The Residents of St. Helen's Court have been served with eviction notices by the Vulture fund which owns the building they live in. They will become homeless within a matter of weeks if this isn't stopped. Vulture Funds like Apollo Global Management are buying up more and more property in Ireland and this type of behaviour will become the norm unless our Minister for Housing steps in to stop it from happening. Simon Coveney, our last Minister for Housing, was forced to intervene because of people power to stop a similar eviction which was due to take place in Limerick Strand Apartments. It's time now for Eoghan Murphy to do the same. Homelessness continues to grow in Ireland - and stopping evictions like this are one of the key ways of stopping it from getting any worse.

Food workers and trade unions in the food export sector of Honduras and Costa Rica continue to be subjected to unsafe working conditions and not having their legal rights fulfilled. The estimated 25,000 people employed in the melon export sector in Honduras, of which 70% are women, regularly work 12-14 hour days, 7 days a week. The International Labour Rights Forum (2012) reports that 85% of workers earn less than the minimum wage [1]. Fyffes has been at the centre of several shocking scandals involving trade union violations and abuse of workers in Honduras and Costa Rica. A report by the US Department of Labor (2015) [2] detailed a litany of exploitative practices, ongoing labour code violations and ill-treatment of workers by the Fyffes subsidiary SurAgro in Honduras, including: That the company failed to pay the minimum wage, the 13th and 14th month bonuses, the seventh day bonus, and overtime; Failed to provide personal protective equipment and potable water; imposed a 300 HNL (US $14.40) penalty for missing a day of work (even with permission from a supervisor) in addition to that day’s salary; Threatened workers with dismissal for speaking with the Honduran Secretariat of Labor and Social Security (STSS) The general union in the United Kingdom, GMB, has called the actions of SurAgro one of the worst cases they have recorded, having documented “a shocking litany of abuse and exploitation on the part of Fyffes subsidiaries in Honduras” [3] and commented that “Fyffes... have no respect for domestic or international law governing workers’ rights and must be brought to book” [4]. In January 2016, workers at the Fyffes subsidiary became the first workers in the melon export sector to unionise and a local branch of the agriculture trade union STAS was formed. The following day, four trade union leaders were locked up in an office and threatened by the Chief of Security until they signed a document renouncing their union membership [5]. In an equally sinister occurrence, it was reported by the International Trade Union Confederation that on 13 April 2017, the trade unionist Moisés Sánchez (General Secretary of STAS’s sub-branch at Fyffes’ subsidiary in Honduras) was kidnapped, beaten and threatened with death if he continued his trade union work [6].  In May 2017 Fyffes was suspended from the Ethical Trading Initiative [ETI], an alliance of companies, trade unions and NGOs that promotes respect for workers' rights around the globe, finding that “the actions and approach taken by SurAgro [the Fyffes-owned Honduran melon plantation at the centre of the allegations] … contravene the open approach to legitimate trade union activities that ETI would expect within the supply chain to an ETI member” [7]. Despite the sale of Fyffes to the Japanese Sumitomo Corporation in early 2017, the Irish business news website Fora reported in June 2017 that David McCann and the “senior management team” based at the Fyffes head office in Dublin were handling the negotiations between the complainants, ETI and Fyffes [8]. Therefore, the Latin America Solidarity Centre is joining with other trade unions, NGOs and international Civil Society Organisations and demanding this actions from Fyffes.

We the undersigned believe that the decision of Callan Community Network (CCN) to issue a formal Notice to Quit to the Droichead FRC is clear evidence that CCN is now unwilling to resolve the current difficulties through meaningful dialogue. Prior to issing the eviction order CCN have also previously walked away from talks with Droichead FRC & the Friary Trust. The Board of Directors of Droichead FRC have always engaged in a positive and progressive manner and at all times have acted in the best interests of those families who use the community childcare facility and the wider Callan community generally. The decision by CCN to issue a formal Notice to Quit has jeopardised the long-standing community childcare service, placed several jobs under threat and has caused significant distress to the service provider, its employees and dozens of local families. In addition, CCN has, to date, ignored repeated calls from service users, local residents and a number of public representative’s to formally withdraw the Notice to Quit. We therefore request that they issue a public statement of resignation within 14 days being supplied with this petition and signatures. This, we believe, is the only avenue available to us that will protect the future of our community childcare service, its employees and service users from further distress and uncertainty. We will be submitting signatures along with a letter requesting resignation.

Inadequate advertising took place for the issue of this licence. No public consultation meetings were held to inform the residents of Bantry Bay of this proposed mechanical harvest by a company from Tralee. No regard is being shown to the pristine marine environment in Bantry Bay which is home to many species protected by Irish, European and International legislation i.e. White Tailed Eagles, Otters, Choughs to name but a few. An Environmental Impact Assessment is not required for this licence! An extensive Environmental Impact Assessment should be done before any mechanical harvesting of native kelp is allowed in any Irish coastal waters. No regard has been shown for the people who rely on tourism and marine activities such as fishing in the bay to make a living. The Kelp forest slows the wave action approaching the land, so removal of this kelp forest may lead to more coastal erosion along the Bantry Bay coast.

English Language teachers generally lack basic workers’ rights such as sick and holiday pay, pay scales, payment for training/professional development, permanent contracts/ contracts of indefinite duration (regardless of length of service), maternity/paternity pay, and access to pensions. The Unite ELT branch committee have requested a meeting with minister Richard Bruton which has been refused. We are asking you to support our campaign calling on the minister to meet with representatives of English Language Teachers to discuss regulations governing basic working conditions for teachers.

Commission to Inquire into Child Abuse Committee recommends that the State party: (a) Indicate how it proposes to implement all the recommendations of the Commission to Inquire into Child Abuse and indicate the time frame for doing so; (b) Institute prompt, independent and thorough investigations into all cases of abuse as found by the report and, if appropriate, prosecute and punish perpetrators; (c) Ensure that all victims of abuse obtain redress and have an enforceable right to compensation, including the means for as full rehabilitation as possible. Call to action : please show your support by commenting via change.org also uplift.ie and sharing this cause via social media Thank you to you and your supporters X p.s. no abusive language

Queen's is now a leading UK university - but for all the wrong reasons. Figures from the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) show that in 2017 - QUB's female professors earn an average of almost almost 15% less than their male colleagues - an average gap totalling £11,798. To put this into some perspective - this is the highest pay gap among the 24 leading UK universities, known as the Russell Group. It's entirely unacceptable that in 2017 a leading publicly funded university pays men 15% more than women for the same job. Join with Uplift today and sign our petition to demand the Vice-Chancellor and Senate of Queen's University take meaningful action today to address and reverse this shameful pay gap.

Bernie is giving a speech on June 4th which sold out after 1 minute. There are thousands of people who are willing to pay to hear him speak, to hear a voice for the people. Someone who stands up for the environment, all people and the planet as a whole. My hope is that hearing Bernie speak could spark the revolution that is needed in Ireland so we can transform our country and go back to the values it was founded on.

On behalf of the DCU Students' Union, which consists of nearly 17,000 students, we are troubled by the new updates from Campus Residences Ltd., for the upcoming 2017/18 academic year. These include; - A 9% rent increase for Hampstead Accommodation. - An 11% rent increase for SPC and Larkfield Accommodation. This is a 49% rent increase in two academic years. I know that Campus Residences Ltd., only recently took it over but an 11% increase comparable to the quality of Larkfield accommodation type is unbelievable when you take into account the quality of accommodation provided on both campuses. - An 8% rent increase in some areas of Purcell House Accommodation. - That some rooms on Postgraduate Accommodation will see a 23% rent increase. It's hard enough to find accommodation for our students and for the college to drastically increase the cost of rent for our students at a time when we're having an accommodation crisis in Dublin shows a lack of compassion for the daily student struggles. We're asking Governing Body to come down from their Ivory Tower and realise that their demands are unrealistic and unfair.

Around 300 million tons of plastic are produced globally each year, yet just 12 per cent is recyclable [1]. There are natural biodegradable alternatives to plastics available today so their ever increasing use can no longer be justified. The Feb. 2016 'New Plastics Economy: Rethinking the future of plastics' report analysis indicates (i) that 95% of the value of plastic packaging material, worth $80-120 billion annually, is lost to the economy, and (ii) that, on the current track, there could be more plastics than fish in the ocean (by weight) by 2050. The most important voice of reason that a supermarket can hear is that of the customer. By signing this petition you are helping to get the message across to key decision makers in the grocery sector that you no longer want to be part of the planetary plastic problem. That you want alternatives so this massive problem can finally start to be addressed, so future generations have a cleaner world to live in free from the dangers that a plastic filled ocean represents. There is a large demand for plastic free options so retailers should benefit if facilitating this for customers. Retailers who take a lead on this should see increased brand value, positive word of mouth and greater customer loyalty. The need for innovation in this area will spur job creation and new inventions that will be good for the economy too. It is clear to see now that proper disposal of plastic is a burden on all parties involved, particularly for the natural environment that is already starting to break under the burden. The situation with plastics has gotten way out of hand and it is up to all parties involved to act now. [1] http://www.telegraph.co.uk/science/2017/02/10/supermarkets-urged-create-plastic-free-aisle-every-store/

Stepping aside in light of the serious allegations of wrongdoing and interference with the administration of justice is important for our democracy and is in the interest of good policing. Those in positions of management and leadership in the Garda, the criminal justice system and the government need to absorb this request.

Donald Trump has started his presidency threatening to forcibly remove all Palestinians from Gaza and turn it into a holiday resort, he has doubled down in his support for war criminal Netanyahu, and has resumed sending heavy bombs to Israel for them to use against people in Gaza.  He is also causing chaos back in the US:  • He has launched a massive attack on trans rights putting thousands of people in serious danger of their lives. • He has attacked hundreds of thousands of workers, slashing jobs and allowing billionaire Elon Musk to fire entire departments. • He has ordered that people who live and work in the US without specific documentation are to be rounded up and detained in the infamous Guantánamo Bay prison. • He is dismantling regulations on corporations that keep people's food and water safe. • He is ramping up polluting fossil fuel extraction, undoing decades of slow progress. • He is removing all information about trans people, climate change, and public health from government websites. It is unthinkable that any Irish politician would go to the White House this St. Patrick's day to shake Trump's hand and we are calling on you Micheál Martin to boycott the White House this March.