Having an Irish passport is something we are suppsed to be proud of.  It is not supposed to be a travel pass for racists to move between countries to flee from their local police forces when they are being sought to answer for the consequences of their actions. To quote the Imelda May poem. "You don't get to be racist and Irish".

No matter who we are or where we come from, all any of us want is to protect and take care of our families. Being evicted from the only shelter we have is cruel and heartless.

No matter who we are or where we come from, all any of us want is to protect and take care of our families. Being evicted from the only shelter we have is cruel and heartless. 

"Kilkenny says No" is a group of people of far right ideology with ties to The Irish Freedom Party protesting a previously vacant building now intended to be used to accommodate IPAS residents. The GAA is Irelands largest sporting organisation and has a long history of being diverse and inclusive and the misuse of the county emblem is a disgrace.  Many supporters and players are people of colour and the GAA must take steps to seek the removal of the county emblem from hateful, racist social media profiles. The GAA continues to develop abroad, led by the Irish Diaspora with both regional and club units now well established in the United States, Australia, Britain, mainland Europe, Canada, Asia and many other parts of the world. 400 clubs promote the activities of the GAA around the world. Sign the petition to implore the GAA to address this misuse! 

People seeking refuge make up an important part of society, Irish people have flocked all over the world for generations and we cannot pull the ladder up behind us now that we are a thriving economy.  We want Kilkenny to be a safe and welcoming place for all residents.  We want Mayor Andrew McGuinness to very clearly state the differences between emergency accommodation for homeless people and the temporary accommodation provided during the asylum application process.  “An asylum seeker is a person who has left their country and is seeking protection from persecution and serious human rights violations in another country, but who hasn’t yet been legally recognized as a refugee and is waiting to receive a decision on their asylum claim. Seeking asylum is a human right. This means everyone should be allowed to enter another country to seek asylum. - Amnesty International” Emergency accommodation for homeless people is usually provided by County Councils and/or housing bodies. People seeking asylum are not taking a bed away from anyone and usually being accommodated in basic rooms like hotel rooms or previously empty buildings often without access to cooking or laundry facilities. People seeking asylum are not legally permitted to work during the asylum claim unless they have not recieved a first decision on their application for 6 months. They may recieve an expense allowance which is means tested. The rate for an adult is €38.80 per week (€5.54 per day) and are not entitled to recieve child benefit for their children.  People seeking refuge did not cause the housing crisis. A lack of investment in social housing and the overinflation of rental properties has. The reliance on private landlords through schemes like HAP have only encouraged this.  We have had a lack of investment in our health services for many years, not accepting new residents will not address this situation.  Please sign and share and let's make Kilkenny a safe and welcoming society again. 

This is important because we have recently recognised Palestine as a state, and should accommodate them with an embassy.

For the past 7 months, the state of Israel has brought death and unimaginable destruction upon the civilian population of Gaza in a stark escalation of 75 years of colonial violence. According to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, more than 35,000 Palestinians have been killed, 14,500 of them children and 9,560 women. More than 79,000 people have been injured. 1.7 million people have been forcibly displaced, many of them multiple times. Famine is imminent - half of Gaza’s population is facing food insecurity due to the intense bombardment of the Gaza strip and the severe limitations being placed on humanitarian access by Israel. According to the World Health Organisation (WHO) in February,1 in 6 children under the age of 2 was acutely malnourished. An interim damage assessment by the World Bank, EU, and the UN, has estimated the total cost of damages in the Gaza strip at 18.5 billion US dollars and has found that 60% of homes in Gaza have been damaged or destroyed. The WHO conducted a preliminary assessment of the extent of destruction wrought on Al-Shifa hospital during an Israeli siege on the facility. The WHO have described the hospital as “an empty shell” - most of the buildings are destroyed, the medical equipment is unusable and no patients remain. Israel’s latest bombardments over the last 7 months have further intensified the occupational deprivation and injustice experienced by Palestinians by denying them access to the safety and opportunity to engage in even the most basic of essential occupations. Despite ongoing advocacy by Occupational Therapists worldwide, (Arab Occupational Regional Group, Occupational Therapists and Scientists against Occupation, Palestinian Justice is Occupational Justice) the World Federation of Occupational Therapists (WFOT) have remained silent on these violations of human rights and international law, and have failed to call for a ceasefire. WFOT issued a tweet on November 6th 2023, stating that their “fundamental beliefs mean that [they] are unable to take positions on political agendas of any nation” (WFOT 2023). This stance is inconsistent with the federation’s own commitment that “WFOT, its Member Organisations, occupational therapists, assistants, and students are obligated to support occupational justice and human rights. WFOT affirms its commitment to challenge and address systemic racism and continue to advocate for people, communities, and societies.”  The inadequacy of WFOT’s stance on Gaza however goes beyond its failure to call for a ceasefire, and extends to its stance on the fraught international status of the Occupational Therapy degree program currently being taught in Ariel University, in the settlement of Ariel in the Occupied West Bank. The consensus of the international community is that Israeli settlements in the West Bank are illegal under international law. This view has been upheld in the International Court of Justice and by repeated resolutions of the United Nations Security Council. Ariel University therefore must be regarded as having been illegally constructed on stolen Palestinian land. The university is currently subject to an academic boycott by the Boycott Divestment Sanctions (BDS) movement. Despite this international legal consensus, the World Federation only last year took the decision to accredit the degree programme at Ariel University. WFOT has incorrectly listed this programme on its website as located in “Israel”, a designation that further normalises illegal settlement. This is unacceptable from a professional organisation that ostensibly takes an anti-racist, human rights based approach.  As Occupational Therapists, we have an ethical duty to fight for occupational justice for all people and to do what we can to ensure that all people have equal access and opportunity to engage in occupations of necessity, obligation, and choice. 

Dear all,  I hope you are all in good health.  As you all know, Irish Society of International Doctors (ISID) and Association of Irish Pakistani Physicians and Surgeons (AIPPS) who represent 1000's of international doctors and their families have been engaging and working with stakeholders on visa delays for the past year or so to benefit everyone especially healthcare workers in Ireland. All skilled professionals living in Ireland are facing serious delays in processing for their families visas but some nationalities are facing more delays than others with waiting time beyond one year before their applications are being processed.  This has negatively impacted their mental health and emotional well being and in turn might be worsening the staffing crisis and patient care. Foreign healthcare workers constitute more than 60% of the Irish health system and are the backbone of this system. They deserve to be treated fairly and to have their families with them in Ireland especially when their jobs are so demanding.  A recent survey conducted by us revealed that certain countries (including Pakistan) have: 1) High visa rejection rate for family members i.e. spouse, children, parents etc  2) Long delays in application processing - more than one  year for even visit visas  3) Vague and generic copy paste refusal reasons    4) Processing time for appeals is one year plus  5) Poor Communication: there is a serious element of broken communication with applicants and the Department.  Lastly, we urge Pakistani Ambassadorin Ireland to take up and investigate this issue with the Irish Consulate in Karachi as the community is not happy with their treatment; through an audit of applicants being rejected as THERE IS NO COMPLAINT CELL THAT EXISTS WHERE THESE ISSUES AND UNFAIR TREATMENT CAN BE RAISED. Please sign this petition and spread the word to resolve this grave issue. #FastTrackFamilyVisa Many thanks. Dr Liqa Rehman ||| Mr Nauman Nabi President ,ISID ||| President AIPPS G.Secretary, AIPPS ||| Executive, ISID

For a long time the Irish police did not recognize racism as a form of discrimination. Meaning that the state was not aware or have any official record of the extent of racism in the country. everyday people from migrant backgrounds face prejudice in their workplace, homes, schools and colleges. It is important that institutional and State bodies implement adequate policies and procedures to ensure that racism is combated within Ireland. Without proper support from their institutions people of color and people of migrant backgrounds will continue to be impacted by discrimination and institutional racism throughout their daily lives.

At this stage in the genocide it is unbelievable that Ireland has a powerful bill, that could help the people of Palestine, waiting in the wings to be enacted since 2018. It took immense effort from many political, academic and legal minds to get the bill to its present position in the legislative process. There is no legal excuse for stalling it any longer. To quote Sen. Frances Black “... it’s not a legal issue, it’s a question of political will. The weight of legal advice makes it clear that we can pursue this if we’re willing to be brave about it – we need to stand up and show leadership”. (Irish times, 13 Jun 2020.) Something has to begin the process of turning the tide on the genocide in Palestine, especially Gaza. The OTB has been identified by multiple organisations nationally and internationally as the single most important and effective action that Ireland as a nation can take, at this time in May 2025.  Enacting the OTB can without doubt have a ripple effect throughout the world. Let's throw the pebble in the ocean of support for Palestine and see it do the work it was always intended to achieve.

Citibank, who are facilitating the supply of billions of pounds of Israeli weapons and enabling the slaughter of tens of thousands of Palestinians, [1] are also one of the main sponsors of this year's Belfast Pride Festival - the biggest LGBTQIA+ event in the city. This is pinkwashing at its very worst - using Belfast Pride and our LGBTQIA+ community to distract from their brutal business practices. Not only are they supporting weapons deals, Citibank is also funding several fossil fuel companies to drill for gas off Gaza, [3] - as thousands of innocent people are being massacred, and famine looms [4] as a result of Israel’s brutal siege. Israel has no right to grant licenses to companies to drill for oil or gas in the Palestinian territory. Fossil fuels have always been tied up with war and to extract oil and gas from a region whose population are being starved to death and brutally murdered, is a war crime. We demand that Belfast Pride Festival drops Citibank as one of its main sponsors! [1] https://www.bankingonsolidarity.org/citibank-and-palestinians-a-cruel-status-quo/ [2] https://fossilfreeciti.org/ [3] https://www.aljazeera.com/opinions/2024/3/6/israel-is-pillaging-not-just-gazas-cities-but-also-its-waters [4] https://www.politico.eu/article/famine-is-imminent-gaza-un-food-israel-hamas-hunger/

We cannot allow a country that is deliberately killing aid workers and journalists, slaughtering tens of thousands of civilians, destroying hospitals, starving people, to sing alongside us. Allowing Israel to take part in the Eurovision would send an implicit message to the world that breaking international humanitarian law over and over again is acceptable.