Please support the permanent pedestrianisation of New Street, Malahide. At the moment a 10 week trial is in progress to guage the pros and cons of this measure. Some businesses have mounted an energetic campaign to return New Street to it's former position as a car dominated hostile space for human beings. Don't let them win! If this is reversed, it will be a major setback to efforts to provide livable and walkable communities for all of us.

Senior politicians are continuously challenged as being 'out of touch' with the electorate. Many would argue it is difficult for politicians to understand the struggles of many of their constituents because, financially, they exist in a different realm. Currently, the AVERAGE ANNUAL earnings of a worker in Ireland is just under €39,000. Meanwhile Senior politicians AVERAGE ANNUAL Salaries and add-on's are as follows; TD = €96,189 Senator = €68,111 Taoiseach = €207,590 Tánaiste = €191,403 Minister = €175,699 Minister of State(a) = €134,976 Ceann Comhairle = €175,699 Leas-Cheann Comhairle = €134,976 Cathaoirleach = €114,130 Leas-Cathaoirleach = €93,468 Leader of the Seanad = €88,288 Deputy Leader of the Seanad = €77,611 Added to this, Oireachteas members also get ADDITIONAL SALARIED ALLOWANCE of up to €19,000, Travel and Accomodation Allowance of up to €35,000 and UN-VOUCHED expenses of up to €20,000 (source https://www.oireachtas.ie/en/members/salaries-and-allowances/salaries/ and https://www.oireachtas.ie/en/members/salaries-and-allowances/parliamentary-standard-allowances/ ) Sign this petition if you believe Senior politicians AVERAGE ANNUAL earnings should be benchmarked to the National AVERAGE ANNUAL earnings, capped (with no add-on's), and Reviewed Annually, as follows; TD - Average Annual Earnings x 2 = €78,000.00 Senator - Average Annual Earnings x1.25 = €48,750.00 Taoiseach - Average Annual Earnings x4 = €156,000.00 Tánaiste - Average Annual Earnings x3.5 = €136,500.00 Minister - Average Annual Earnings x3 = €117,000.00 Minister of State(a) - Average Annual Earnings x2.75 = €107,250.00 Ceann Comhairle - Average Annual Earnings x2.5 = €97,500.00 Leas-Cheann Comhairle - Average Annual Earnings x2.25 = €87,750.00 Cathaoirleach - Average Annual Earnings x2 = €78,000.00 Leas-Cathaoirleach - Average Annual Earnings x1.75 = €68,250.00 Leader of the Seanad - Average Annual Earnings x2 = €78,000.00 Deputy Leader of the Seanad - Average Annual Earnings x1.75 = €68,250.00 All ex. Senior-Politicians pension to be capped at the level of Average Annual Earnings, regardless of office(s) held, and not come into effect until the State Pension (Contributory) Qualifying Age. (Currently 66)

The efforts made in Ireland since March 12th to protect the most vulnerable of our society, and our society as a whole, from the threat of COVID-19 which has cost over 1,700 lives in Ireland has cost our residents greatly. Many lost loved ones and were unable to grieve or hold funerals, many lost their businesses or jobs indefinitely or permanently, children have been unable to go to school or childcare, many have had their lives disrupted and we have just started to open the economy back up. To allow tourists from the most infected parts of the US to travel to Ireland at the start of reopening our economy (and arguably the most critical time in this Pandemic for the country) flies in the face of all of our healthcare workers, all frontline staff, anybody that has lost a loved one during this Pandemic (whether due to COVID-19 or not) and all workers and businesses who have sacrificed for the greater good to control the spread. Our Government has expressed their concerns over the economy and the need to reopen, but unlike many continental European countries we are allowing tourists from the United States to enter our country and multiple reports have been made of tourists arriving and not taking the "mandatory 14-day quarantine" seriously. These tourists are arriving from states with the highest COVID-19 cases in the US and from states which have new daily records of new cases as each day passes. "A second wave of Covid-19 would wipe out any chance of economic recovery in Ireland either for this year or next, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) has warned." - https://www.irishtimes.com/business/economy/second-covid-19-wave-would-wipe-out-economic-recovery-1.4275388 A growing number of tourists from the US have been arriving over the past 2 weeks and Irish COVID-19 cases have been on the rise, with the reproduction number back at 1.0. These tourists have been refused tourist experiences and entry to restaurants for clearly ignoring the 14-day quarantine/self-isolation requests made by the Government. In this article, our elected officials have been quoted as admitting that these regulations are not being enforced and need to be: https://www.irishtimes.com/news/health/disease-expert-says-jailing-tourists-who-breach-quarantine-would-send-clear-message-1.4302794 "... Luke O’Neill, Professor of Biochemistry at Trinity College in Dublin, said it was a “big mistake” that tourists from states such as Texas are being permitted entry into the country. (from article: https://www.joe.ie/fitness-health/immunologist-us-travel-ireland-70003) While Prof Sam McConkey at the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland thinks that these tourists should simply be jailed for 3 months for breaking the quarantine rules (see article: https://www.irishtimes.com/news/health/disease-expert-says-jailing-tourists-who-breach-quarantine-would-send-clear-message-1.4302794) it's evident that the best way to stop the spread of COVID-19 to Ireland from the US would be to ban all non-essential travel to Ireland from all US destinations.

Benefits include: — Allowing space for social distancing, giving shoppers and other visitors a higher level of safety. — Allowing for extra space for those who most need it and still need to get about. — Space for outdoor eating from cafes and pubs without cluttering footpaths. — More space for the already growing influx of shoppers and tourists. — The junction at the centre of town will likely flow better with traffic if it was just coming from two ways rather than the current three directions which causes congestion. — Only remove a relatively small number of parking spaces compared to the car parks on both sides of the street. — Have no effect on car parks at AIB Bank or Bank of Ireland or the taxi rank. Some people objecting to changes like this is normal around the world, but a small number of businesses and residents objecting to this should not be allowed to stall this as happens with so much else in Ballina, especially given the strong public health reasoning. When we’re over the current crisis and people don’t like it, it can be removed then. It is only around 140 metres of the street and the street is lined with car parks on both sides with access via laneways. More parking spaces for people who have disabilities or mobility issues can be provided at both ends of the street and near the pedestrian entrances in the car parks. Shot stay spaces can also be provided. The taxi rank outside AIB would not be changed. As other towns have shown, this can be done quickly and cheaply with a mix of planters and bollards. It does not require much funding but if the council requires funding, there is national funding available for post-lockdown mobility measures like this. This was not tried before (it was Tone Street) and for a trial to be meaningful it needs to be trialled for a month or two. In the first week or two traffic might increases as people get used to it, but that’s not a reason to pull the plug.

After watching the RTÉ investigates special and watching the nursing staff of St. James’ Hospital fight COVID on a daily basis, it was harrowing to see just what our nursing staff went through and continue to do so. These nurses watched countless people die and treated them with the upmost respect on their passing even acting as their family members due to the COVID restrictions. Our nursing staff have gone above and beyond across the country to save lives. And as the restrictions are lifted, they continue to fight COVID in our hospitals. This is not over for them and they fear a second wave. Our responsibility as the public to say a small thank you to these amazing nurses is to lobby ever single TD in this country until we increase their wages. Enough is enough. These amazing women and men deserve so much more. This is the least we could do for them. Below is a sample email to send to your local TD

Airbnb is a a major factor on homelessness. As Airbnb is so unregulated many landlords are evicting tenants to turn their premises into nightly lets. This is causing the massive reduction of properties available in the private rental market. Therefore pushing up the cost of rents. The People of Ireland are living in hotels and B&Bs while the tourists are living in the houses. Until this sector is regulated and the rules enforced this will continue to happen. Covid 19 has highlighted this, we saw 1000s and 1000s of houses lying empty because travel restrictions. I am urging the Government to do someting about this once and for all.

This Global Public Benefit Manifesto for the Roscam Peninsula, if well executed, will lead to the preservation & restoration of the National Monument and preserve the surrounding pastoral landscape of this Bronze age settlement and create an iconic “Sustainable by Design” Culture, Heritage, Arts and Theatre experience embedded within a dramatic natural seaside parkland setting. This can be a cornerstone Galway 2020 Legacy Project to mark Galway's year as European City of Culture

The insurance industry wreaks havoc on so many aspects of Irish life. Thanks to skyrocketing premiums; people have been put off the road, childcare has become too expensive, and small businesses are struggling to survive. A new law called the ‘Consumer Insurance Contracts Bill’ could help tilt the balance back towards ordinary people. But, even though the law has been passed and signed by the president - the sitting Minister for Finance says he won’t sign it because the insurance companies ‘could quit the market’. It seems the Minister is forgetting just how many drivers, small business owners and childcare centres are urgently at risk of losing everything because of massive insurance bills.

Growing local community, business and amenities.

My name is Richard Hanlon a co-owner of Busyfeet & Coco Cafe Dublin's oldest Fair-trade Cafe on South William street established in 2001. My concern is the lack of availability of public toilets in Dublin's city centre currently and into the future, with only 2 public toilets operational at Connelly & Hueston stations for a city of 650k people at this time. The current crisis has accentuated the urgent issue of the city’s poor hygiene infrastructure which will have an adverse effect on both public health and the survival of city centre commercial areas.  Under the road map to reopen Ireland’s society and economy we will move from Phase 1 to Phase 2 on June 8th. This will mean significantly increased movement of citizens and an influx to the city which will be a major event within Dublin. This also will be a key economic turning point for the Dublin city center commerce, but due to ongoing restrictions there will be no accessible toilet or handwashing facilities for the public to use till Phase 3 June 28th. When some hospitality  and retailers  could allow access to their loos. As an SME operator of coffee shops in both the city centre and suburbs, I am acutely aware of my customers requirement for easily accessible toilets. It is also very clear that the demands between the city and suburbs are vastly different during these times. People using suburban hospitality venues such as neighbourhood cafes for takeaway are within easy access of their own homes and bathroom facilities. The 20 days period between Phase 2 & 3 will be a pivotal time for businesses in the city, who badly need to reopen and help kickstart the economy. The “No Place to Go” feeling will be a negative consequence of having no temporary public toilets available from June 8th in Dublin city centre, making returning custom much less unlikely ‘A first impression is a lasting impression to a customer’.  In a survey more than half agreed that the lack of public toilets stopped them from going out as often as they would like. Any further loss to future trade in the coming months in the city centre will be devastating economically, pushing most businesses to bankruptcy. The ‘Urinary leash’ will not only hold back all of us from venturing into the city center but it will hold back the country.  There have been too many years of debating and deliberating about public toilets and in 2018 the Green Party hailed the achievement of 300k allocation of funds for public toilets, but this was never used and on the 25th May 2020 meetings with DCC called for temporary public toilets to be facilitated ahead of Phase 2 June 8th, but no budget or allocation could be agreed. Why is it so difficult to talk toilets in a modern age?  Dublin is Ireland’s economic engine and  250,000 people work in Dublin 1 and 2 alone.  On average, 300,000 people visit Dublin city centre each day, but with the expected drop in footfall due to working from home requirements, reduced transport capacity and social distancing the hospitality sector alone is looking to operate at a maximum of c.45% capacity.  We could be looking at up to 150,000 less people a day, which will mean the closure of many.  Without the hospitality sector there will be no adequate toilet facilities within Dublin City, so we must come up with a solution for both short term and long term so we can maintain Dublin City as an attractive destination.  Who will return to the city centre, when they cannot find toilets and handwashing places during this COVID 19 crisis? Would you?  Without people, we have no commerce and Dublin has no future. Dublin City Council has to spend more than a penny now and act for the people of Dublin, so let's see them make a positive move soon and save our Dublin city’s heart from dirt, dereliction and disintegration. City councillors and local politicians are eager to promote the rapid implementation of pedestrianisation of central zones and push for increased cycling as an important step to our future, even during this current health emergency. However, we should be reminded of our past where cycling and public toilets were commonplace and interlinked as we travelled further from our home privies.  Does the council want to add to the increased unsanitary practices which are currently taking place in the city? Does the council want to force the public into a situation in which they are unable to wash their hands, when the HSE & our Taoiseach are telling us that it is essential to public health? DCC need to act swiftly or further compound the the ability of the city commercial areas to survive.

Leo Varadkar said being better off on the unemployment payment rather than working is “not fair” and “not sustainable”, and he's right. It's not fair or sustainable that minimum wages don't meet the costs of living. Raise the minimum wage to a living wage. Protect people returning back to work. This pandemic has changed our lives, and our priority should be the health and safety of everyone in Ireland. That includes making enough money to live on. Sources: https://www.newstalk.com/news/varadkar-pandemic-payment-1018514

We need our city centre to become a comfortable, attractive and sustainable place to shop and do business. Citizens and visitors should come first and the congestion caused by cars should be removed. We have seen pedestrianisation work in small and large towns and cities in Ireland and all the evidence shows the people of Kilkenny want this and that it will improve footfall and business in our beautiful city.