On Tuesday or Wednesday of next week, the Joint Committee on Water will vote on whether they recommend water charges for “excessive use.” This will be a Trojan Horse for bringing in full water charges at a later date. So far 10 members of the 20 person water committee have committed to scrapping water charges and ending the domestic metering process. If one more member abstains or votes to scrap the charges, the Dail will be instructed to end metering and end water charges for good. We’re asking people to contact two members of the Committee who may support our position. Senator Grace O’Sullivan of the Civic Engagement Group and Deputy Noel Grealish, Independent TD for Galway West. We must convince these members to vote to scrap water charges: 1. If metered charges continue, eventually allowances will be reduced and full water charges will be introduced in time – meaning Ireland would have water poverty for the first time in our history. 2. Irish people are not wasteful with their water. In fact, we use less water than almost any other country in the EU consuming 25% less water than countries like the UK where they’ve had metered charges for almost 30 years. 3. There is a real problem with leaks in the system but only 3% of leaks come from the household side of the infrastructure. Funding should be directed to the public side where 97% of water is being leaked and also to district metering which could identify leaks. 4. A metering process for ‘excessive use’ makes no economic sense. Firstly, the ‘expert commission’ on water said there is no identifiable excessive use and using their formula for charging for excessive use would mean spending up to €300 million on a metering programme for a return of €27 million. This is a waste of valuable taxpayers money and would divert money from upgrading the real infrastructural problems. 5. The real agenda behind water charges is privatization. Should the metering process continue, there is no doubt that our water would be privatized in the future. 6. Article 1.9 of the CETA international trade agreement could provide for the privatization of our water in the future and having meters in place would facilitate this. 7. Two thirds of the Irish public voted for politicians who declared opposition to water charges. This is backed up by the Irish Times MRBI poll which shows that 64% of the population want the charges scrapped while only 34% want them continued. It is time to do the democratic will of the Irish electorate. For these reasons and more water charges must be abolished. We need you to contact Senator Grace O’Sullivan and Deputy Noel Grealish and demand they abstain or vote to end water charges for good. Noel Grealish TD - [email protected] Senator Grace O’Sullivan - [email protected] As Senator Grace O’Sullivan is representing the Civic Engagement Group on the Water Committee, it is important that we tell the other members of the Committee to support our call. The full Civic Engagement Group includes: Alice Mary Higgins – [email protected] Collette Kelleher – [email protected] Frances Black – [email protected] Lynn Ruane – [email protected] John Dolan – [email protected] Please sign this petition and share with everyone you know. We only have days to protect our human right to water and prevent future water poverty.

Cycling offers a wide range of benefits to our society including reducing carbon emissions, relieving congestion, improving health and making our towns safer, more pleasant places to live and move about. Unfortunately, the resources allocated to cycling at present are nowhere near sufficient to make it a safe and normal activity for people of all ages and abilities. Therefore, we are calling on Minister Ross to: 1.) Allocate at least 10% of the Transport Budget to cycling. 2.) Implement the National Cycle Policy Framework in full. 3.) Take action to reduce transport emissions so that Ireland fulfils its obligations under the Paris Agreement on Climate Change.

Around 300 million tons of plastic are produced globally each year, yet just 12 per cent is recyclable [1]. There are natural biodegradable alternatives to plastics available today so their ever increasing use can no longer be justified. The Feb. 2016 'New Plastics Economy: Rethinking the future of plastics' report analysis indicates (i) that 95% of the value of plastic packaging material, worth $80-120 billion annually, is lost to the economy, and (ii) that, on the current track, there could be more plastics than fish in the ocean (by weight) by 2050. The most important voice of reason that a supermarket can hear is that of the customer. By signing this petition you are helping to get the message across to key decision makers in the grocery sector that you no longer want to be part of the planetary plastic problem. That you want alternatives so this massive problem can finally start to be addressed, so future generations have a cleaner world to live in free from the dangers that a plastic filled ocean represents. There is a large demand for plastic free options so retailers should benefit if facilitating this for customers. Retailers who take a lead on this should see increased brand value, positive word of mouth and greater customer loyalty. The need for innovation in this area will spur job creation and new inventions that will be good for the economy too. It is clear to see now that proper disposal of plastic is a burden on all parties involved, particularly for the natural environment that is already starting to break under the burden. The situation with plastics has gotten way out of hand and it is up to all parties involved to act now. [1] http://www.telegraph.co.uk/science/2017/02/10/supermarkets-urged-create-plastic-free-aisle-every-store/

The Johnstown estate is the biggest estate in Navan with nearly 3000 houses and 10,000 people and still growing. In actual fact it is bigger than most of the small towns like Kells and Dunshaughlin surrounding it. But bigger is not always better when it comes to facilities. Johnstown is the forgotten estate when it comes to facilities in Co Meath for its young and ever growing population. Most of the smaller towns and other estates in Navan around us have much better facilities, with a state of the art Community Centre's in the likes of Dunshaughlin. For the Council to build a Community Centre from scratch in Johnstown, it would firstly take far to long for its long suffering population but would also cost to much. It makes much better financial sense for the Council to purchase the former Energy Gym for the benefit of everyone living in the community. This is only a once in a lifetime chance to turn a near derelict building and an eye sore based in the centre of the community into a badly needed Community Centre which all the residents of Johnstown can be proud of. We would ask that all Meath County Councillors from all parties and none would support this petition and urge the Council to act urgently to secure the Centre for the benefit of their constituents.

Enda will not stand up to Trump. He will embarrass the nation. Michael D Higgins on the other hand will eloquently represent us and honor our human values.

We are not racist, dont let Trump make us look like we are.

Donald Trump has started his presidency threatening to forcibly remove all Palestinians from Gaza and turn it into a holiday resort, he has doubled down in his support for war criminal Netanyahu, and has resumed sending heavy bombs to Israel for them to use against people in Gaza.  He is also causing chaos back in the US:  • He has launched a massive attack on trans rights putting thousands of people in serious danger of their lives. • He has attacked hundreds of thousands of workers, slashing jobs and allowing billionaire Elon Musk to fire entire departments. • He has ordered that people who live and work in the US without specific documentation are to be rounded up and detained in the infamous Guantánamo Bay prison. • He is dismantling regulations on corporations that keep people's food and water safe. • He is ramping up polluting fossil fuel extraction, undoing decades of slow progress. • He is removing all information about trans people, climate change, and public health from government websites. It is unthinkable that any Irish politician would go to the White House this St. Patrick's day to shake Trump's hand and we are calling on you Micheál Martin to boycott the White House this March.

In planning since 2012, the Clontarf to City Centre Cycle Route was supposed to provide a fully segregated two-way cycle path between the existing coastal path at Clontarf and the city centre, via Fairview and North Strand. But instead the council has opted for a non-continuous cycle route which mixes cycling with buses, heavy traffic and pedestrians. The solution is to return to a design with a continuous two-way cycle path on the east side of the road along the route. This is the safest, most space efficient, and most attractive option for most people who cycle now and those who will cycle when conditions are improved. Here's the reasoning for a two-way cycle path: (1) Cycling for all ages and abilities Mixing cycling with buses and other motorists on a busy route does not fit with the idea of cycling for “all ages and abilities”: The route must be fully segregated. The City Development Plan states: “With regard to the city centre, in particular, ease of access to persons of all ages and abilities is a significant indicator as to how inclusive Dublin is as a city,” and the National Cycle Policy states: “The bicycle will be the transport mode of choice for all ages” -- we need to stop these from becoming hollow words. (2) Arguments against it don’t make sense The council and their consultants have outlined a number of “issues” as to why the two-way path should not be chosen -- from safety of “cyclists taking chances” crossing away from official crossings to the idea that commuters won’t use the route. These, however, don’t make sense. Similar routes recently built in London prove that the “issues” can be fixed by good design. The council’s arguments on safety are nonsensical -- they rate having a two-way cycle path across the entrances to low-volume side streets as more dangerous than their plan of mixing cyclists with buses at bus stops and with trucks and heavy traffic turning from one major road to another. (3) Connection to the S2S North Even if other connections can be made between the Docklands and the coastal section S2S Dublin Bay route on the northside, the Clontarf to City Centre Cycle Route will be the most direct link between the coastal route and the city centre. It is of the utmost importance that a segregated route is provided to allow people to cycle from the costal section to the city centre and vice versa. (4) Connection to the Liffey Cycle Route and southside The council’s plan is to end the Clontarf to City Centre Cycle Route outside Connolly Station -- this means people cycling to/from the southside and planned Liffey Cycle Route will have to brave the many lanes of traffic around the Customs House and Busáras. A fully segregated two-way path could easily be extended between Connolly Station and the quays, allowing for a safe and attractive connection. Please sign and share A two-way cycle path is the option which will get the best outcomes for safety, transport, health, climate change, and tourism -- please sign and share.

The Oireachtas is asking you for your thoughts on fracking and unconventional extraction of fossil fuels. In October, they unanimously agreed to the principle of introducing legislation that would ban all fracking activities in Ireland. Now they want to know what the public thinks on the matter. There are lots of reasons why fracking is bad news. And mounting global and national peer reviewed and scientific evidence that taking oil and gas out of the ground poses a significant threat to Climate Change, Public Health, Water Quality, and the Natural Environment. The proposed bill would make it illegal to take oil and gas out of the ground from areas in Ireland where it would need to be fracked, such as the shale deposits across Sligo, Leitrim, Roscommon, Donegal, Cavan, Monaghan, Clare, Limerick, Cork and Kerry. Please help us demonstrate that the people of Ireland support a legal ban on fracking activities by signing this petition.

The Shannon Estuary is one of the most important sites in Europe for bottlenose dolphins and was designated as a marine protected area in 2000, covering 684km2 from Limerick City, Kerry and Loop Head. Around 120 dolphins occur in the Shannon and have around 8 calves each year and are considered genetically different to other bottlenose dolphins in Ireland.This small but unique population has been studied for over 20 years by the Irish Whale and Dolphin Group (IWDG). A recent study showed that bottlenose dolphins are regularly encountered in Tralee and Brandon Bays during the summer months. Using a technique called photo-identification, where individual dolphins are recognised by unique markings on their dorsal fins recorded from photographs, researchers recorded an extremely high number of dolphins from the Shannon population present in the bays. Nearly two-thirds of the current adult dolphin population estimate of 108 were identified in the study. Results showed a high percentage of Shannon dolphins were identified and re-sighted within the bays providing strong evidence that these areas represent significant habitats for the Shannon dolphins. The IWDG therefore have recommended that the boundary of the Lower River Shannon SAC be extended to include both Brandon Bay and Tralee Bays in order to provide legal protection of these habitats. The Lower River Shannon SAC was designated in order to protect the Shannon dolphin population. Therefore, its boundaries should include areas where these dolphins are known to regularly occur. Join us and support “North Kerry to be made a Marine Protected Area for bottlenose dolphins”!

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.

The proposed College Green Plaza will be an iconic civic space in the heart of Dublin - Ireland's capital. It has the potential to rival other great urban spaces like Dam Square in Amsterdam or Trafalgar Square in London. However to achieve this the expansion of the proposed extent of the College Green Plaza to the steps of the former Parliament building (now Bank of Ireland) is of paramount significance. Given that the tax paying citizens of the State funded the Bank Bailout, and Bank of Ireland is essentially now State owned this petition calls on that Bank to allow the expansion of College Green Plaza by removing Parking in the forecourt area as a gesture of goodwill towards the people of Ireland and its capital city. A recent public consultation on the proposed plaza at College Green heard that the railings at Bank of Ireland were private and would stay, while trees would be removed. It is therefore clear that retention of railings is to facilitate parking in the forecourt of the Bank. This is not in keeping with a pedestrian plaza and or the opening of a new cultural visitor centre at College Green in 2017 which will greatly enhance the amenity value of the College Green complex. While the present railings do have historic value they should not be used to curtail the extent of the plaza. With careful planning and your input College Green can become a focal point for our nation in the heart of our capital city and once again play host to historic public gatherings from the visit of President Obama in 2011 to rallies and marches in support of issues that matter to all of us. Please sign & share and have your say !