Lisa Chambers | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Chambers in 2024 | |
| Leader of the Seanad | |
| In office 17 December 2022 – 30 January 2025 | |
| Taoiseach | |
| Deputy | |
| Preceded by | Regina Doherty |
| Succeeded by | Séan Kyne |
| Deputy leader of the Seanad | |
| In office 29 June 2020 – 17 December 2022 | |
| Taoiseach | Micheál Martin |
| Leader | Regina Doherty |
| Preceded by | Catherine Noone |
| Succeeded by | Regina Doherty |
| Leader of Fianna Fáil in the Seanad | |
| In office 29 June 2020 – 30 January 2025 | |
| Leader |
|
| Preceded by | Catherine Ardagh |
| Succeeded by | Fiona O'Loughlin |
| Senator | |
| In office 29 June 2020 – 30 January 2025 | |
| Constituency | Cultural and Educational Panel |
| Teachta Dála | |
| In office February 2016 – February 2020 | |
| Constituency | Mayo |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1986-08-24)24 August 1986 (age 39) Castlebar,County Mayo, Ireland |
| Political party | Fianna Fáil |
| Spouse | Jarlath Munnelly |
| Children | 1 |
| Education | St Joseph's Secondary School |
| Alma mater | |
| Website | lisachambers |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance | Ireland |
| Branch/service |  Army Reserve |
| Years of service | 2003–2016 |
| Rank |  Second lieutenant |
| Unit |  Cavalry Corps |
| Awards |  Service Medal Centenary Medal |
Lisa Chambers (born 24 August 1986) is an Irish formerFianna Fáil politician. At the2014 local elections, she was elected toMayo County Council, where she served from 2014 to 2016. At the2016 general election, she won a seat inDáil Éireann, where she served as aTeachta Dála (TD) for theMayo constituency from 2016 to 2020. After losing her Dáil seat at the2020 general election, she was elected to theCultural and Educational Panel ofSeanad Éireann at the2020 Seanad election. She served as a senator from 2020 to 2025 and wasleader of the Seanad from 2022 to 2025.
Chambers failed to win a seat in theMidlands–North-West constituency at the2024 European Parliament election and also failed to regain her Dáil seat at the2024 general election. She did not contest the2025 Seanad election, and in January 2025 she announced her decision to leave public life. The following month, she was appointed director of public affairs at Consello, a global advisory firm founded by Irish-American businessmanDeclan Kelly.
Chambers is from Ballyheane, County Mayo, around 8 kilometres (5.0 mi) south ofCastlebar.[1][2] The eldest of five children, she has three sisters and a brother.[3] After attendingSt Joseph's Secondary School, Castlebar,[2] she earned a degree in Commerce and Law fromNUI Galway, a Masters in Commercial Law fromUniversity College Dublin, and a bar qualification from theKing's Inns.[4][5] She practiced as a barrister, setting up her own legal practice in Castlebar.[6]
Chambers joined theReserve Defence Forces as a teenager and served for 13 years. Commissioned as an officer in theArmy Reserve in November 2012, she served as asecond lieutenant with the 1st ArmouredCavalry Squadron (Curragh Camp) before transferring to the D Company (Castlebar), 6th Infantry Battalion. She resigned her commission when elected to the Dáil.[7][8][6]
She is unrelated to Fianna Fáil politiciansFrank Chambers andJack Chambers.[9][10]
Chambers ran at the2011 general election for theMayo constituency, but was eliminated on the fifth count.[11] At the time, she was the youngest Fianna Fáil candidate in the country, at age 24.[12] She was described as being part ofMicheál Martin's effort to recruit young, progressive politicians and change the elderly, male-dominated image of Fianna Fáil.[6]
Chambers was elected toMayo County Council at the2014 local elections, recording the second-highest number of votes in the country.[12] She was credited with spearheading the revival of Fianna Fáil in the Castlebar area after the 2012Mahon Tribunal report had discredited former ministerPádraig Flynn.[6]
At the2016 general election, Chambers was elected as aTeachta Dála (TD) for the Mayo constituency. On the tenth count, she won the fourth seat in the constituency, after Fine Gael'sEnda Kenny andMichael Ring and Fianna Fáil'sDara Calleary.[13][14] Appointed spokesperson onDefence in theFianna Fáil Front Bench on 18 May 2016, she succeededSeán Ó Fearghaíl, who had been electedCeann Comhairle of the32nd Dáil.[15] She was later given theBrexit portfolio in a reshuffle.
She failed to win re-election to the Dáil at the2020 general election, losing a battle for the fourth seat in her constituency to Fine Gael'sAlan Dillon.[16][11] Speaking on Sean O'Rourke'sTwo Tribes podcast, she attributed the outcome to her support forrepealing the Eighth Amendment "in what is predominantly a conservative constituency, particularly among Fianna Fail voters".[17] Elsewhere, she stated that some voters had expressed reservations about electing a TD who would be taking maternity leave, as she had been pregnant during the campaign.[18] However, theBusiness Post newspaper also attributed the loss of Chambers's seat to controversies around voting irregularities and expense claims.[19]
At the2020 Seanad election, Chambers was elected as a Senator for theCultural and Educational Panel.[20] She was Fianna Fáil's spokesperson on European and Foreign Affairs in the Seanad.[21] She also chaired the Seanad Special Select Committee on the Withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the European Union.[22] She was appointed leader of the Seanad in December 2022.[23]
In July 2023, Chambers announced her intent to run for the2024 European Parliament election in theMidlands–North-West constituency.[24] However, at a Fianna Fáil selection convention on 5 February 2024—a three-way contest among Chambers,Laois–Offaly TDBarry Cowen, and senatorNiall Blaney from Donegal—she was eliminated on the first count. Cowen won the nomination, narrowly defeating Blaney on the second count.[25] Chambers's team alleged that Cowen's and Blaney’s teams had asked party members not to vote for her, reassuring them that the party would put her on the ticket regardless. Cowen disputed this allegation, claiming that he had simply asked members to choose the best candidate.[19]
On 29 February 2024, Fianna Fáil added both Chambers and Blaney to its Midlands–North-West ticket.[26] Running three candidates in the constituency was described as a "surprise move", given that Fianna Fáil had not had an MEP there sincePat "the Cope" Gallagher lost his seat at the2014 European Parliament election. Some party members expressed concern that the strategy would split the Fianna Fáil vote.[27]The Journal claimed that the party had always anticipated running Chambers and Cowen but had added Blaney after his strong performance at the selection convention.[27] However, theBusiness Post called Chambers a "dimming star" within Fianna Fáil, following the loss of her Dáil seat and her poor showing at the selection convention. It quoted a senior Fianna Fáil TD who said the party had added Chambers to the ticket only after Fine Gael incumbent MEPMaria Walsh had called its other candidates "male, pale and stale".[19] In the election, Chambers received 44,069 (6.5%) first-preference votes and was eliminated on the 19th count, following the elimination of Blaney. Cowen was the only Fianna Fáil candidate elected in the constituency.[28]
Chambers and Calleary were selected as the two Fianna Fáil candidates for the Mayo constituency at the2024 general election.[29] Although Calleary retained his seat, Chambers was not elected. She received 5,584 first-preference votes (7.9%) and was eliminated on the seventh count.[30]
In January 2025, Chambers announced that she would not contest the2025 Seanad election and would leave public life. While saying she was "not completely ruling out" a return to politics at some point in the future, she stated: "For now, I am planning to take a new direction in my life."[31][32] The following month, it was announced that Chambers had been appointed director of public affairs at Consello, a global advisory firm founded by Irish-American businessmanDeclan Kelly.[33][34][35]
Chambers was criticised for claiming, during a 29 November 2018 Dáil debate on the Health (Regulation of Termination of Pregnancy) Bill 2018, that "Abortion regret is made up and it does not exist".[36] Several days later, she apologised for any hurt she had caused, stating that her comments had been taken out of context.[37]
In October 2019, Chambers became embroiled in controversy over voting irregularities. Shown to have voted on behalf of both party colleagueDara Calleary and herself on a forestry motion amendment, Chambers claimed she had pressed Calleary's voting button by accident.[38] The Oireachtas Committee on Members' Interests later determined that Chambers had "acted in good faith" and had voted "inadvertently".[39] In December, theSunday Independent highlighted Oireachtas video recordings from 17January 2019 that appeared to show Chambers sitting inTimmy Dooley's seat for fifty minutes while seven votes were recorded; although not visible in the footage, votes were also recorded from her own seat.[39][40]
Chambers also faced allegations of expenses fraud. She was among a number of TDs discovered to be claiming a €25 daily allowance for mobile phone roaming charges while travelling in the EU, two years after roaming charges had been abolished. She was found to have claimed a total of €525.[41] In February 2020, she was found to be driving from her home to the Oireachtas along a route that was 35 kilometres (22 mi) longer than the shortest possible journey, placing her in "band 9" of the travel allowance table and increasing her annual travel allowance by €1,350. Chambers defended her preferred route as faster, since it avoided a number of small towns.[42] Several months later, she was found to have received expenses of €6,626 for April and May 2020, even though the Seanad was closed at that time due to theCOVID-19 pandemic.[43]
In 2020, theIrish Independent reported that Chambers had hired two of her sisters as secretarial assistants. She was among three senators reported to have hired family members for taxpayer-funded jobs, a practice described as controversial although not specifically proscribed.[44]
Chambers faced criticism following the2024 Irish constitutional referendums on Family and Care when she admitted to having voted No in both referendums, despite having been photographed and filmed canvassing for Yes votes.[45][46] Then-TaoiseachLeo Varadkar rebuked Chambers, stating that "If I ask people to vote yes, then I vote yes. If I ask people to vote no, I vote no."[47]
Chambers was one of three senators who sponsored the controversial Hate Crime Bill 2020.[48] However, with Jim O'Callaghan and Senator Eugene Murphy, she subsequently laid out concerns about the proposed legislation, including that young men could be stigmatised for life as a result of "foolish comments."[49]
In May 2024, while Chambers was visiting a relative's home in a rural area near Castlebar, a man in his early 20s was discovered hiding in the bushes outside with his belt removed and several buttons on his trousers undone. Reported to be a member of a rival party, the man had previously engaged Chambers in conversation after she gave a political speech in another county. Gardaí arrested the man on suspicion ofstalking and called the incident "sinister and disturbing". Chambers had previously received a handwrittenrape threat at her constituency office but the two incidents were not believed to be connected.[50][51] In a social media post, theNational Women's Council of Ireland stated: "The targeting of female politicians is unacceptable. This cannot be tolerated, for either the sake of the women targeted or for the power of democracy. We send support and solidarity to Lisa Chambers.”[52]
In April 2023, Chambers married her long-term partner,Fine Gael politician Jarlath Munnelly, a Mayo county councillor who is also a teacher and youth services coordinator.[53][54] The couple have one child, who was born in April 2020.[44] After giving birth during the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic, Chambers criticised as "barbaric" the restrictions in maternity hospitals that had prevented women from having their partners present during labour and childbirth.[55][56]
This is a different lady and is not a relation of mine. ... She is the daughter of former Fianna Fáil Senator Frank Chambers
One of the other new Fianna Fail TDs to be elected under the age of 30 is Lisa Chambers (29) from Castlebar, but they are not directly related, even though they would both have some family roots in the town of Newport.