We would urge you to add your name to this petition, as there is strength in numbers, to get these Bus Shelters approved and installed

This proposed interconnection between Mullingar and Athlone would give easier access to more destinations around Ireland, encourage the use of public transport and promote tourism. Currently the Sligo-Dublin train line is the only train line in Ireland that is not interconnected with any other train lines this results in a lack of direct access to many parts of the country for those who dont drive as trying to coordinate multiple modes of public transport can be a complex and often futile endeavour.  We shouldnt have to go to Dublin to get to Galway etc! 

Yesterday the world, and our community, celebrated World Book Day. Our children dressed up as their favourite characters. We celebrated the important role of reading in development, in mental health, and in how we understand the world. Yet in Donabate, a rapidly expanding community, we have recently been severely downgraded in our library services. Our library was in the community centre. The library had something for everyone in the community: lots of colourful books for younger children, spaces for teenagers to study with friends or on their own, and a wide range of books for adults. In January the library was relocated to the old Credit Union building. The building itself is beautiful. But, unfortunately, the new library is 169 square metres — over 200 square metres smaller than the previous space. Now there is a lack of comfortable space for children to relax and read - the toys and art supplies have been removed. Secondary school students have also lost the space they used for studying, and adults of all reading tastes have seen a drastic decrease in selection. There was a general feeling in Donabate, with its rapidly expanding population, that the new library was to be an upgrade. However, there are now serious concerns that the community is losing significant library space in the short term, and it is completely unclear when the library will return to a size comparable to what it originally was — let alone when it will be appropriate for Donabate’s significantly increasing population. We understand that the new building is only Phase One, and that there is a planned Phase Two expansion to enlarge and enhance the library in the future. While we welcome any long‑term investment, planning & construction timelines for Phase Two are unclear.  There is serious concern it will take years to deliver. Our community — especially our children, young and old — needs a functioning, accessible, and appropriately sized library now, not at some distant point in the future. We are calling for Phase Two to be prioritised and accelerated, with interim solutions put in place immediately.

Our Concerns • The electric heating system is extremely expensive to run, leading to unusually high electricity bills for many residents. • Some residents are afraid to use the heaters due to the cost. • Others are forced to limit heating to 1–2 hours per day or limiting the heating to 1 room, which is not enough to keep homes warm. • The ventilation system blows cold air continuously, making it very difficult, and sometimes impossible to heat our apartments properly. • These issues create cold, uncomfortable living conditions, especially for families, older residents, and those with health conditions. What We Are Asking For We respectfully request that Respond Housing: 1. Assess the ventilation system to determine why cold air is continuously entering apartments. 2. Provide alternative, energy‑efficient heating solutions that are safe, effective, and affordable for residents. 3. Conduct an immediate review of the building’s heating and ventilation systems, including their design, operation, and impact on residents’ energy costs and comfort. Why This Matters Every resident has the right to a warm, safe, and energy‑efficient home. The current situation is causing financial strain, discomfort, and unnecessary stress. We are asking Respond Housing to take these concerns seriously and provide a clear plan of action. By signing below, we show our collective support for this request and ask Respond Housing to respond promptly.

1. Throwing books in the bin is an attack on intellectual freedom Books are not disposable objects — they are voices, ideas, experiences, and history. When books are dumped in waste bins, the community’s right to knowledge and individuals’ right to think freely are discarded with them. This undermines the spirit of Article 40.6.1 of the Irish Constitution, which protects freedom of expression and the circulation of ideas. 2. What happened sets a dangerous precedent If hundreds of books can be labelled “extremist” and thrown away without any academic or legal assessment, then any institution could dispose of any book it dislikes. Today it is jurisprudence and history; tomorrow it could be philosophy, politics, or literature. 3. The library was a major cultural and educational asset This was not a small collection. It was a multilingual library containing: • 10,000 Arabic books • 4,000 English books • Additional collections in several other languages This is an irreplaceable intellectual heritage. Losing it is a loss for the entire society. 4. Protecting books means protecting cultural diversity Ireland prides itself on being an inclusive and multicultural society. Destroying an entire library sends the opposite message: exclusion instead of inclusion. 5. The incident damages the credibility of cultural and religious institutions Communities expect institutions to safeguard knowledge, not dispose of it in rubbish bins. Restoring trust requires transparency, responsibility, and respect for written heritage.

The Triple Lock is the only thing that protects Irish Neutrality. It allows Ireland to be independent on the world stage and avoid being dragged into other people's wars. It ensures that Irish soldiers are only sent abroad for genuine peacekeeping missions, not to support invasions of other countries. It's moments like this that the Triple Lock was created for. The world needs neutral peacebrokers now, more than ever. Irish politicians must not abandon Irish Neutrality now, at its most important time in history. P.S. Join our webinar on Wednesday 4th March at 7pm to learn about the campaign to Keep Irish Neutrality https://my.uplift.ie/events/triple-lock-our-future-campaign-launch-webinar

Katie Taylor is pound for pound the best female boxer the world has ever seen, with titles and accolades beyond what most sports people will ever achieve... and she is far more than just that. Katie is an Irish inspiration, both in sport and in spirit, who deserves recognition and appreciation for all she has done, for Irish boxing and for women and girls in sport, but there is just one career goal that she has left to reach, and that is to box in front of a home crowd at Croke Park.  Katie has overcome so many obstacles in her boxing journey so far. She had to pretend she was a boy to be allowed to box at first as girls were not allowed to box in Ireland when she started out. She changed that.   Katie knew she was capable of getting to Olympics but boxing was the only Olympic sport that had a male but not female category. Katie was a huge part of changing this too as along with an international petition, Katie showcased her skills and directly persuaded the International Olympic Committee members to make women’s boxing an Olympic sport.   Katie was told before she could not box at Croke Park because it would be too costly. Now let's get behind her and help her overturn this decision too! Katie realised one of her life's dreams at the 2012 Olympics, where she was one of the first women in the world to win a gold Olympic medal for boxing.  Sign and share this petition with every boxing club in Ireland to tell GAA President, Jarlyth Byrnes; Minister for Sport, Patrick O'Donovan; Sporting Island and Katie's promotor, Eddie Hearn, to help her to make her last dream of boxing in front of an Irish crowd at Croke Park come true. Croke Park is the largest and most iconic venue in Ireland. It has a rich history and has hosted many a superstar. The GAA, as excellent promotors of Irish sport could and should support Katie Taylor to realise her dream. The Department of Sport and Sporting Ireland should provide financial support and sponsorship that would allow Katie to fight her last bout there. And Eddie Hearn needs to do everything he can to take care of and promote this awesome fighter and make sure she gets what she wants! Katie never took no for an answer when she was told she could not box in competitions, and she could not box in the Olympics. Let's not take no for an answer to Katie in Croker now!

For ourselves, for our children, we must get rid of these toxic algorithms on social media platforms that push harmful content at people, all for the sake of their profits. The First Interim Report of the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Artificial Intelligence published last month recommended that: "Recommender systems should be switched off by default and social media companies should be banned from turning on recommender algorithms for accounts used by children." Numerous studies have shown that social media recommender algorithms are bombarding children with harmful material, including material that promotes self-harm, anorexia and suicide and toxic content that promotes misogyny, racism, homophobia and transphobia. A recent study found that 10 blank male-identified accounts of 16 and 18 year olds on 10 blank smartphones were all fed anti-feminist and other extremist content within just 23 minutes. Within three hours the vast majority of the content recommended was toxic, primarily alpha male and anti-feminist content, with Andrew Tate featuring heavily. Three-quarters of the public believe that there should be stronger regulation of social media algorithms and, in 2024, Coimisiún na Meán’s draft Online Safety Code included a recommendation to turn off recommender algorithms by default. However, this was scrapped following lobbying by the big tech companies. Social media corporations have created an immensely damaging public health and safety crisis in pursuit of profit, but the Government has failed to take any meaningful action.

Thor is an 8-year-old German Shepherd who has been part of our family since he was a puppy. For eight years, he has lived with us, been trained, socialised, and cared for without ever showing aggression or biting anyone. Recently, an incident occurred while Thor was being handled by a dog walker and interacting with his own family member. child. During the interaction, the child fell to the ground and the situation escalated. The child was taken to hospital as a precaution and discharged the same day.  Despite this, Thor was seized and a District Court has ordered that he be put down under the Control of Dogs Act. We fully respect the seriousness of any incident involving a dog. Public safety matters. But we also believe outcomes must be proportionate and based on full evidence. Thor has no bite history, no prior aggression findings, and veterinary records confirm he has never shown dangerous behaviour, even in stressful clinical environments. We are now appealing this decision to the Circuit Court so that Thor’s full history, temperament, and the medical findings can be properly considered. This petition is not about dismissing what happened. It is about asking for fairness, proportionality, and for every alternative measure to be explored before an irreversible decision is made. If you believe an 8-year-old family dog with no recorded bite injuries deserves reassessment rather than destruction, please sign and support Thor’s appeal.

Government created this mess by failing to clarify that the Rotunda’s future is not in Blanchardstown but in Parnell Square.  We need Government to make this critical care wing happen, and demonstrate it is committed to keeping the world's oldest maternity hospital in its original home at the heart of our capital city.

Dublin City Council has announced plans to redevelop Mountjoy Square. https://engage.dublincity.ie/en-IE/projects/re-imagining-mountjoy-square-park-part-8/2 This in and of itself is to be welcomed. No one argues against the park currently being in a squalid state of disrepair. However, the current plans fail, beyond token measures, to provide appropriate play and sports facilities for the youth of the area. We must have sports facilities in Mountjoy Square where we can attract and nurture local young people, offering a pathway to a happy, healthy life in the grey concrete jungle of the North Inner City. Sports and physical activities are not just games; they teach teamwork, discipline, resilience and the value of perseverance.  How can we expect our children to thrive if they have no spaces or where they play, learn and grow are neglected?  No facilities, cracked courts, worn-out fields send a message that their growth and health are not a priority. The redevelopment of Mountjoy Square is a huge chance to show them that the opposite is true. Dublin City Council shouldn't miss the open goal!

The environmental impact of using generative AI is incomprehensible to the general public. In 2025 alone, the data centers used to run OpenAI tools were responsible for 32.6 - 79.7 million tonnes of CO2 emissions. According to OpenAI engineers, clean drinking water must be used to cool the data servers in order to prevent "mineral build-up" in the cooling systems. Data centers are literally using one of humanity's most precious and scarce resources to cool their servers, and it is dwindling by the day. OpenAI's projected water usage could hit 6.6 billion m³ by 2027, which is equivalent to 13.2 billion 500ml water bottles. Although this issue seems out of our hands, students can do their part by helping ban ChatGPT from the Trinity College Dublin Wi-Fi. ChatGPT is the most widely-used generative AI model, thus, blocking access would drastically reduce students' contribution to this ever growing problem. You can help do your part by signing our petition!