As parents of children attending Lusk Community College we were dismayed when the second phase of the school building which had been promised for September 2015 did not materialise. It has since come to our attention that despite the urgent need for additional space and facilities in the school, there are further delays to the second phase of the building being completed. Correspondence sent to a parent by the Department for Education and Skills on 22nd of September 2015 (Ref: 31873/15) and 1st of October 2015 (ref: 33688/15) via local representatives indicates that all statutory approvals have been obtained and the design team were working on stage 2b. However, in the Department listing of Major Projects it is stated that the project will not proceed to construction until the year 2018. This is completely unacceptable. The first phase was intended to cater for 350 students, yet there are already 380 students accommodated in the school, and as of September 2016 there will be 530 children attending the school. This inaction by the Department is already leading to significant overcrowding and under-provision of facilities which will be further exacerbated with every new intake of students. The consequences of the delays include: • Compromising of the health and safety of the students and staff. • Increased requirement for prefabs which contribute to disruption to daily routines, increased costs in the short-term, reduced space in school grounds for sport and leisure and possible issues with disabled access. • High density of students congregating in the single communal area, with no scope for different spaces for junior and senior students and a lack of seating at lunchtime. • Insufficient classrooms to cater for specialised subjects. For example, in the Department of Education subject inspection of Science and Biology published on 14th January 2016 it states: “…given the high practical content of the Junior Certificate Science syllabus, one laboratory is insufficient to provide all seventeen science classes timetabled at the time of the evaluation.“ There will more than seventeen science classes in 2016-2017. • Inappropriate use of space due to timetabling difficulties posed by insufficient number of standard classrooms. For example 30 pupil classes are taught in rooms intended for specialised subjects with smaller groupings such as Woodwork and classes being taught in the open communal area next to the school reception area. • Lack of other school facilities including: library, ASD Unit, Sports facilities and changing facilities. • Lack of provision of subjects such as technology and metalwork. • Creating a bad impression within the community to the point where local families are again sending their children to schools elsewhere. After a wait of over 30 years for a post primary school for Lusk the opening of the first phase of the school was heralded as a new stage for the town and surrounding areas. Lusk is a growing town with a large population of young children who will be reaching secondary school age within the next few years. These children as well as current students moving through the junior cycle and embarking on transition year and Leaving Certificate courses must be catered for within Lusk in a school of the calibre that was promised. Our Constitution Article 42 1.1 states “We should cherish all the children of our nation equally”. The overcrowding and unfinished nature of Lusk Community College does not reflect this provision. We urge you to consider all of the above as a matter of urgency and to revise the proposed timelines to bring forward the completion of our school accordingly.

As Limerick City is on an estuary, it is expected that any problems caused by excess amounts of Orthophosphate entering the Shannon from households in the city will be mitigated by the tidal movements of the estuary. This is not good environmental practice and is simply fixing one problem by creating another problem. There are two solutions that can solve the problem of lead in water. One solution is to completely remove and replace all old lead piping, lead fixtures and lead fittings in the plumbing system of the house. The other solution which may also be less costly, is to add a water filter or filtration system that will remove metals like lead and other contaminants and ensure the drinking water supply is pure and safe to drink. There are also health issues with the use of this chemical not just the fact there adding it to water already effected by fluoride. The phosphate in sodium phosphate can cause calcification of your organs, the University of Maryland Medical Centre notes. Phosphate sometimes causes your soft tissue to calcify as well. When your organs and soft tissue become calcified, your ability to utilize minerals such as iron, calcium, magnesium and zinc becomes impaired. These minerals are vital to the proper function of your body. Being unable to properly utilize them will lead to further problems and complications. Sodium phosphate has been associated with severe kidney damage, sometimes requiring dialysis, according to a 2009 article in PubMed Health. Kidney damage is associated with dehydration and constipation. Dizziness and decreased urination also can indicate kidney damage, but a biopsy offers more conclusive proof of kidney damage. Consuming it more frequently than once every seven days might elevate your risk of developing kidney damage, according to MedlinePlus. Sometimes sodium phosphate causes severe allergic reactions characterized by hives or skin rashes that appear all over your body, as well as itching and breathing difficulties. Allergic reactions also can cause your chest and throat to feel tight. Blood sometimes appears in your stool. Your facial area will also swell when you experience an allergic reaction. During a severe allergic reaction, your arms and legs sometimes also swell. Confusion, arrhythmia and headaches are also symptoms associated with severe allergic reactions. Seizures and potential loss of consciousness are also typical symptoms of a severe allergic reaction. And already common in our current supply I have been sending letters, Emails etc. to this company for months regarding the Orthophosphate trials in Limerick and Clare.What we want is for them to send a spokes person to Limerick for a public consultation with the residents and citizens who will be effected by this.If they are a genuine company that have any regard for its customers and if this Phosphate is 100% safe then I don't see why they are refusing. We will welcome them and organise a venue This orthophosphate is been used as an escuse not to repair our infrastructure which is on its last legs.Once that falls apart they will sell to the higest bidder and our water will be lost.Ask Berlin about that one or veolia So please help us keep the pressure on we only have weeks left as its going in without our consent in the first quarter of 2016

Trying to teach 32 children in one classroom with one teacher is not doing justice to the children of Ireland, not to mention the teaching profession. We are not a poor country, yet we allow the educational experience of our children to be adversely affected by overcrowded classrooms. The result is that children who need extra attention for one reason or another are suffering more than necessary, and children who could do better are being hampered in their progress. Ask any teacher how the classroom dynamic changes for the better in a low ratio environment.

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It is incredibly important for our children to feel equal to their peers and that there is adequate education and support surrounding neurodiversity for the children and their families.

Gaeilge is an essential part of our culture and heritage. It is important for us as a younger generation to carry on this culture in a practical and open way. I understand that the reasons for the Sráith Pictiúrí is for students to see what is in front of them and communicate to the examiner in our native language what is happening. I know that it is not your wish for students to learn them off by heart and recite them like robots. The aim is to embrace and grow our language and teach students to speak it as well as understand it. For this reason i strongly believe that 10 Sráith pictiúr will have just as much benefit, if not more, to accelerating our knowledge of irish, then 20. Randomly selecting one from 20 is the same as randomly selecting one from 10, except that it allows students to relax that little bit more and be more capable of having confidence in themselves to speak the language more fluently. Relieving the stress without decreasing the academic benefit will be endlessly helpful for festering a love for our native tongue in the younger generation. Something which is vital for the continuation of our unique and wonderful culture.

Single-sex schools provide no academic advantage, as study finds. * The findings are based on an analysis of data from nearly 5,000 15 year olds in Ireland which examined the association between attending a single-sex school and performance in maths, reading and science. There was no difference in maths, science or reading performance for 15-year-old students after adjusting for the background of the student and other school-level factors. This result was found for both boys and girls. There are multiple reports of single-sexed school being responsible for teenagers to not be well integrated with the other gender. Psychologists also say girls in single-sex schools are more likely to suffer from social or emotional problems. There is more pressure to perform in single-sexed school, especially for girls. Stop the divide. Let all Irish children learn together. * https://bera-journals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/berj.3841 ** https://www.irishtimes.com/news/education/the-problem-with-all-girls-schools-1.3399028 *** Additional notes: https://www.irishtimes.com/ireland/education/2023/02/22/single-sex-schools-provide-no-academic-advantage-study/

Our lack of proper terms and conditions means: uncertainty about our hours & our annual income; getting laid off during the holidays so having to sign on for social welfare payments; inconsistency in rates of pay from ETB to ETB; lower pay for post-2011 entrants; no opportunity for progression; no raise in pay after years of service and improved qualifications

Aramark is an American based corporation that operates Direct Provision centres for the State in Cork, Clare and Westmeath, and are also commercially involved in the prison system in the United States. Aramark currently runs a large number of food outlets on the campus such as: Cafe Allegro – University Concert Hall Eden Restaurant – Main Building Cafe Cube – Kemmy River Cafe – Engineering Building Cafe Verde – Health Science Red Raisins* – Main Building *(Chopped, Mexico Kitchen, Subway, Starbucks) UL awarded their catering contract to a corporation that is frequently criticised for its treatment of those in the asylum system and its profiteering off the misery of refugees and those incarcerated in the United States. This contract goes against the community spirit of UL, and the inclusive campus we all love. The University of Limerick is considered a University of Sanctuary for asylum seekers and refugees, offering 15 scholarships each year to residents living in direct provision.

It is very unfair on the people that didnt have computers or phones or any device that they could access teams during the lockdown. Also we missed as much time off school as last years third years which they got predicted grades

The way assessments are planned to be held in Irish Universities is a health and wellbeing crisis of the utmost urgency which requires immediate action. This is an emergency situation which will have severely detrimental effects on the wellbeing of all members of our College communities.

Trinity College plans to remove facilities for student sport from College Park to cater for tourists and I am starting this petition to ask Trinity College to find a new location for the proposed tourist attraction which doesn’t take away space from students and our sport. A two story temporary exhibition structure planned to sit on College Park for three years will host an exhibition while the old library is being refurbished but it will severely impact the student sport experience and I am asking that College please lets us continue our sports and instead can we please look at an alternative location for the tourists. Somewhere off campus would cater to tourists or remove some cars off of campus and look at putting this temporary three year structure on Trinity’s Nassau Street car park which will also do good for the environment. I’m currently lobbying College for Dublin City Council to look at this. If this is passed, we are facing a very sad scenario, where those who come to Trinity, will not be able to play a single match on their home ground for four years, in College Park if this structure is built, which is a really bleak proposition. Imagine being part of a club and not being able to play on your home ground? I am starting this petition because our sport is very important to us as students for our health, wellbeing and metal capacity and as the student voice on the Estates Policy Committee I am passionate about represent this truth about student population and I disagreed with these plans and noted my dissent on Wednesday October 15th 2021; we’d like College Park to be protected both now and in the future for student activity. We would also like permanent floodlighting to be installed to make it safer space for us as students and to extend College Park’s usage for us into the evenings please. Please sign this petition and join our College community, please Help Save College Park 1. It’s a really peaceful and restful space for students and a safe space for us to exercise and rest and it improves our mental health so please help us to keep it peaceful. 2. It is the home ground of the Dublin University Cricket Club (DUCC) which has been at the forefront of Irish cricket for almost two centuries. The planned tourist structure would reduce the Cricket outfield significantly and the current plans depicting the structure don’t even show the correct dimensions. The plans are created from the incorrect perspective - creases on the wicket actually look as if they will be impacted. The Cricket pitch is drawn as a circle on the plans, it’s not a circle. 3. College Park is also home ground to the oldest surviving association football club in the Republic of Ireland; Dublin University A.F.C. (DUAFC). Founded in 1883 DUAFC plays its home matches at College Park. No student will get to play a match on this home ground for three years if this structure goes ahead. Why? 4. No one has bothered to check out what the correct dimensions are for the various sports facilities and at least put them on a correct map as opposed to incorrect plans. Whoever put the words UEFA before a 48 metre wide football pitch… that person needs to know that the pitch is already on the small side. 48 metres is way too narrow. UEFA requires min 64 metres x 100 metres. 5. Dublin University Harriers and Athletics Club (DUHAC) also train in College Park and have broken numerous records training there and the club has the biggest turnout of men and women and welcomes runners of all abilities. The men’s and women’s athletics team have amongst others, postgraduates and sports scholars as members. Without a correct running track these scholarships will be in jeopardy. 6. During the track season (April-September approx.) DUHAC the athletics club use the 400m lime track that Estates and Facilities line out. This is a central piece of Trinity’s sporting history. The construction of an exhibition installation would mean that the club could no longer train on campus and participation would decline dramatically. 7. Reducing the running space will cause runners to bottle on corners as they run too fast and will render it a completely ineffective training space. 8. The College Races are over 100 years old, and past competitors included Ronnie Delaney and many other Olympic medallists. There were plans for the College Races to be revived for the 150th anniversary of DUHAC, and to Oxford and Cambridge to take part. The plans to reduce the track to 300m would scupper these races entirely. 9. This is not a fait accompli, clubs and students were not consulted. We are being told what the plans are and that is not correct consultation of the various stakeholders. 10. The two story structure will no doubt impact Library staff and students casting a shadow along the side of the Berkeley. There are better spaces for this structure on campus including the obvious New Square or the Nassau carpark, or even a space off campus which won’t impact our student sports facilities over the next three years. As students we’d be most grateful for your support! Please as a College community, please Help Save College Park. #HelpSaveCollegePark