We believe women should retain meaningful choice in how they receive care during pregnancy and birth, and that maternity care options should be enhanced, not restricted, by healthcare reforms. We fully support and strongly endorse major investment in the public maternity care system, and we want to see it developed to the highest possible standard, with meaningful choice across care pathways, including consultant-led care, midwifery-led care, and community-based care. However, this must be achieved by strengthening and expanding services, not by removing existing options, particularly where there is no adequate or appropriate alternative available to replace the current private care pathway. Thousands of pregnant women choose private maternity care for a range of personal reasons. For many, the key reason is the guarantee of continuity of care: having a chosen consultant care for them from the first antenatal appointment through to delivery and postnatal follow-up. This pathway is deeply significant because it provides: • Tailored, personalised care: Women with specific physical or emotional needs, including those with past traumatic experiences, require care that reflects and responds to their circumstances. • Trust and peace of mind: Being attended by a familiar consultant who understands a woman's history provides reassurance during what is often the most significant medical event of her life to date. Most women choose this care pathway and make financial sacrifices to do so because an equivalent level of care is not available to them within the public system. Not every woman chooses this option. But every woman should have the right to. Yet under current Sláintecare reforms, access to the private maternity care pathway is being phased out. Maternity care is disproportionately affected by Sláintecare policy, and women are the only group directly impacted in this way. Unlike other areas of healthcare, where private and public options exist side by side, maternity care in Ireland operates within the public hospital system, as there are no private maternity hospitals. Removing private care from public hospitals removes access to the private maternity care pathway entirely. This creates a clear structural inequity: choice is being reduced in a female-only area of healthcare, while private options remain available in other medical specialties. We call on the Government to maintain access to the private maternity care pathway within the maternity care system by refraining from removing private maternity care access within public maternity hospitals.

Irish trans healthcare is consistently ranked one of the worst in Europe. Trans people report that the Irish healthcare system fails them time and again, and many who are lucky enough to afford it must travel abroad to access life saving medical treatment. We are calling on Cavan county council to back a model of trans healthcare which is recommended and endorsed by WPATH and WHO, and by transgender community organisations such as Transgender Equality Network Ireland, Trans Healthcare Action and Transgress the NGS. Trans healthcare should be based on sound science and input from the transgender community. This would include: 1. Following an informed consent model of healthcare. 2. Replacing the national gender service with a new national clinical program for trans healthcare, designed in collaboration with trans people. 3. Creating guidelines and support for GPs to treat trans patients in primary care settings, and recognizing the importance of GPs in providing gender-affirming care. 4. Establishing guidelines and facilities for trans healthcare for young people under the age of 18 5. Implementing full a ban on conversion therapy 6. Providing support for those seeking non- medical gender recognition and full protection for non-binary individuals based on the 2018 Government Review of the Gender Recognition Act 2015 7. Respecting the bodily autonomy of intersex individuals

The 72 hour mandatory wait for abortion in the South of Ireland is patronising and dangerous.  It does not recognise the amount of thought someone gives to this decision before picking up the phone to make an appointment. In reality, it introduces additional barriers. Requesting time off work, having to travel if there is not a provider in your area, requiring assistance if you are disabled or chronically ill, under-resourced medical facilities – all of this makes accessing an abortion harder, and the 3 day wait ultimately forces women to go much later. If you are in an abusive relationship, homeless or generally vulnerable, it is even more dangerous.  There have been cases when women discover they are pregnant and all of these factors coupled with the 3 day wait means they pass the 12 week deadline and are forced to travel to Britain for an abortion, or to go through with a pregnancy that they don’t want. The last-minute introduction of the 3-day wait was a political decision by the Irish government to assuage the anti-choice lobby. There is no medical requirement for this, as stated by the WHO, and it brings added pressure on GP services.  Today, the government is even more right-wing and voted down Bríd Smith’s bill from the previous Dáil term to remove a host of barriers to abortion care, including the 3 day wait – this was despite it being debated at second stage previously. Far-right and reactionary forces have their eyes on abortion and bodily autonomy and we believe that building a campaign to remove this clause and expand abortion rights in Ireland can push them back. Solidarity TD Ruth Coppinger is bringing forward a bill (Amendment to the Regulation of Termination of Pregnancy Act 2026)) to remove the 3-day wait.  Please sign this petition to indicate your support for removing the 3-day wait and get involved in the campaign. Ruth Coppinger's bill will be opposed by Aontú, Independent Ireland, right wing Independents and some government TDs -- to what extent we don't yet know, but for this reason it is even more vital to show that the vast majority of Irish society does not want this sexist and harmful clause in our law.

Endometriosis is not a rare condition — yet in Ireland, people are still waiting years, often decades, for diagnosis and access to specialist care. This delay has real and lasting consequences. It means: • disease progression that could have been prevented • repeated surgeries and avoidable complications • loss of fertility and long-term health impacts • financial strain from private care and travel • emotional trauma from not being believed or properly treated Despite the publication of a national framework, the reality on the ground has not changed fast enough.  Patients are still facing barriers at every stage — from GP referral to specialist care. This is not just a healthcare issue.  It is an issue of patient safety, equality, and accountability. Why should others join this campaign? Because this could affect anyone. Endometriosis impacts 1 in 10 people assigned female at birth, meaning: • your sister • your daughter • your friend • your colleague may already be living with it — diagnosed or not. Joining this campaign is about: • Standing up for timely, safe, and appropriate healthcare • Demanding accountability for systemic failures • Ensuring future patients do not have to endure years of unnecessary suffering • Supporting a healthcare system that treats people with dignity, respect, and informed consent This is also about those who don’t yet have the voice, capacity, or support to speak out. No one should have to lose years of their life waiting to be believed. No one should have to fight this hard for basic healthcare. Join us. Sign the petition. Be part of the change.

PMDD is a serious and often misunderstood condition that can be devastating for those living with it, affecting mental health, relationships, education, work and overall quality of life.  It is commonly estimated to affect around 3–8% of people with a menstrual cycle, yet awareness and understanding remain far too low.  Research has also found extremely high levels of distress among people with PMDD:  • Approximately 1 in 3 women with PMDD have attempted suicide • Approximately 50% have self-harmed. Too many people are left without answers, misdiagnosed, or made to feel that what they are experiencing is normal when it is not. Better education, clinical awareness and clear treatment pathways would mean earlier recognition, faster support and less needless suffering. 

This is to get the point out there to the Irish government asking and telling them something needs to be done and not having women waiting years and years for a diagnosis 

Because every Irish woman will go through this. Your mother, your sister, your friend, your colleague — this affects all of us. Because 'your bloods are normal' is not a diagnosis. And too many of us know exactly what that feels like. Because this is fixable. Better training for GPs costs far less than years of misdiagnosis and repeat appointments. We need to protect our longer term health, which will in turn be better for society, reducing pressure on the healthcare system and already over burdened GPs.

We recognise the vital work Women’s Aid Ireland does to support survivors of domestic abuse. However, its ongoing partnership with Allianz raises serious ethical concerns. Since 2021, Allianz has funded high-profile campaigns with Women’s Aid Ireland, including World’s Strongest Women, Dead Flower Shop, and Valentine’s initiatives promoting healthy relationships. This partnership, renewed in 2025, is set to continue until at least 2028, with approximately €1 million committed. Yet this funding appears largely directed toward awareness campaigns rather than frontline, life-saving services. This raises concerns that brand visibility is being prioritised over direct support for women and children in crisis. At the same time, Allianz has faced sustained criticism over financial links connected to Israel’s genocide  in Palestine. Reported concerns include: • Investments in Israeli government bonds linked to military activity • Financial involvement in companies supplying military and surveillance technology • Insurance coverage for companies engaged in military and security operations Meanwhile, the reality for women in Gaza is devastating: • Women and children make up the majority of those killed • Around one million women and girls have been displaced • Women are giving birth without safe medical care, clean water, or basic resources. Violence against women is not only personal — it is also shaped and sustained by political and economic systems. Continuing a partnership with a corporation linked to these concerns risks undermining the values of safety, dignity, and solidarity that Women’s Aid represents. We call on Women’s Aid Ireland to: • End its partnership with Allianz • Ensure all funding aligns with human rights and ethical principles • Stand consistently with women everywhere — including Palestinian women Solidarity must be universal. Women’s safety cannot be selective.

Government created this mess by failing to clarify that the Rotunda’s future is not in Blanchardstown but in Parnell Square.  We need Government to make this critical care wing happen, and demonstrate it is committed to keeping the world's oldest maternity hospital in its original home at the heart of our capital city.

Why leave and de-platform toxic and lock-in social media (such as X, Instagram, Snapchat, Tiktok) ? Black Box Algorithms: Lock-in platforms aim to show you more content that their owners like Elon Musk, Mark Zuckerberg and their paymasters want you to see, and less content that you want to see….  https://xodus.online/why#algorithms Rise of the far-right: Toxic platforms promote hate, the far-right, and interfere in elections…. https://xodus.online/why#democracy Disinformation: Toxic platforms do not support adequate fact-checking or moderation…. https://xodus.online/why#disinformation Over-consumption: Advertising-profit-platforms promote consumption patterns which are unhealthy for people and planet…. https://xodus.online/why#consumerism

If the government fails to launch criminal investigations against Elon Musk, they are making it clear that these social media corporations can blatantly break any law in any country. The laws on image based sexual violence and child sexual abuse material are clear and need to be upheld. Why are they putting the interests of social media bosses ahead of the people they were elected to serve? 

The model of providing care off site from the maternity hospital exists already in other areas, within the gynaecology department in the main hospital. It is acknowledged how overburdened UHL is, but women's healthcare should not be neglected again. Providing a care pathway for those miscarrying in a site within Ennis and Nenagh for those with a confirmed miscarriage would allow the specific care needed for those patients and alleviate the need to go to UHL.  This would reduce the trauma caused to the woman and partner and allow them to focus on recovery and processing the miscarriage without the extra burden of emotional trauma by mixing miscarriage care and antenatal care.