescue took her to veterinarians in UCD but, tragically, she did not survive the abuse and neglect of her owner.”
“I welcome students from Coláiste Dún Iascaigh in Cahir, County Tipperary. They are guests of Deputy Mattie McGrath, whose daughter is here somewhere hiding in the back. They are all very welcome. As is tradition, they do not have homework for the rest of the week when they visit the Seanad. That is according to Deputy McGrath.”
“The Minister of State is very welcome. I thank him for his remarks. I also welcome Caitlín Ní Chaoindealbháin and Aoife Butler, who are guests of Deputy Maurice Quinlivan. They are very welcome, too. I have no doubt that they have all been well looked after. I hope and expect they will be brought to the dining room later.”
“Before we move on to our next Commencement matter, I welcome New York Congressman Tim Kennedy's son, Connor, who is in the Gallery along with some of his friends: Lucy Doherty, Jacob Cappuccilli and Esameldeen Hammouda. They are all very welcome. They are guests of Deputy Cormac Devlin.”
“I thank the Minister of State. Next is up Senator Nelson Murray. We are just swapping Ministers of State. The Minister of State, Deputy Buttimer, obviously has a fondness for the Seanad. He is here nearly as much as I am.”
“There is a vote in the Dáil so the Minister of State might want to scoot over there. I do not know whether the Minister of State, Deputy Collins, who is taking the next Commencement matter has a pair. Will the Senator check whether he can come in because we will have to suspend otherwise? He is coming in.”
“It would be unforgivable if the Government were to allow Israelis to come and go as they wish and to sportswash the matter by means of this particular game. Contrast that with the actions of Spanish Prime Minister, Pedro Sánchez. He is showing real leadership. The Irish Government needs to show real leadership and stop the game.”
“It is not right that the Government seems to be washing its hands of the decision in that regard. The FAI is ignoring Irish football. Irish Sport for Palestine issued a letter yesterday, signed by multiple current and former players, including Sophie Quinn, Brendan Clarke and Pico Lopez. It was signed by many great Irish footballers who are looking for the game to be stopped. We have to stop the game. The Government must intervene. It cannot just keep its head in the sand and pretend it has not instructed the FAI to play the game. The FAI would not play the game unless it were given the green light to do so by the Government. We need to ensure that we get answers to questions about how the Israeli team, players, supporters and support team will be security screened.”
“It is not beyond the bounds of possibility that the child's murderer could be in the team or could be one of the supporters who come here to support Israel in the match against Ireland at the Aviva Stadium. Are people who were involved in genocide when serving in the Israeli occupying forces going to be able to come here and support their team without any security screening even though they have been complicit in genocide? Is the Government going to take any measures at all to ensure that genocide participants are held to account? When Russia invaded Ukraine, Poland refused to play Russia. There were no consequences for the Polish Football Association. When Ireland goes to play Israel, there will be no consequences for a team that has committed genocide.”
“When you see what is happening in Gaza and the West Bank, and the ongoing treatment of Palestinians, it is hard to understand how the president of the FAI could sanction a game with Israel and consider going ahead with it. Palestinian footballers have been murdered by Israel. Some of those involved in murdering them could be part of the playing team or the support staff or they could be supporters attending the match. I have asked multiple times whether there is going to be any security screening of those participating in the game against Ireland on 4 October. Will there be any screening? Muhammad Khalifa came to Ireland when he was only a young fellow and played football against many clubs and with many clubs in Ireland. He travelled around the country playing football. He was murdered last year by Israel.”
“However, the Irish Government is going to welcome the Israeli team here with open arms. It seems to have no concerns about doing so. The Irish Government seems to be saying that responsibility lies with the FAI, when we all know that the FAI cannot make that decision on its own. If there were to be a ban and the FAI decided not to play the games against Israel, it would have to run that decision by the Government. Everybody knows that. The Government is, in some ways, looking to throw the FAI under the bus. The FAI does not have the backbone. James McClean, the Irish football legend, came out today and said that the Irish Government has no backbone. The FAI has no backbone.”
“Is that the only way it can make Israel face consequences for its war crimes and for the starvation of Palestinians in Gaza? There are other ways. The occupied territories Bill is one way the Government could hold Israel to account and ensure that it faces consequences. However, that legislation seems to have gone on forever. There was a commitment just before the most recent election and then it was again given to the legal team, who seem to be able to hold it up forever. That is not the only way to hold Israel to account. Another way would be to stop the game between Ireland and Israel and ensure that Israel is not facilitated in the sportswashing of its genocide. When Russia invaded Ukraine, there were boycotts and bans against playing international matches.”
“A hard look needs to be taken at the direction the EU is travelling in, because it seems to be travelling in a different direction from that in which the public wants to travel and in which it wants the EU to travel. One example of that trend in practice is the EU association agreement that will facilitate trade with Israel. Over recent weeks, I have heard the Government say that it is looking for the EU association agreement to be suspended. Will the Minister of State outline why the Government wants that? I presume it is because it wants to see some consequences regarding Israel's genocide in Gaza and the destruction of international law and order in which Israel is engaging. The Government is looking to suspend that association agreement.”
“I absolutely acknowledge that. I appreciate the Minister of State making the effort. He was here early this morning. What I am saying is not intended as a slight on him. It is just a pattern that needs to be addressed. On the EMI EU poll, Senator Lynch, who is a supporter of the European concept, highlighted some worrying trends. Along with the worrying figures that the Senator pointed out, the number of people who say that the EU is heading in the right direction has fallen from 58% in 2023 to 45% this year, with migration, economic and regulatory issues, federalism and national sovereignty among the top concerns. Roughly one third of those expressing concerns cited the EU's response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine and to the Middle East conflict. That is obviously worrying. There are a lot of worrying figures in the poll.”
“I thank the Minister of State for coming in. I appreciate it. It is disappointing that yesterday the Minister for foreign affairs and today the Minister of State with responsibility for European affairs seemed to disappear after the first two or three contributions.”
“The invisible Minister for housing has to become visible and meet residents. He needs to come in here to explain why he will not meet residents in the inner city.”
“To make matters even worse for residents, the council found the funding, more than €500 million, to insulate the civic offices and redevelop the sites there and on Camden Yard, which in itself is not a bad idea. However, it could find the funding for the insulation of the civic offices and find a plan to resolve the issues facing its offices. That money could be spent on residents who have been living in dreadful conditions for so long. We hear about the hantavirus breaking out on a cruise liner. It is beyond me how the hantavirus has not broken out in many flat complexes because there are so many issues around rats, the lack of rodent control and derelict sites around flat complexes that are not being maintained and which are causing serious damage to the health of people living in the flats. It is one thing after another.”
“This is a huge blow to residents in Oliver Bond and Pearse House and for all those living in flat complexes and public housing in the inner city. The worst thing is the Minister refuses to meet with the residents. He has refused to meet the residents of the Oliver Bond flats or Pearse House or the Glass Bottle residents association. For many people in the inner city, the Minister for housing is the invisible Minister for housing. How can anybody defend that? The Government Members not going to try to defend it because it is indefensible. The Minister refuses to meet with them, he pulls the funding that would transform their lives and make a huge difference and at the same time the rents for tenants are going up dramatically. They are expected to pay more to live in worsening conditions.”
“Yesterday, there was a Private Members' motion in the Dáil Chamber around regeneration of flat complexes. It was also the day when the Government pulled the funding for the regeneration of the Oliver Bond flat complex. That is devastating for residents there. They have faced decades of neglect and the conditions they are expected to live in are substandard. They do not even meet the standards that the council sets for private rental accommodation. It is not new to residents in the inner city. Pearse House residents faced a similar pulling of funding for regeneration of Pearse House when they had great plans. They worked for years and came together to develop plans. They were looking forward to it. It was going to change their lives and the lives of so many in the community.”
“When will the memorandum be brought to Government? It really is urgent. There are any number of reports, studies and definitions and any amount of research but the time for research, studies and definitions is long past. The Government knows what needs to be done and it needs to do it. We have a situation where discrimination on grounds of race, religion and gender, among others, has been made illegal, which is very welcome, but we need to ensure discrimination on socio-economic grounds is introduced as a matter of urgency. The Government cannot kick the can down the road. They know it is there, as the Minister of State said. There needs to be urgency and we need action now.”
“If we are serious about equality and allowing people the opportunity to succeed, we must ensure that socio-economic disadvantage does not prevent someone from bettering themselves and improving their community. This is an issue that has been left on the back-burner for far too long. Communities need action and equality in practice, not just in theory. I would be grateful if the Minister of State could provide an update on this equality legislation and if people from disadvantaged communities who face discrimination every day can expect the Government to finally recognise their lived reality.”
“Inner city communities, in particular, face social stigmas in the workplace, in job interviews and while dealing with State institutions. Their struggles cannot continue to be swept under the carpet. This is a systemic issue that dates back generations for many people living in flat complexes who report high levels of generational and present day social exclusion and discrimination that is directly and indirectly due to their socio-economic background. In many ways, they are treated as second-class citizens simply because of where they come from or how they speak and are perceived. Low socio-economic status defines them as people. Ireland is a country with significant inequality and inflexible social strata, copper-fastened by socio-economic disadvantage and how people's opportunities are constrained by the prejudice of others.”
“Late last year, the UN special rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights wrote to the Government to urge it to recognise socio-economic status as a legal ground for discrimination. Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael have delayed this change for the past decade and refused to support legislation I introduced in the Dáil and Seanad that would finally have included socio-economic disadvantage as a ground of discrimination. People are being denied jobs or services on the basis of their accent or the community they come from, which is clearly wrong and a form of discrimination. It is long past time for the Government to recognise this for what it is and support legislation that would ban unfair discrimination against working class communities.”
“As well as compromising our sovereignty, fully enacting this legislation and ratifying CETA will likely have a negative effect on public policy and decision-making, hanging the threat of corporate legal action over any attempt to stand up for workers or society at large. Our courts system gives a more than fair hearing to big business. I would be very surprised if this Government sincerely believes our courts are not fair or fit for purpose. The absolute last thing this country needs is to hand even more power over to the multinationals that already seem to hold almost all the levers of power. Sinn Féin will continue to oppose CETA and I urge Government to give proper consideration to the Opposition amendments that will again be submitted at a later Stage.”
“The issue with this Bill is not just about Canada, which is clearly a country we want to have a good relationship with and grow our economic partnership with. The issue is about opening the door to a system that would put multinational corporations in a position where they can dictate to the Irish people, which will almost certainly be to the detriment of democracy, our environment and society generally. It absolutely beggars belief that this Government is in such a rush to sign us up to these investor court mechanisms. This should not be allowed in any state that considers itself sovereign and independent.”