Profile: Lisa Chambers TD
eolas profiles the career of the Castlebar-born TD for Mayo, Lisa Chambers, widely tipped as a rising star in Fianna Fáil.
Chambers’ career did not see its beginnings within the cut and thrust of local and national politics. Early indications suggest ambitions for a career within the legal profession: she holds a professional bar qualification from the King’s Inn, a graduate degree in Commerce and Law from NUI Galway (NUIG), a Diploma in Management Skills and a Masters degree in Commercial Law from University College Dublin (UCD). The current TD has practiced as a barrister, operating her own legal practice in the town of Castlebar.
Lisa Chambers’ debut in Irish politics, however, came at a time of substantive shifts in the state’s political makeup. Elected as a councillor to Mayo County Council following the 2014 local government elections, her first electoral victory saw her claim 9.6 per cent of first preference votes in the Castlebar constituency, surpassing the performance of other candidates from Fine Gael, Labour and Sinn Féin. Her election in a Fine Gael stronghold demonstrated recovery within Fianna Fáil, who once again became Ireland’s largest party at local level.
The articulate activist arrived at a time of extensive rebranding within the party, with Micheál Martin continuing to put forward younger, more progressive candidates in a bid to counteract the image of an elderly, male-dominated party.
Chambers spearheaded the re-establishment and revival of Fianna Fáil in Castlebar following the 2012 Mahon Tribunal report, which confirmed allegations of corruption against former minister and party TD, Pádraig Flynn. The articulate activist arrived at a time of extensive rebranding within the party, with Micheál Martin continuing to put forward younger, more progressive candidates in a bid to counteract the image of an elderly, male-dominated party. Indeed, at the time of Chambers’ first participation in a General Election in 2011, the then-24-year-old was the youngest Fianna Fáil candidate in Ireland. She later became the first female to hold the role of Chairperson of the Fianna Fáil Castlebar Town Cumann.
In January 2018, Micheál Martin broke new ground in declaring his support for the repeal of the Eight Amendment, outlining his will to introduce abortion legislation in Ireland. Whilst many predicted internal ruptures within the party, Lisa Chambers voted with her leader in supporting the ‘Repeal the 8th’ campaign. Speaking two years previously, Chambers stated her support for repeal depended on “when we know exactly what we’re doing afterwards,” whilst acknowledging the “dangerous territory” represented by the debate.
Two years into her political career, Chambers entered the Fianna Fáil shadow Cabinet following her appointment as Spokesperson on Defence in May 2016, succeededing Seán Ó Fearghaíl. For the politician, her selection for this role was relevant to her 13 years of service as a member of the Reserve Defence Forces (RDF). Commissioned as an officer in the Army Reserve in 2012 as a Second lieutenant with Longford’s 54th Reserve Cavalry Squadron, she was required to abandon her military service upon being elected to the Dáil, having just completed her Young Officers Course in 2015.
In her position as Defence Spokesperson, Chambers lead her party’s support for the Irish Defence Force’s participation in Operation Sophia in reaction to what she described as a “horrific humanitarian crisis” on the Mediterranean, stating that Irish participation in the mission reflected “visible and direct interest in demonstrating greater EU solidarity”. Across her tenure she repeatedly called for a strengthening of the defence forces’ staff numbers, resources and pay grades, lambasting the decision of Leo Varadkar to assign the defence portfolio as a subsidiary of the Department of Justice as a an “essential lack of respect for the position”. Chambers continues to speak on defence in her position in the Dáil’s Foreign Affairs and Defence Committee.
A major 2018 shadow cabinet reshuffle saw Chambers take the party’s Brexit portfolio. In this role, Chambers has been to the forefront of her party’s criticism of the Government’s approach to ongoing negotiations. In November, Chambers criticised the strategy of Leo Varadkar and Simon Coveney for “patting themselves on the back”, outlining her belief that their approach allegedly contributed to upheaval in Westminster. In her role as Brexit spokesperson, Chambers has been steadfast in her calls for a “soft a Brexit as possible”, with no hard border as a necessity.
Recent announcements of a “new partnership” between Fianna Fail and Colum Eastwood’s SDLP have been welcomed by Chambers, who will now colaborate with West Tyrone MLA and SDLP Brexit spokesperson, Daniel McCrossan. Given Brexit’s role as a key reason in making the decision, interactions between McCrossan and Chambers will form core elements of the new partnership going forward.
In regard to the performance of Micheál Martin as leader of Fianna Fáil, Chambers remains a loyal supporter. Indeed, with the confidence of the current leadership and growing experience as a prominent front bencher, Chambers may well register her ambition in any future leadership contest.
