Our local businesses, environment and democracy are under threat from a trade deal currently being negotiated between the EU Commission and the USA. The deal is called TTIP and could outlaw local authorities’ support of local businesses, allow multinational corporations to sue us if councils deny fracking permits and open up services like water, health and education to privatisation. What’s up for grabs are the rules and regulations that force corporations to abide by standards that protect our health, our rights, our jobs, services and the environment. These regulations for example stop corporations releasing chemicals and products into the market before they are proven to be safe. They also make sure workers get their rights and that local communities are protected from environmental disasters. But if TTIP goes ahead corporations will get to have a say on policies that govern our daily lives - before we or even politicians get to see them. And if they don’t like the rules they will be able to sue governments when they make changes or bring in new policies that could potentially affect their profits. Right now in Canada a fracking company Lone Pine Resources Inc., is suing the government for its decision to not allow fracking in Quebec. They are able to do this because of an ISDS clause in another trade deal. In Egypt the government was sued by water company Veolia for attempting to bring in a minimum wage. Germany is being sued by Swedish energy company Vatenfall for €4.7 billion because of Germany's decision to phase out nuclear power. TTIP also removes barriers to US companies who want to sell their products in Europe. Right now the sale of US beef in Europe is very limited. Hormone injected beef is banned outright. Hundreds of councils across Europe have already said they don’t want TTIP. Because of people power politicians are waking up to the threat TTIP poses and to the fact that people aren’t going to stand aside and let our democracy and rights be sold off.

As a family, we have experienced two major flooding incidents - our family home in Galway in September 2015 and my mother's home a number of years ago - followed by a near escape over Christmas in my mother's home. In the days following Christmas, we witnessed elderly people and families using sweeping brushes and wheelie bins to bail water in an attempt to protect their homes, homes that had already been destroyed a few years earlier. The impact on other communities around the country was, in this instance, far worse. Flooding, and the fear of it that permeates communities prone, is life -destroying. People need to be equipped and supported to protect their homes and businesses. The inevitability of these events needs to be conceded and the promises of action that we have been hearing needs to happen now. In terms of crisis response (prevention is a whole other story) in the immediate term; • There needs to be local co-ordination and a crisis response plan in areas that are prone to flooding, including a text alert system to people willing to help; • There should be a store of sand-bags in these areas. Easy-to-store sand-bags (five in a box about the size of a lap-top box) are now available, but these are generally distributed far too late. In our own case we got a delivery of sand-bags the day after the flood. That evening a local politician sourced them and while it wasn’t too late, it would have been far better if they had been available earlier; • At one stage the fire brigade brought a small pump and generator and this cleared the water out of the worst affected homes in a few minutes – work that had taken us all night. These should be available in all flood prone areas and training provided to local people to be able to use it; • People in these areas should receive grants to install flood-barriers – these work unless the flood is overwhelming; • Guarantees that either insurance companies will be required to provide flood insurance or a national insurance fund is established.

Methane emissions from animals is a well-known issue. Cows alone are responsible for about 40% of those planet-warming gases globally — mainly through their burps. UC Davis scientist Ermias Kebreab is something of a cow whisperer who has spent two decades studying the greenhouse gas contributions of hoofed animals. "If you tell me how much your animal is consuming, I can tell you pretty closely to the actual emissions using mathematical models," he said. "Most of the gas is formed in their stomach, so in their guts, particularly in the first chamber. And so they belch it out." He and other scientists have developed special diets and genetic predictions that could help reduce the methane formed in cow stomachs. Now, New Zealand could become the first country to tax its way to fewer "four-legged" emissions. There were 7.3 million cattle, 5.5 million sheep, 1.6 million pigs and almost 16.5 million poultry on Irish farms in 2020, while the average farm size has increased by 0.7 hectares (or 2.2 per cent) in 2020.

On the 9th of March, a motion to ban the building of further data centres in the constituency was put forward by Cllr Madeleine Johansson of People Before Profit and passed with the support of Sinn Fein, Social Democrats and several independent councillors. There are several reasons councillors voted to ban further Data centres in the region: Ireland currently holds 25% of Erops Data centres and South Dublin is quickly becoming the Data centre hub of Ireland with TikTok set to build one of the biggest Data Centres in Europe in Clondalkin which would use up the same amount of energy in one day then the whole of Clondalkin in three months. It is estimated that 10% of Ireland’s electricity use is currently consumed by data centres and this is expected to increase to 25-30% by 2030. Data centres consume an average of 2% of electricity globally. The continued building of new data centres is incompatible with any hope we have of reaching our climate targets in CO2 reductions. It is clear from EirGrid’s initial statement in late 2021 that the grid in Dublin is struggling to cope, something more data centres would put a further strain on. In addition to the large amount of energy used by data centres they also consume large amounts of water, again adding pressure on the capacity of water services in South Dublin where we are seeing large new housing developments. Despite the motion passing however, there is now an attempt to overturn this decision. Councillors will vote again on this on the 21st June when it will be either included in the plan or removed. After that it will be sent to the Minister for Local Government Darragh O'Brien. We need the Minister and the government to support the democratic vote of local councillors and keep the ban in place. Please sign the petition.

fisheries ,lakes ,rivers ,canals across ireland are being targeted by these so called fishermen , they do not care about how many fish they kill or how they kill them , quite often the fish are just left on the bank to die or thrown into hedgerows and ditches , this sort of cruelty could see our sport come under the spotlight of anti bloodsport organisations as well as the damage it can cause to the eco systems of our waters . predator fish eat diseased and sickly fish ,this stops the spread of disease to other fish and helps keep our waters healthy , its a natural way for waters to deal with disease and over breeding of fish stocks , killing these predators disturbs that balance and throws the ecosystem out of kilter

Banning dogs from beaches will have a detrimental impact on locals and tourism. The local community for beaches where dogs are banned will be forced to walk their dogs in other areas which may be unsafe, not have sidewalks or be pushed into walking their dogs at times they may not feel safe. As a young woman, I go out walking my dog alone and the beach is a place I feel safe. The impact on the mental health of people with dogs will be massive. Not just for locals but for irish people travelling within ireland with a dog. Our dog is a part of our family. We take her with us everywhere and we love going on holiday with her. If she is banned from every beach then it would extremely hard to find places we can go. This will also impact the tourism industry here in ireland. We have a huge caravan and Motorhome tourist community here. These tourists come to ireland because they can bring their dog. My parents bought a caravan specifically for their dog. Banning dogs from beaches will prevent alot of tourists from coming to ireland. The number of dogs being surrendered, especially now after the pandemic has increased massively. Banning dogs from the one place where people love to bring their dog will lead to further surrenders and have an impact on the state. Having a dog is a form of companionship for many people and can be life saving with regard to mental and physical health. Discrimination against people with dogs is unfair and ultimately could lead to further depression in society. The claim for Banning dogs is that it is for hygiene reasons. However, half the beaches around ireland are closed during the summer due to water quality and this is not due to dog excrement, this is due raw sewage continuing to be dumped into itish waterways. Portmarnock beach is a blue flag beach that is frequently closed in the summer due to water quality and does not allow dogs. Rush beaches are hardly ever closed and allow dogs. There is another way to prevent dog excrement that can be utilized not just on beaches but in parks and footpaths. DNA testing is a proven method for addressing this issue and would be more effective than a blanket ban. Ultimately, if we ban dogs from beaches. What next? The park? The footpaths? No dogs allowed in ireland. Where does it end? We bought a house in Rush specifically so we could go for walks on the beach with our dog. If she was banned. It would break my heart and buying a house in the current market was not easy feat. Please don't let this happen all for a blue flag classification to fit into some European standard. We can have our own flagging system if its so important.

In our cities and rural areas

We ask Minister Ryan to refuse to grant a prospecting license to Minco Ltd. in County Clare. Please go to Futureproof Clare Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/futureproofclare/ copy and paste, add your name and send the template submission by next Saturday the 8th of January, to [email protected]

We need to conserve our native woodland habitat and biodiversity.

We need access to this green space in the inner city

Achainí: Iarrann muid oraibh cúnamh a thabhairt dúinn scriosadh thírdhreach álainn agus ghnáthóga nádúrtha Chois Fharraige a stopadh. Tá sé molta i nDréacht-Phlean Forbartha Chomhairle Contae na Gaillimhe 2022-2028 go mbeadh go leor den talamh sa gceantar ‘Feiliúnach i bPrionsabal’ nó go mbeifí ‘Sásta é a Phlé’ i dtaobh tuirbíní fuinnimh gaoithe in-athnuaite a fhorbairt. Tá daonra mór agus tithe cónaithe go leor gar de chuid mhaith den cheantar atá molta don zónáil seo. Tá roinnt mhaith tuirbíní gaoithe sa gceantar cheana fhéin atá ag goilliúnt ar shaol an phobail, ar a mbaile agus ar a sláinte. Má chuirtear na ceantair atá molta san áireamh sa leagan deiridh de Phlean Forbartha Chomhairle Contae na Gaillimhe 2022-2028, ciallóidh sé go dtógfar go leor tuirbíní gaoithe eile sa gceantar seo agus go gcuirfear as do níos mó daoine agus don chaoi a gcaitheann siad a saol. Chiallódh sé freisin go scriosfaí go leor gnáthóga nádúrtha agus go ngoillfeadh sé ar na héanacha, na hainmhithe fiáine agus ar fhiadhúlra eile sa gceantar, chomh maith le tírdhreach álainn an cheantair a scriosadh go brách na breithe. Iarrann muid ort an achainí seo a shíniú agus cúnamh a thabhairt dúinn stop a chur leis an scriosadh a dhéanfar ar ár ngnáthóga, an chaoi a gcuirfear as dár dtithe, dár saol agus dár sláinte agus an dochar a dhéanfar do thírdhreach álainn Chois Fharraige nach mbeifear in ann a dhul siar air, má ghlactar leis na moltaí sa dréacht-phlean seo. This petition is in response to the Draft Galway County Development Plan 2022-2028 pursuant to which it is proposed to zone additional lands in Cois Fharraige as suitable for renewable wind energy development. Petition: Please help stop the destruction of our beautiful landscape and natural habitats in Cois Fharraige. In the Draft Galway County Development Plan 2022-2028, Galway County Council has designated a lot of our bogland areas as ‘Acceptable in Principle’ and ‘Open to Consideration’ for the development of renewable wind energy turbines. A lot of the proposed zoned areas are densely populated and in severe close proximity to people’s homes. At present, there is already a significant number of wind turbines located in the area which are affecting people’s lives, their homes and their well being. If the proposed areas as drafted are included in the final version of the Galway County Development Plan 2022-2028, this will result in a massive increase in the further development and number of wind turbines located in the area and further homes and lives will be disrupted. It would also result in the destruction of many natural habitats and endangerment of species such as birds, animals and other wildlife inhabiting the area, in addition to destroying the beautiful natural landscape forever more. Please sign the petition below and help prevent the massacre to our habitats, the disruption that will be caused to our homes, lives and well being and the irreversible destruction to our beautiful Cois Fharraige landscape if this proposal goes ahead.

It is saving irelands folklore, history, and identity.