Institutional care is harmful to children and orphanage volunteering puts children at increased risk. There is a growing global movement working to transform the way we care for children. Care leavers and child protection experts, disability advocates, faith-based and community organisations have come together to better support families and other caregivers so that children can grow up in a family and community where they belong, instead of being placed into institutions. You can support this global care reform movement by making a pledge that you will neither promote nor engage in volunteering and/or visits to institutions for children. You can also pledge to further educate yourself and people around you about the harm caused by orphanage volunteering and institutions and to only support volunteering opportunities that put the best interests and wellbeing of children and families first.

82% of the Irish people support neutrality in all its aspects.

What is Stamp 3 visa? Stamp 3 visa is a type of residence permit that states people cannot work or engage in business, trade, or profession. This type of stamp is issued to spouses and children of general work employment permit holders as well as spouses of Non-EEA PhD students in Ireland. Why is this important to us? As skilled immigrants in Ireland we would like to be treated with equality to access employment and contribute to the economy of Ireland. This can only be achieved by removing the obstacles that we have to go through to be considered for employment in Ireland. What can you do to help? We request for your support to petition the Irish government to allow spouses & children of general work employment permit holders and spouses of PhD students to access employment without the requirement of applying for a separate work permit. Useful resources: https://reformstamp3.webador.ie/ http://www.inis.gov.ie/en/inis/pages/registration-stamps https://enterprise.gov.ie/en/What-We-Do/Workplace-and-Skills/Employment-Permits/ http://www.inis.gov.ie/en/INIS/Family%20Reunification%20Policy%20Document.pdf/Files/Family%20Reunification%20Policy%20Document.pdf https://enterprise.gov.ie/en/Publications/Publication-files/Employment-Permits-FAQs-2020.pdf https://enterprise.gov.ie/en/What-We-Do/Workplace-and-Skills/Employment-Permits/Employment-Permit-Eligibility/Immigration-Employment-Permits/

Our migrant young people have so much to contribute to Irish life, but some find that even though they are legally resident, they are unable to access SUSI grants because they don't have the 'right' type of immigration permission to qualify under SUSI's nationality criteria. In practice this means that young migrants face exorbitant international fees when they apply for college or university unless they can secure one of a small number of scholarship places. This effectively locks some migrant young people out of accessing higher education and following their career dreams.

To create a sense of public belonging for all community members, especially those in marginalised or disadvantaged groups.

The government plans to continue with direct provision in existence until the end of 2024. The government has not committed to ending the delays in the international protection process, that greatly exacerbate the impacts of the direct provision system. This failure has severe impacts on people's mental health and ability to integrate in the community. In order to address this ongoing harm, the government must identify suitable alternative modes of accommodation immediately and introduce new modes of accommodation in 2021. Further priorities that government needs to act on right now are identified in the Catherine Day Report (page 83). These actions can and should be done immediately. 1. Carry out vulnerability assessments for all people in the international protection process to identify and accommodate their special reception needs. A pilot program has commenced, but this will need to be heavily resourced to ensure that all people can be assessed, as Ireland has been obliged to do since 2018. 2. The allowances currently paid to people in direct provision should be increased from January 2021 and regularly reviewed in line with the cost of living. (4.12) – This has not been done. 3. The right to work should be made available after 3 months. (5.1) – This has been reduced to 6 months, not 3 months. It should be reduced to 3 months or 0 months without delay. 4. Applicants should be entitled to apply for driving tests and licenses as soon as they have made an application for protection. (5.2) - This has not been done yet. Government has committed to implementing this by summer 2021 in the White Paper. 5. Applicants should have the right to access higher education on the same basis and at the same fees as Irish people, once they meet the qualifying criteria (5.5). Access to education has been expanded but not to this extent; education is a human right, delay is not acceptable. 6. To clear the backlog of current cases a one-off case-processing approach should be introduced for all applications which have been more than two years in the system (6.7). This has not been done and there has been no commitment by the Department of Justice to do so. This priority – the case processing system – is a crucial action that needs immediate implementation by the Department of Justice. The delays in the international protection process have worsened due to the impact of Covid-19, because international protection interviews and Tribunals were paused for many months. People have been left waiting sometimes for over one year for a decision even after their interview. This has a negative effect on people's mental health, ability to integrate in the community and delays the possibility of their family members joining them. As well as the once-off case processing approach for all applications which have been more than two years in the system, the government must act to ensure that interviews take place and decisions issue within specific lengths of time. The Minister for Justice must ensure that the International Protection Office has the resources, staff IT equipment to deliver this even in challenging situations such as Covid-19. Minister Roderic O’ Gorman has called the timeline of the end of 2024 ambitious. Calling this ambitious is a disgrace. We know that our government can act quickly in the common interest when it has needed to since the start of COVID-19. We’ve had 21 years of people in Ireland living in direct provision and the harm that this does to people and to our communities. The government must act now identify suitable alternative modes of accommodation immediately, while also taking immediate actions to fully implement the priorities identified in the Catherine Day Report, and introduce new modes of accommodation in 2021.

The Pipers, and particularly their historic caravan, have been valued and iconic members of Kinsale's community for generations. They are now being assaulted by a small faction developers, and a town council which appears to have little concern for protecting Kinsale's rich history, culture, and community. We are calling on the Kinsale Town Council to immediately return Pipers beautiful caravan to its historic location, and to cease all eviction attempts in the future.

It is both astonishing and shocking that Mr Campbell watched this deeply moving edition of Songs of Praise, full of love and praise for God, and saw only skin colour. Is he uncomfortable watching a programme where Black British people and culture are celebrated centre-stage? Did he think the BBC was racist when other programmes – night after night, decade after decade – only featured white people? We call upon Mr Campbell to provide any evidence that the five singers were there on the basis of anything other than their obvious skills, or that the three judges were selected for their skin colour rather than their expertise. Mr Campbell’s statement is not a trivial matter; it is deeply irresponsible. It is deeply worrying that Mr Campbell can confidently display such clear bias, apparently without fear of challenge or accountability. Given his role as an elected representative and public servant, Mr Campbell’s statement cannot go unchallenged; the potential costs are too high. Just weeks since the horrific attack on the Belfast Multicultural Association, it is alarming that a political leader thinks it appropriate to use this kind of race-baiting to secure some sort of perceived political advantage, regardless of the consequences. Black and ethnic minority people are not ‘other’; they are equal citizens in an increasingly diverse country, including in Mr Campbell’s constituency. He needs to withdraw his ignorant and insulting post and make a full public apology to the Black and minority ethnic community of his constituency and beyond. But on its own, that will not be enough. Mr Campbell’s statement shows contempt for The Executive Office’s professed vision of “a united community, based on equality of opportunity, the desirability of good relations and reconciliation - one which is strengthened by its diversity, where cultural expression is celebrated and embraced and where everyone can live, learn, work and socialise together, free from prejudice, hate and intolerance.” As First Minister, Arlene Foster is responsible for advancing this vision. As Mr Campbell’s party leader, we expect her to ensure that he is held accountable for his words. Failure to do so will mean the words of that Executive vision will ring hollow. Meanwhile, we commit ourselves to challenging racism and building a society that fully respects and celebrates diversity.

We cannot dismantle antisemitism if we are blocked from voicing our opinions and sharing our experiences with each other. We can discuss, debate, and even disagree, as long as we share the belief that all of us deserve safety, freedom, and dignity. We ask Facebook to not erect barriers impeding users from connecting with each other as we engage in this work. This is the wrong solution to a real and important problem: those who fuel antisemitism online will continue doing so, with or without the word “Zionist.” In fact, many antisemites, especially among white supremacists and evangelical Christian Zionists, explicitly support Zionism and Israel, while engaging in speech and actions that dehumanize, insult, and isolate Jewish people. Importantly, this move will prohibit Palestinians from sharing their daily experiences and histories with the world, be it a photo of the keys to their grandparent's house lost when attacked by Zionist militias in 1948, or a livestream of Zionist settlers attacking their olive trees in 2021. And it would prevent Jewish users from discussing their relationships to Zionist political ideology. Facebook scrutinizing specific words won't keep any of us safe, but it will prevent us from connecting on the political issues important to all of us and block us from holding people and governments accountable for their policies and actions.The current Israeli government, and some of its supporters, have demanded that Facebook add “Zionist” to its hate speech policy. This would shut down conversations about accountability for policies and actions that harm Palestinians. Facebook should refuse to cooperate with those who seek to build more walls to keep us apart. We call on Facebook to not add “Zionist” as a protected category in its hate speech policy.

The Thirty-Seventh Amendment Of The Constitution (Economic, Social And Cultural Rights) Bill 2018 would call for a referendum to have these human rights enshrined in our Constitution. They would encompass a right to adequate housing, a right to join a trade union of your choice, a right to physical and mental health and a right to enjoy scientific progress. All of which have become more important during this global pandemic.

During the last 4 years we have seen Donald J. Trump erode American democracy, incite hatred and violence, target ethnic minorities and flout laws both in the United States and internationally. Each day he has proven he can sink deeper into criminality, bullying, racist rhetoric and displayed his utter contempt for democratic norms and institutions culminating in calling on his supporters to march on the Capitol building to stop the certification of the 2020 US Presidential election. The events of the last 24 hours (since 6th January 2021) have shown, conclusively, that Donald Trump is a despot and a danger and Ireland should censure, condemn and penalise his behaviour in the strongest possible terms as well as preventing him from setting foot on Irish soil for the rest of his natural life. We the people of Ireland ask our elected representatives and leaders to take action and declare Donald J. Trump persona non grata with immediate effect.

This is a classic example of 'White Saviourism' portraying a negative stereotype of what Africa is like, what people in Africa in like. It's racist and discriminatory and Irish people and media/radio should be aware of how problematic it can be.