AIB is moving 70 of their branches to cashless banking. [1] Not only will going cashless mean no notes, coins, cheques, foreign exchange, bank drafts - it will remove any drop safes, night safes and ATMs outside. This is going to cause huge hardship for many people - especially older and vulnerable people, local businesses, people who don’t have access to the internet. The greed and recklessness of banks, including AIB bosses, played a crucial role in bringing about the financial crash. [2] Homes were repossessed by banks, families lost their incomes, young and not-so-young people were forced to emigrate, businesses had to close. We cannot stand by while our majority state-owned bank hurts our communities again. [1] https://www.rte.ie/news/business/2022/0719/1311026-aib-to-turn-70-branches-cashless-expand-an-post-deal/ [2] https://pai.ie/bank-bailout-costs-state-nearly-e42-billion/ https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-32516942

AIB is moving 70 of their branches to cashless banking. [1] Not only will going cashless mean no notes, coins, cheques, foreign exchange, bank drafts - it will remove any drop safes, night safes and ATMs outside. This is going to cause huge hardship for many people - especially older and vulnerable people, local businesses, people who don’t have access to the internet. The greed and recklessness of banks, including AIB bosses, played a crucial role in bringing about the financial crash. [2] Homes were repossessed by banks, families lost their incomes, young and not-so-young people were forced to emigrate, businesses had to close. We cannot stand by while our majority state-owned bank hurts our communities again. [1] https://www.rte.ie/news/business/2022/0719/1311026-aib-to-turn-70-branches-cashless-expand-an-post-deal/ [2] https://pai.ie/bank-bailout-costs-state-nearly-e42-billion/ https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-32516942

AIB is moving 70 of their branches to cashless banking. [1] Not only will going cashless mean no notes, coins, cheques, foreign exchange, bank drafts - it will remove any drop safes, night safes and ATMs outside. This is going to cause huge hardship for many people - especially older and vulnerable people, local businesses, people who don’t have access to the internet. The greed and recklessness of banks, including AIB bosses, played a crucial role in bringing about the financial crash. [2] Homes were repossessed by banks, families lost their incomes, young and not-so-young people were forced to emigrate, businesses had to close. We cannot stand by while our majority state-owned bank hurts our communities again. [1] https://www.rte.ie/news/business/2022/0719/1311026-aib-to-turn-70-branches-cashless-expand-an-post-deal/ [2] https://pai.ie/bank-bailout-costs-state-nearly-e42-billion/ https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-32516942

Millstreet is a rural community already deprived of basic services. Our rural businesses will struggle as a direct result of the withdrawal of cash services from AIB Millstreet. There are serious concerns for our elderly who cannot travel 30minutes to the nearest cash bank and will be vunderable with cash being left in their homes. We can not allow the erosion of an already deprived area to continue.

AIB Clifden needs to keep the current facilities, not only for the elderly, but for those not familiar with banking online and for those who do not wish to live in a cashless society

Kanturk is a rural community already deprived of basic services. With below standard internet connectivity this decision by AIB, who claim that their decision is a response to digital usage, is a devastating blow to our rural community. Our rural businesses will struggle as a direct result of the withdrawal of cash services from AIB, Kanturk. The removal of cash services will mean we will no longer have access to cash or cheque services at the counter OR through the machines inside the branch. We are community already with limited garda availability and this decision by AIB raises serious security concerns for business and the public, particularly our elderly. We can not allow the erosion of an already deprived area to continue.

This is impacting on older people's independence and creating barriers such as having to travel to other branches. There's a huge impact to older people as many are not online. This is a big ultimatum to older people and it's taking away their agency and choice to have face to face interaction and support for cash services. Many older people would have safety and security concerns and others use banks as opportunity for social interaction. The bank is saying the post office is an alternative but in recent years many post offices have been closed in rural Ireland thus providing no choice now for customers in these areas with these bank service changes. Many post offices may not structurally have the capacity for large groups of people which may create large queues. This decision by AIB will also impact greatly on local businesses and communities in these areas. Many older people have been loyal customers for decades and their money has helped pay for those branches and services. This is being very disrespectful to them by not having these services available to them anymore. Many older people and people of all ages may have accessibility requirements around branches and travelling to them ie. sight impairments or/and physical disability. It's really important to remember that the Irish tax payer bailed out this bank and others during the 2008 financial crash . We own over 60% stake in AIB and there has been arbitrarily no consultation with us about this. I am calling on AIB Bank to reverse its decision to rollback cash services in AIB bank branches in Waterford (Ardkeen, Tramore and Lismore). Read more here: https://twitter.com/BPhillipsWriter/status/1549512192952762368

To keep banking accessible to all, normal services also digital, this is very important.

Misinformation is a deadly pandemic on social media sites. One particular concern of mine is the spread of fake ‘life hacks’ videos. This might seem harmless until you look at the types of videos being posted up. One video I saw that was actually on YouTube’s Facebook page was telling people how to make sausages in the toaster using tinfoil. Putting tinfoil into toasters is strongly discouraged from most toaster manufacturers because it could cause electrocution and even fire. Another video I saw on Instagram encouraged people to use a transformer from a microwave to burn a design into wood. This is remarkably dangerous because one single mistake could cause an electrical current of 2,000 volts to enter your body, which is 10 times the amount of power needed to stop your heartbeat. There have been at least 34 reported deaths from this ‘life hack’. Four of them were qualified electricians and the majority of them were wearing proper gloves and P.P.E. However, despite this, these videos rarely suffer any sort of sanctions from the website. One site that promotes these kinds of life hacks is ‘5 Minute Crafts’. This channel is currently the 11th most subscribed YouTube channel with over 70 million subscribers. They often put up fake and sometimes ‘life hack’ videos and they often get millions of views. I think this is unacceptable and we as a country have the power to put immense pressure on these companies because there are multiple users and both Meta and Google have offices in Dublin.

In March 2022 former Minister for Infrastructure Nichola Mallon refused permission for the planning application for a mechanical biological treatment (MBT) facility and waste incinerator at Hightown Quarry, beside North Belfast. The planning decision was made following over 5,000 objections submitted by the local community, and a wide range of political representatives from MPs to Councillors. It will increase the market for waste disposal and discourage recycling. Waste technology, waste composition and recycling policies had all moved on since the project was first conceived 15 years ago, and it should be abandoned once and for all - not blindly pursued with public money. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-60893249 The planning refusal followed a long running campaign by the No-Arc21 group who represent residents around the Mallusk, North Belfast and South Antrim areas, who are opposed to the controversial project. This planning application was refused by a previous Environment Minister Mark Durkan, and successfully challenged in the Courts by No- Arc21. There is comprehensive and widespread political opposition to the project from all political Parties in South Antrim and beyond. Alternative do exist and if this Incinerator goes ahead it will reduce recycling and result in millions of tonnes of CO2 being emitted and accelerating climate change. This challenge is a flagrant waste of public money and resources can be better targeted to increase recycling to 70% by 2030 as per the Climate Change targets on Waste Management. During the current inflationary pressures that many households and workers are facing at present, councils should not be wasting more money on a legal case which questions local Ministerial powers to make such decisions. Over £20 million has been spent on the "Waste Monster" to date, how many pot holes, hospital beds, pay rises for key workers etc. could have been sorted in the over eight years of this white elephant. Bin the Burner

Using Afrikaans to verify citizenship is racist, ignorant and insulting.

Around 100 residents in the Shannon Arms on Henry Street are currently facing mass evictions from several landlords, most notably, Supermacs owner and multimillionaire, Mr. Pat McDonagh. Some of the other landlords have a history of mass evictions from the properties they control. Tenants have come together as part of CATU Ireland (www.catuireland.org) to resist these evictions. Some evictions have already occurred at the Shannon Arms complex, with further evictions taking place at the end of May - let's show Pat McDonagh that the public support the tenants by signing this petition! Though these evictions have been raised in the Dáil, and with other relevant bodies including the local council, there has been no tangible intervention to help the tenants, some of whom are young families and people with disabilities. The looming threat of these evictions have deeply damaged both the mental and physical health of a number of tenants, which has led to some residents being hospitalised. Due to the extremity of the housing crisis, and the lack of housing available within the city, there are scant options available for the tenants if they are to be evicted at the end of the month. We are calling on Pat McDonagh, and the other landlords who oversee the buildings to revoke these eviction notices and let the Shannon Arms residents remain in their homes.