An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business
Seanad Éireann — 2026-09-30
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Chris Andrews (SF), Labour Panel

I wish the Acting Leader the best of luck in his position. I extend my condolences to the family of the usher, Seamus Carroll, who passed away yesterday. He was professional and pleasant, and it is often difficult to be both. He was both. He was always professional and pleasant. I extend my condolences to his family and to the other ushers in the Houses.
I return briefly to the Irish Wheelchair Association, IWA, and its decision to send a wheelchair basketball team to the European championships where Ireland will play Israel. There are 900 wheelchairs being prevented by Israel from going into Gaza. Israel has caused many people to depend on wheelchairs. I find it hard to figure out how the Irish Wheelchair Association could accept an invite to play Israel. I have been engaging with the IWA on this issue for five weeks and reasonable questions remain unanswered. Following my most recent contribution on the matter here, the IWA responded after several weeks of silence. I welcome the additional information, but central and serious questions remain. The original fundraiser that the IWA put in place referred to only three other nations. Israel was only named after I raised my concerns with the IWA. I do believe that there was an element of deception in this and I think it is something that needs to be addressed. With the tournament just weeks away, why has there been no promotion on IWA or sports-----

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/seanad/2026-09-30/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-10-05T01:00:59+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-09-30