Andrews), has been a Sinn Féin TD since 2020 (having previously served as a Fianna Fáil TD from 2007 to 2011). In April 2018, Andrews was described as "part of Fianna Fáil royalty". In June 2006, Andrews led a group of Fianna Fáil backbenchers in an unsuccessful attempt to establish a backbench committee to influence government policy. At the 2007 general election, Andrews retained his seat in Dún Laoghaire with 8,587 votes. Minister of State for Children Andrews was appointed Minister of State for Children in May 2008. As Minister, he framed the Government response to the Ryan Report on Institutional Abuse. This included an Implementation Plan that delivered an additional 200 social workers for the HSE Child and Family Services. In April 2009, Andrews introduced the Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) Scheme, which provided, for the first time, free universal access to pre-school education. The scheme benefited 65,000 children in 2013. After the release of the Murphy Report into child abuse in the Dublin diocese in November 2009, Andrews, speaking at a conference in Dublin Castle, said it would be "amazing" if there were no consequences for people who were the subject of adverse findings in the report. Asked about the position of the Bishop of Limerick, Donal Murray, the Minister said, "I think it's everybody's view that if adverse findings are made against an individual in a commission of inquiry then it would be amazing that there be no consequences for them.". Bishop Murray subsequently apologised to survivors and resigned from office. In December 2009, Andrews oversaw the introduction of government policy to lower the legal age of consent to 16. Citing a Joint Oireachtas Committee on the Constitution report which recommended the legal age be reduced to 16 from the current 17. Andrews expressed the view the existing laws were "inappropriate" and out of touch with the modern reality of sexual relations between young people, and promised to publish legislation to change the Age of Consent to 16. He noted that Ireland and Malta were "the only countries in Europe with an age of consent of 17". However, the law was not passed by the Oireachtas before the 2011 Irish general election in which Fianna Fáil ceded power to a Fine Gael-Labour coalition. On 31 January 2011, in the run up to the general election, Andrews was named Health spokesman by the party leader, Micheál Martin.