St. Patrick's Day is Ireland's most important national and cultural celebration, recognised globally.  Establishing a fixed annual long weekend would: • Enable greater participation in parades, cultural events and community celebrations • Support tourism, hospitality, and local economies across the country • Provide a consistent national holiday structure This change would preserve the cultural, historical and religious significance of the 17th of March while improving how the public holiday is observed for the benefit of society and the economy.

Around 30,000 children have been killed in Gaza, along with thousands of teachers. Yet Allianz insures the munitions used by the Israeli military and has invested over €7 billion in Israeli government bonds, helping fund the ongoing assault. Parents should not have to worry that money paid to protect our children with the Pupil Personal Insurance  could contribute to the killing of other children. We cannot support a corporation like Allianz with so much blood on its hands. 

Yesterday the world, and our community, celebrated World Book Day. Our children dressed up as their favourite characters. We celebrated the important role of reading in development, in mental health, and in how we understand the world. Yet in Donabate, a rapidly expanding community, we have recently been severely downgraded in our library services. Our library was in the community centre. The library had something for everyone in the community: lots of colourful books for younger children, spaces for teenagers to study with friends or on their own, and a wide range of books for adults. In January the library was relocated to the old Credit Union building. The building itself is beautiful. But, unfortunately, the new library is 169 square metres — over 200 square metres smaller than the previous space. Now there is a lack of comfortable space for children to relax and read - the toys and art supplies have been removed. Secondary school students have also lost the space they used for studying, and adults of all reading tastes have seen a drastic decrease in selection. There was a general feeling in Donabate, with its rapidly expanding population, that the new library was to be an upgrade. However, there are now serious concerns that the community is losing significant library space in the short term, and it is completely unclear when the library will return to a size comparable to what it originally was — let alone when it will be appropriate for Donabate’s significantly increasing population. We understand that the new building is only Phase One, and that there is a planned Phase Two expansion to enlarge and enhance the library in the future. While we welcome any long‑term investment, planning & construction timelines for Phase Two are unclear.  There is serious concern it will take years to deliver. Our community — especially our children, young and old — needs a functioning, accessible, and appropriately sized library now, not at some distant point in the future. We are calling for Phase Two to be prioritised and accelerated, with interim solutions put in place immediately.

1. Throwing books in the bin is an attack on intellectual freedom Books are not disposable objects — they are voices, ideas, experiences, and history. When books are dumped in waste bins, the community’s right to knowledge and individuals’ right to think freely are discarded with them. This undermines the spirit of Article 40.6.1 of the Irish Constitution, which protects freedom of expression and the circulation of ideas. 2. What happened sets a dangerous precedent If hundreds of books can be labelled “extremist” and thrown away without any academic or legal assessment, then any institution could dispose of any book it dislikes. Today it is jurisprudence and history; tomorrow it could be philosophy, politics, or literature. 3. The library was a major cultural and educational asset This was not a small collection. It was a multilingual library containing: • 10,000 Arabic books • 4,000 English books • Additional collections in several other languages This is an irreplaceable intellectual heritage. Losing it is a loss for the entire society. 4. Protecting books means protecting cultural diversity Ireland prides itself on being an inclusive and multicultural society. Destroying an entire library sends the opposite message: exclusion instead of inclusion. 5. The incident damages the credibility of cultural and religious institutions Communities expect institutions to safeguard knowledge, not dispose of it in rubbish bins. Restoring trust requires transparency, responsibility, and respect for written heritage.

The environmental impact of using generative AI is incomprehensible to the general public. In 2025 alone, the data centers used to run OpenAI tools were responsible for 32.6 - 79.7 million tonnes of CO2 emissions. According to OpenAI engineers, clean drinking water must be used to cool the data servers in order to prevent "mineral build-up" in the cooling systems. Data centers are literally using one of humanity's most precious and scarce resources to cool their servers, and it is dwindling by the day. OpenAI's projected water usage could hit 6.6 billion m³ by 2027, which is equivalent to 13.2 billion 500ml water bottles. Although this issue seems out of our hands, students can do their part by helping ban ChatGPT from the Trinity College Dublin Wi-Fi. ChatGPT is the most widely-used generative AI model, thus, blocking access would drastically reduce students' contribution to this ever growing problem. You can help do your part by signing our petition!

For years, our school community has been waiting for progress on an approved new school building. In the meantime, hundreds of children continue to learn in an ageing main building that no longer meets the needs of a modern primary school. Several classes are housed in portacabins due to overcrowding. Recent severe weather has exposed just how serious this situation has become. • One portacabin classroom suffered a floor collapse. • Two additional classrooms and the reception office are dealing with active leaks. While school staff handle these situations with professionalism and calm, the reality is stark: young children are being educated in infrastructure that is visibly failing. This is no longer an inconvenience. It is an urgent issue affecting the safety, wellbeing, and educational experience of hundreds of local children. At the same time, Dunboyne is expanding rapidly. A major housing development is already underway, and an influx of young families is inevitable. It is deeply concerning that while residential construction accelerates, critical educational infrastructure remains stalled. Parents have shown patience and good faith for many years. But children only experience primary school once. They should not spend those formative years in deteriorating facilities while the wider area grows around them. We are calling on our local representatives and the Department of Education to: • Treat the new Dunboyne school building as a priority project • Provide a clear and binding timeline for commencement and completion • Confirm the current stage of the project and the immediate next steps Our children deserve safe, modern learning environments. Our growing community deserves infrastructure that matches its expansion. We are asking for action, clarity, and momentum — not further delay. Dunboyne Junior & Senior Primary Schools - Parent Association

Aughrim Street has high traffic levels during school hours. There are large groups of pupils crossing at the same times. A new bus route now passes along Aughrim Street, increasing traffic volume and making the crossing busier and more dangerous. The School Warden on Oxmantown Road needs their hours extended to cover the 1:30 p.m. collection, as many younger children finish at that time and require safe crossing support.

It is extremely important because children need social media to contact parents friends and family they also need to keep up with some news  This law going through will push us back from a free country 

Right now, over 18,000 children across the country are overdue for an Assessment of Needs, 1,953 of them here in Kildare alone. Families are exhausted, stressed, and fighting a system that has failed them at every turn. From endless waits for primary care psychology, to 11,000 children stuck in limbo waiting for a first contact from CDNTs, to the scramble for school places and supports that simply aren’t there parents are being pushed to breaking point. Many families are trying to ensure there is early intervention for their child but are being left without vital supports. We have actually seen a reduction in the number of Speech and Language Therapists qualifying. It has gone from 370 in the academic year before the pandemic to 355 last year.  The number of therapists qualifying each year is reducing and on the other hand the government are scratching their heads wondering why they can’t fill the vacant therapist posts in CDNTs.  Children in schools are being let down too. Despite asserting that children don't need an assessment of needs to qualify for supports Parents, Teachers and school Principals know that resources are limited and children with an AON are prioritised. The Minister for Disability has announced a streamlining process for AON but hasn't detailed how this will be acomplished or set a timeline for compliance with the obligation for a 6 month assessment period for children.  We also want to see school expansions fast tracked. We hear announcements of funding but it then takes years between design stages, the tendering process, construction and the actual delivery of new classrooms. Many schools have had to convert classrooms to accommodate children with additional needs.  Please sign the petition so we can put pressure on the Government to deliver for the children in Kildare and across the country.  Melissa Byrne 

In Stapolin ETNS, we are having to campaign for 2 additional autism classes to meet the needs of children within our school and local community because the NCSE have informed us that our school is not considered a priority, despite us showing a clear need for these classes.  We currently have 2 autism classes which arre full. We have 8 children with eligibility letters in our mainstream waiting on an autism class space. On top of that we have 50 children on our waiting list, 20 of whom are in our immediate catchment area.  2 more classes is 12 spaces. That would ensure that the 8 children in our mainstream have access to the supports the need to access their education, as well as offering remaining places to some of those on our waiting list.  While we appreciate it’s important that schools without autism classes are encouraged and supported to open them, the need in our own school is urgent and undeniable, and we don't understand why both can't happen at the same time - allow us to open additional classes to support the children currently in our school and in our local catchment area, while also encouraging schools without autism classes to open them aswell.  Every child should have the chance to continue their education in the community where they’ve already built friendships, feel safe, and have strong relationships with staff who know and understand them. Please support our campaign for two additional autism classes in Stapolin and to support the rights of children to an appropriate education that meets their needs. 

Cost of living 

Many of those items were taken from various sites in Ireland by Mr Cooke while he was living in Birr at the time. When he died he donated his collection to the British Museum.