Specialist armed Garda units have been directed to beef up security in several Irish cities from this evening. (Sunday 4th June 2017) Members of the Garda Armed Support Unit (ASU) have been dispatched to the cities of Dublin, Cork, Limerick, Galway and Kilkenny, beginning their duties at 7pm this evening. While the threat of a terrorist attack in Ireland is currently deemed to be possible but unlikely, the directive comes as a proactive and preventative measure in the wake of the past fortnight’s attacks on Manchester and London. The Taoiseach should be reminded that Ireland is renowned around the world for it's neutrality, friendliness and respect for the views and beliefs of others. An unarmed police service is something the Irish people are proud of. Therefore, we call on the Taoiseach to show leadership and not bow down to these cowardly acts by bringing more weapons of war onto the streets of Ireland.

Drones are an invasion of privacy. They can also be useful to potential criminals. Therefore on two counts it is wise to ensure that all "fly-overs" are regulated.

A modern police force needs to be transparent and accountable. In light of the whistleblower, penalty points and breath tests scandals it is currently neither. If public confidence is to be somehow restored in the Gardai, Noirin O'Sullivan must resign.

These are some of the worst incidents of abuse in the history of the Irish State. Many children died through neglect and ill-health and possibly physical abuse. All suffered. The State at the time knew this was taking place, but rather than shut them down, they paid these organisations to house those they deemed undesirable. Places like Westbank in Greystones were used as an illegal adoption agency and profited very handsomely out of it. Whilst victims of similar Catholic-run organisations have been recognised under the Redress Act 2002, no such move was made for those in Protestants homes, even though Bethany Home falls under every category for redress. Despite meeting members of the Bethany Home Survivors Group, Minister Zappone is still refusing to fast-track redress for these long-suffering people. Not many are left now and time is running out. https://www.irishexaminer.com/breakingnews/ireland/bethany-home-survivors-disappointed-over-governments-refusal-to-extend-fast-track-redress-scheme-927837.html

Scientific evidence shows that one drink impairs your ability to drive. RSA official figures show that 38% of fatal crashes are alcohol related. Drink driving is on the increase. In Co. Donegal alone the detection rate is up 50% even though the enforcement has reduced by 30%. The lives of innocent men women and children have been lost and thousands have been seriously injured, some injured so badly that their lives have been ruined due to the severity and extent of the injuries. Families are left grieving and bereft and in some cases family members lives are also changed forever as they become carers of the injured survivors.

The billions of euro debt that were transferred to Irish citizens was and is a travesty due to inept administration. No one has been held accountable and the media in Ireland is stonewalling and obstructing Jonathan Sugarman's obligation to inform the Irish people.

Civilians must be evacuated and afforded safe passage out of Aleppo. Our leaders must ensure the UN plan for evacuation is implemented.

This bill will facilitate evictions, increase the power of landlords to evict tenants, & allow developers to build without any real regulation or consultation. What the Bill will do: - Give landlords the right to evict tenants if they feel they could charge more to new tenants. - Allow landlords to evict households who have been in their home and community for over 4 years with no extended notice. - Increase homelessness and put almost 25% of the population under constant threat of eviction. - Allow An Bord Pleanála to privately develop plans with private developers without public consultation. This will lead to unsuitable, untenable and unfinished housing developments nationwide. - Allow for developers to be compensated by up to €10,000 if their planning applications are delayed - an obscene waste of public money. We are in the grips of the worst housing crisis Ireland has seen in a century. However, there are 5,000 empty homes across South Dublin alone. This bill does nothing to tackle the problem of vacant properties, which affects every part of the country. This Bill directly steals from the pockets of a public struggling to keep their homes, to give to private developers and landlords. . This Bill is an obscene affront to the most basic right to a home, and is an insult to the thousands of families and individuals homeless and living on the streets and in cramped hotel rooms nationwide.

We are calling on Galway based multinational C&F Group to reinstate 98 workers sacked in the Philippines for joining a trade union. On May 26, 2016, the workers, many with 3 to 12 years service, registered their Trade Union with the Department of Labor and Employment and the very next day, on May 27, the company abruptly offered a redundancy programme. The Union obtained its Certificate of Registration on May 30, 2016 and on June 6 filed for representation rights for the workers for collective bargaining purposes. On the very same day, management at the company said they were subjecting 98 workers to "retrenchment," or laying-off, of which more than 63 are union officers or union members. Three days after the lay-offs, the company replaced the sacked workers with 55 new agency staff on top of the 50 agency workers already employed in the plant. Since the workers were dismissed, they have been on strike outside the factory. It is the first ever industrial action in the economic zone in the Philippines and has been in place for more than 8 weeks now. Speaking on behalf of the workers, Esmereldo Ison said, “What has happened to us is very disappointing. Many of us have worked for this company for several years and we have been sacked for trying to avail of our international human rights.” He explained that the workers have filed for illegal dismissal cases but that process could take up to 10 years. “We need our jobs so we can feed our families. We cannot wait three or four years for this to reach the courts. We want to be reinstated immediately.” Mandate Trade Union General Secretary John Douglas, speaking on behalf of four trade unions in Ireland including Unite, the Communications Workers’ Union and OPATSI, said the actions of management at C&F are deplorable. “This is a clear case of union-busting and it’s embarrassing that it’s an Irish firm with Irish management involved in this type of exploitation.” He added, “The Managing Director of C&F, John Flaherty, needs to do the right thing and ensure these workers are reinstated immediately and compensated for any losses they have incurred due to the illegal and discriminatory behaviour of his management team in the Philippines.” C & F Manufacturing Phils. Corporation is an Irish-owned subsidiary of C & F Tooling Ltd. of Galway, Ireland. They have operations in Ireland, Germany, Czech Republic, USA and the Philippines. According to the company website, C&F Group had a turnover in excess of $100m in 2007 and the company supplies components to multinational corporations including IBM, EMC, APC, Ingersoll Rand, Glen Dimplex, Sanyo and Hitachi Koki. The unionised workers are demanding that the company: 1. Reinstate unconditionally all the 98 workers summarily and discriminately terminated. 2. Recognize and respect the rights of the workers to organise and to collectively bargain; 3. Respect the right of the workers for a one-day rest in a week and stop the inhumane practice of continuous and excessive long hours of work. 4. Investigate and impose disciplinary action on managers Paul Hynes and Damian Gavin for their attitude towards the Filipino workers. 5. Lastly, for management to make corrective actions to address the violations of the Electronic Industry Citizenship Coalition (EICC) Code of Conduct. NOTE: C&F Group’s code of ethics include: “FREEDOM OF ASSOCIATION In conformance with local law, participants shall respect the right of all workers to form and join trade unions of their own choosing, to bargain collectively and to engage in peaceful assembly as well as respect the right of workers to refrain from such activities. Workers and/or their representatives shall be able to openly communicate and share ideas and concerns with management regarding working conditions and management practices without fear of discrimination, reprisal, intimidation or harassment.

Our Judges continuously hand down suspended or short sentences to rapists and those found guilty of sexual assault in this country, including those who sexually assault children. We do not accept these sentences which legitimise the rape of both adults and children and allow dangerous and violent criminals to walk freely on our streets. Enough is enough. If our judges are unable to punish those who have committed these abhorrent crimes, then we call for their resignations from their positions.

In spite of E.U. sanctions against Russia for their role in destabilising Ukraine and annexing parts of the country, on December 7th, 2015, a 16-strong trade delegation led by Minister of State Sean Sherlock under the auspices of the Joint Economic Commission – Russia/Ireland, went to Moscow "to build on our existing excellent relationships"(1). Meanwhile Russia is bombing and killing hundreds of innocent civilians in Syria. According to the respected Syria Network for Human Rights, Russian airstrikes since September 30th until December 1st, 2015, have targeted markets, mosques, bakeries, killing 583 individuals - 570 of whom were civilians, including 152 children and 60 women. A recent report from Human Rights Watch also highlighted Russian extensive use of cluster bombs (2). The Convention on Cluster Munitions which banned their use under any circumstances, was actually adopted in Dublin on 30th May 2008. Their use also violates United Nations Resolution 2139 which demanded that all parties involved in Syria end “indiscriminate employment of weapons in populated areas" (3). Russia also vetoed a UN Security Council resolution to refer the situation in Syria to the International Criminal Court (4). The Amnesty International report of December 23rd, 2015, in effect corroborates and elaborates on the substance of these earlier (SNR, HRW) reports in laying out egregious violations of human rights and international law perpetrated by the Russian military. Please sign this petition to ensure that our government does not support the lifting of current E.U. sanctions against Russia when they are due for renewal. 1. http://www.intellinews.com/irish-government-gets-primed-for-lifting-of-sanctions-against-russia-86361 Irish government gets primed for lifting of sanctions against Russia 2. https://www.hrw.org/news/2015/12/20/russia/syria-extensive-recent-use-cluster-munitions Russia/Syria: Extensive Recent Use of Cluster Munitions 3. http://www.un.org/press/en/2014/sc11292.doc.htm Security Council Unanimously Adopts Resolution 2139 (2014) to Ease Aid Delivery to Syrians, Provide Relief from ‘Chilling Darkness’ 4. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-27514256 Russia and China veto UN move to refer Syria to ICC

There has been several people threatened and there was involvement of knives from robbers. We would like to feel safe again. This is a family neighborhood.