In early 2020 Monaghan County Council passed a motion to address the use of pesticides and to allow low/no mow in some areas for the protection of pollinators and other biodiversity. When we then went into lockdown, council services were put on hold and there was a lot of spring growth that wasn't being managed in any way, which led to complaints from the public about messiness and overgrowth. As a result, the motion was reversed. The timing was unfortunate, as areas can be managed for beneficial wildness without becoming too messy and they can be very beautiful too! OUR ASK We are asking for Monaghan County Council to set an example and put some proper guidelines and policies in place before we do too much damage to our outer and inner ecosystems. DAMAGING OUR ENVIRONMENT – OUTER ECOSYSTEM The use of pesticides and herbicides is causing huge losses in our local biodiversity. Reduced biodiversity means humans will face a future where (1) our food supply will be more prone to failure (because no pollinators) and more vulnerable to pests and diseases (because we have messed with the natural food chains in delicately balanced ecosystems), and (2) where our water supply has been compromised. There have been a number of articles published recently about exceedances of pesticides in national and local water supplies and there is an appeal to the public to consider alternatives for gardening, farming and maintenance of sports grounds. DAMAGING OUR BODIES – INNER ECOSYSTEM Human exposure starts in the womb when pregnant women share their body’s chemical accumulation across the placenta, where it becomes part of a developing baby’s first environment. This exposure continues throughout childhood when the fast-growing bodies of children take in more food, water and air than adults. A child’s biological systems are developing rapidly and can be disrupted by micro-doses of toxins during this period. The levels of pesticides and other chemicals in adults reflects each person’s unique accumulation and storage of chemicals over their lifetime. Just as children are particularly susceptible to chemical harm in the first years of life, our final decades also represent a window of increased vulnerability. The history of exposure that comes with age means our body's chemical burden may be at its peak just as our biological systems gradually begin to weaken and slow. **We can do something about this – we can stop using pesticides and herbicides** [Photograph of County Monaghan wildflowers by Fearghal Duffy, for more beautiful photos of local biodiversity follow him on Twitter at @FearghaRua]

The GAA have already been sold public land for development which included conditions and contributions that haven't been fully met by the GAA including providing public lighting along The Marina. This park was intended be kept as a green space including a children's play area which has also not materialised. There has been considerable loss of habitat already due to development and building further on public land should be outright refused. Surrounding areas suffer greatly from significant traffic and illegal parking on match days, however provision of 124 extra spaces should not and will not be for public use during match days. Offering alternatives to people driving to the stadium should be the first priority. Solutions include better walking and cycling routes on match days such as road closures for non-locals and/or a GAA funded shuttle bus from the city centre. As the stadium is a 30 minute walk from the city there should be no extra motor vehicles being diverted towards the area. A "fan zone" with food trucks can be setup on the existing parking and paved space that exists on the Eastern side of the stadium should it be needed.

Consultancy firm Hatch Regeneris have been funded by the Department for the Economy to carry out a £65,000 piece of research on the economic, environmental and social impact of drilling for oil and gas here. They were awarded the contract one day after the Northern Ireland Assembly unanimously passed a motion for a halt on oil and gas drilling and development in Northern Ireland in October last year. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-54144919 http://aims.niassembly.gov.uk/officialreport/report.aspx?&eveDate=2020%2F10%2F13&docID=310908 Despite the overwhelming evidence on the negative public health impact of drilling and fracking, the research does not include consideration of public health in its terms of reference. Now the Councils in the areas currently under the PLA1/16 licence, many of whom passed motions against fracking and drilling, are currently not part of their stakeholder engagement. This means that the communities that will bear the social impact of drilling for oil will not be heard.

The Ringaskiddy Tidy towns was started in the middle of lockdown in 2020 as a direct result of the huge influx of visitors to the village and surrounding area. Unfortunately, an increase in visitors also meant an increase in rubbish, and after several weeks (and even months) of local volunteers collecting rubbish, the natural desire to increase the appearance of the village as a whole led to the establishment of a Tidy Towns group and committee. Together we have collected 2.3 tonnes of rubbish in the past 12 months, over 400kgs of glass bottles and transformed the village and the surrounding backroads and beaches. Five beautiful old boats filled with plants and maintained by volunteers now adorn the village in strategic places. Huge planting and weeding projects have been undertaken successfully in the core of the village. But for every thing we “prettify” every week we encounter illegal dumping, dog fouling, people leaving their coffee cups wherever they please , and so on. This has only been exacerbated by the opening of Haulbowline Amenity Park. We understand from a post on Facebook last month by Seamus McGrath TD that the wrong bins were installed at a cost to Cobh Municipal Council, and that they have no plans to install the correct bins. It is not the fault of the residents of Ringaskiddy if unsuitable bins were installed . “Encouraging” people to take their waste home is not going to work. The idea that a public park would not have public bins in simply unworkable. Whilst we were all still being encouraged to stay within our 5kms locals stopped going to the new park due to the levels of dog fouling. We’ve provided bins of our own volition to our two local beaches, but we cannot maintain the new park by ourselves. I’ve seen in an article published today on the Examiner’s Facebook page that Cobh Municipal Council seem to still be talking about the issue, meanwhile rubbish is being thrown into the sea, the county is opening to travel tomorrow, which may lead to more visitors to the area, and the summer is coming. We cannot wait any longer.

Craigall Rocks - an escarpment with giant boulders and stunted woodland - was one of the most important sites for rare plants in County Derry . It is the last known location for Wood small-reed in Northern Ireland, and also holds old records for scarce wildflowers like Small white orchid and Intermediate wintergreen. As a result, it was designated as a Site of Local Nature Conservation Importance, but this has done nothing to protect the site from quarrying - which is able to take place under an archaic planning permission that predates most of our environmental legislation. There are signs that the woodland on Craigall Rocks may be Ancient (around since at least 1650): - many of the trees are clearly old and gnarly, with thick stools and many stems; - there is a huge diversity of woodland wildflowers; - and old woodland-associated lichens are present. Ancient Woodland is extremely rare in Northern Ireland, covering only 0.08% of our land surface. The surviving area of natural boulderfield and possibly Ancient Woodland at Craigall Rocks is tiny, spanning around an acre. There is still plenty of space to expand the quarry without destroying this precious and irreplaceable habitat.

- Off-leash dogs are a potential danger to everyone, including toddlers and children who can easily be knocked over or even attacked. - Off-leash dogs are causing a lot more dogs poo in the park area and nobody is cleaning it up. - We need signs to tell dog owners that they need to keep their dogs on a leash at certain times in Seabury public parks. - Please sign this petition if you agree. Fingal County Council - Regional Parks and Open Spaces Bye-Laws 2017 also states: "Dogs in parks and open spaces shall be kept on a leash, other than in areas designated as off-leash areas, or at times specified by the County Council. Dogs must be kept under effectual control at all times. Dogs (other than guide dogs or assistance dogs) shall not be permitted in public playgrounds. A person shall not cause or allow any Restricted Breed, as defined in the Control of Dogs Regulations 1998 (as amended) belonging to him/her, or in his/her charge to enter or remain in the park unless such dog is kept securely muzzled and led on a sufficiently strong leash or chain not exceeding two metres in length by a competent person over 16 years of age." (ref: https://www.woofadvisor.com/blog/off-leash-dog-parks-dublin-ireland/)

To preserve the small businesses, environment and the history of a beautiful rural village on the Wild Atlantic Way. To prevent the scarring of rolling parkland of agriculture land and the obstruction of the views of the Slieve Mish Mountains by a raised roadway.

The lockdown has caused 'Winter Blues' for many families. Many children are 'climbing the walls' with only a few run-down local facilities in Dublin 8. Dog owners need places, to take their pets out for a daily walk. Parents with young children need clean playgrounds, as somewhere to go 'out of the house'. Joggers need somewhere clean & safe to exercise. We the undersigned ask Mr Les Moore, Head of Dublin City Council Parks Dept, to clean, fix and upgrade Grattan Crescent Park in Inchicore, for community wellbeing. We ask that Dublin City Council could clean and paint the park walls. The damaged signage needs to be replaced. The playground needs to be checked for health and safety issues. A community consultation needs to be organised to come up with a park upgrade plan.

The fast-tracking of a bypass of Kilrane Village is crucial to the safety of the children of the area as Kilrane National School sits directly on the N25. Haulier traffic in the port increased 500% in the first week of Brexit. The increase in traffic since Brexit we believe also creates many current problems and potential future problems in the development of Kilrane Village and for the quality of life of the residents of the village and surrounding area. We believe that the issues highlighted in the attached full petition cover the concerns of the residents of Kilrane and the surrounding area. The full detailed petition can be viewed at this link: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Ty7ADK6uwvOKAdAA79xuz_rkg7FrnTbc/view?usp=sharing

Courts in Ecuador found that Chevron-Texaco had deliberately dumped 16 billion gallons of cancer-causing toxic oil waste into the rainforest, causing a cancer epidemic that has killed thousands and has decimated five indigenous nations who are teetering on the brink of extinction. They inflicted death and devastation on communities of people and wildlife that no fair-minded Irish person would ever tolerate. “The oil companies came to these pristine forests, backed by our own government. They took what they wanted and wiped-out cultures, completely disregarded the Indigenous people, killed animals and ruined sacred places. In the end, the people couldn’t do anything about it because they couldn’t speak the language of the people destroying their lives! The same destruction is still going on to this day.” Nina Gualinga, Indigenous campaigner for Ecuador Amazon Watch. Nina Gualinga, an indigenous environmental and human rights warrior from Ecuador. https://amazonwatch.org/news/2016/0715-toxic-tour Then, they fled Ecuador after a court had ordered them to pay $US9.5 billion in compensation to local communities. Ever since, they have threatened the communities they violated with a ‘lifetime of litigation’ unless they dropped the case. They have attacked their victims with retaliatory lawsuits. In the face of their inexcusable and catastrophic impact on the planet, fossil fuel companies like Chevron-Texaco are desperate for a ‘social-licence’ to operate. In parallel with their human-rights abuses in the Ecuadorian Amazon, Texaco were cynically running a ‘Children’s Art Competition’ here in Ireland while at the same time they were destroying children’s lives in the Amazon. The legacy of that destruction continues to this day. There can be no place for fossil fuel companies like Texaco in Children’s Art or Sports in Ireland. Join the growing number of major arts institutions and museums around the world who have severed their ties with major oil companies like Texaco.

Investor Court System (ICS) is a dispute settlement tribunal where foreign investors and corporations can take a case against Ireland for 'perceived' breaches in CETA’s investment protection standards. It allows investors to go straight to these special tribunals and sideline domestic courts and those of the European Union. Once CETA is ratified, investor court decisions cannot be challenged by either the State or the EU - this is the equivalent of handing corporations a blank cheque! Local communities and businesses across Ireland are fighting back. Together we are showing government parties and politicians that this form of corporate takeover is going to cost them dearly in the next election. And we need our local politicians to stand with us by supporting this. For more info on CETA ICS, check out this fact checker: https://comhlamh.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/CETA-ICS-Fact-Checker.pdf

Investor Court System (ICS) is a dispute settlement tribunal where foreign investors and corporations can take a case against Ireland for 'perceived' breaches in CETA’s investment protection standards. It allows investors to go straight to these special tribunals and sideline domestic courts and those of the European Union. Once CETA is ratified, investor court decisions cannot be challenged by either the State or the EU - this is the equivalent of handing corporations a blank cheque! Local communities and businesses across Ireland are fighting back. Together we are showing government parties and politicians that this form of corporate takeover is going to cost them dearly in the next election. And we need our local politicians to stand with us by supporting this. For more info on CETA ICS, check out this fact checker: https://comhlamh.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/CETA-ICS-Fact-Checker.pdf