A decision is imminent on the Bill to insert into the Constitution an amendment which would rule out any future privatisation of water, or water services. Forty TDs have signed the Bill including Independents4Change, Sinn Fein, AAA/PBP and a number of independent TD’s. A number of others including the Green Party, the Labour Party and the Social Democrats have said publicly that they would support a referendum on public ownership of our water, so the Bill has a real chance of passing. However, this Bill will only pass if supported by Fianna Fail. We are calling on all TD's to prove they oppose water privatisation by supporting the Bill. At this very moment in time, any government, including the current one, could legislate to sell off our public water system. Furthermore, even if a government did not want to sell off our water, the EU, IMF or ECB could force the sale in the future – like they did in Greece and Portugal – so we have to protect our vital public water system now! The devastating impacts of water privatization have been felt all around the world. In the UK, one in four people are now experiencing water poverty. In the US, Rome and parts of France, tens of thousands are having their water shut off. We can prevent much of this by putting ownership of our water in the Constitution. More information here: http://tinyurl.com/zqn5gt6

It is important to let's Stop Stormont from Ruining our further & higher education system. And also Free Education, Free From Debt,and also Grants not debt. We need to stand in solidarity and fight back.

We call on the Government to: - immediately commit to a one-point reduction to the staffing schedule of primary schools which controls average class sizes for the coming school year; - publish a roadmap to outline how we can reach an average class size of no more than 20 within the lifetime of this Government; - commit to multi-annual increases to school capitation rates, sufficient to end the practice of requesting voluntary contributions from parents; - provide the full €21m funding required to meet demographic growth in third-level, and to direct additional resources at improving the staff-student ratios in third-level and reducing the student contribution - guarantee the funding required to fully roll out all new apprenticeships which will provide a wider range of opportunities for young people, and in particular young women

#EducationIs a public good. The report outlines three funding options: 1) Funding Option One: A Predominantly State-Funded System. 2) Funding Option Two: Increased State-Funding with Continuing Student Fees. 3) Funding Option Three: Increased State-Funding with Deferred Payment of Fees Through Income Contingent Loans. USI know that Funding Option One is key for Irish students' future. Funding Option One: A predominantly state-funded system advocates that the state would significantly increase its core grant to institutions and the €3,000 undergraduate student contribution would be abolished. Higher education would be free at the point of entry for all first-time EU students and for part-time learners.There is also the possibility of extending free tuition to postgraduate education. Funding Option Three will have a negative effect on the lives of current and future Irish students. USI know that an income-contingent loan scheme is not a viable solution to third-level funding as a burden of €20,000+ debt upon graduation will deter people from applying to college. Financial strain of placing this debt on graduates spans across all communities and groups including parents, children, staff and teachers - not just students. The campaign is supported by members of the Coalition for Publicly Funded Higher Education including SIPTU, IMPACT, TUI, IFUT and the National Youth Council of Ireland (NYCI) so far. FACTS ABOUT LOANS America's student loan debt ($1tn+) is greater in value than the combined economies of Ireland, New Zealand, and Australia. In other words, American students owe the combined value of all transactions in those countries in a year. Home-ownership in under-40s in New Zealand has drastically fallen since the introduction of student loans, from 57% to 25%.” Charging no tuition-related fees, Germany has 41 universities that are considered by Times Higher Education to be among the best in the world. In France, where they have registration fees of under €200, there are 27. 70% of the 2015 college graduates in the UK are not expected to ever repay their college loans, according to The Institute of Fiscal Studies.

Despite requests, the Leaving Cert art curriculum has not been revised since 1972. Leaving Cert Art itself is not required or recognised as entry to 3rd level art college (matriculation), students must produce an additional portfolio of artwork, putting extra financial and time pressure on them and their parents during the stressful Leaving Cert year. Art is the most difficult of all 32 Leaving Cert subjects to achieve an A1 grade at higher level. In 2016, students were four times more likely to get an A in higher level physics than in higher level art and seven times more likely to get an A in ordinary level physics than in ordinary level art. Candidates at ordinary level experience the inequity of the current system, in 2016, 1011 male students took ordinary level art in the Leaving Cert, only one of them achieved an A1 grade. Art History and Appreciation makes up 37.5% of the Leaving Cert art exam, students are expected to study the history of European and Irish art, craft and design from c.3200 BC to the present day in approximately 44 hours. For all these reasons the number of students choosing art at Leaving Cert is falling, from 10,783 in 2011 to 9,747 in 2016. This decline will have a knock on negative effect on third level art and design education and ultimately on the creative sectors who contribute so significantly to our wider economy, society and culture. It is essential that the Department of Education, National Council for Curriculum and Assessment (NCCA) and State Examination Commission (SEC) work together with art teachers, parent and student groups and relevant stakeholders in culture and industry to design and implement a new Leaving Cert curriculum, not simply assessment reform. For more facts and figures about the ⌗stateoftheart campaign and the Leaving Certificate art curriculum visit our website http://www.artteachers.ie/ or follow us on social media.

Only 13% of Travellers complete formal education in comparison with 92% of the general population. 7 out of 10 Traveller children live in families where their mother has no formal education or primary level education only. By refusing Paddy entry to secondary school the message is being sent to all Traveller children that they are not wanted. His parents can not read or write - they didn't understand that there was a cut off point. Being refused entry will have a terrible effect on his live and future prospects. http://www.rte.ie/news/2016/0829/812760-traveller-school/

Merlin Park meadows has been conserved as a public amenity space for many generations and is a vital green space for the people of Galway. With 84 acres of land already zoned for development within the Merlin Park hospital complex, it will have an adverse impact on the community - once it is gone, it can never be replaced. With the expansion of housing and commercial lands surrounding the area, it is a healthy environment for the ever increasing population who depend on it as an escape from polluted environments, a place for mental relaxation and physical activity. Along with the Merlin Park Woods it is the only known habitat in the city where Red Squirrel are thriving and sightings from other areas of the city are of roadkill. It is home to thousands of mammals and wildlife species such as butterflies, bumblebees and dragonflies providing a safe haven for them with huge declines in the number of these species and many threatened species in recent years. It is home to a variety of Orchids and wildflowers similar to the protected Burren in Co Clare. This is a very unique meadow within the city of Galway and is totally natural. Galway has been awarded the European Green Leaf Award for 2017, to allow development on public land and destroy this meadow would totally go against this.

Thanks to anti-apartheid activism by Mary Robinson and others, in the 1980s Trinity College ended research ties with South African universities until equality was introduced and human rights were respected in that country. Now, in 2016, ordinary Palestinians face discrimination and upheaval from Israel on a constant basis. Speaking in July about the devastation inflicted on Gaza, outgoing UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon described Israel's policies against the Palestinian people as collective punishment. The situation for ordinary Arab families living in Israel and Palestine is heartbreaking! But we can take a stand for Palestinian rights. TCD's research partners in Israel in the past have included the weapons manufacturer Elbit Security Systems and The Israeli Security and Counter-Terrorism Academy. Today, Trinity's strongest links are with the Weizmann Institute of Science and the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, which has built part of its campus on illegal settlement lands. It's time to take a stand for Palestine! Mary Robinson is a champion of global justice, but she's also the Chancellor of TCD, University of Dublin. Call on her to bring an end to research ties between TCD and Israel until the human rights of Palestinians are respected.

There is a severe shortage of spaces for secondary school kids in rural Ireland and CIE refuses to sanction extra buses to meet the demand

I and other lone parents like me want the opportunity to go to college and break the cycle of poverty for myself and my daughter. But without being able to access the Back to Education Allowance this is not possible. I have been offered a place in Trinity College but can't take the offer because I work part time and rely on FIS. The rules were changed last year and are forcing lone parents to remain in poverty.

Lough Key Forest Park is a national treasure and must at all costs be kept in public ownership. We're really worried that plans are afoot to sell it or part off, similar to what happened at Newcastle Forest where publicly owned land of which we the Irish people are the stakeholders of was leased to a foreign private company for profit gain. Una Bhan is a 'high' POEM / song in the Gaelic tradition,which tells the tragic love affair she had with a rival of her father.It is widely sung the length and breath of Ireland,and it symbolises our rich gaelic culture.She is buried on an Island close by......our heritage belongs to everyone, and no one!

University College Cork is a welcoming and inclusive place of learning. In recent years, Dr. Watson has made a number of statements that are racist, misogynistic and homophobic. As such, it is unacceptable that members of the Governing Body would choose to name a building in UCC after a person with such a viewpoint as Dr. Watson. Therefore, we encourage you to sign this petition to show that students, staff members and the wider public will not accept this decision.