The Energy Charter Treaty (ECT) is a trade agreement that allows fossil fuel companies sue governments for billions of euro if that government were to try and stop fossil fuel projects or lower people's energy bills. It's the fossil fuel industry's secret weapon to make sure governments can't act on climate change or the cost of energy. Italy, Spain, Poland, the Netherlands and France have already withdrawn. Germany and Belgium are also considering leaving. With COP27 less than 1 week away now is Ireland's time to get out.

Our government is going against the will of the people living in Ireland to move Ireland closer to more war and militarisation. Our Taoiseach has been cozying up with NATO leaders at military summit dinners and our Tánaiste/Minister for Trade is gearing up to put more of our public money into military and weapons. NATO has a long and persistent history of illegal war-making, illegal airstrikes, bombing civilians and other war crimes. NATO is responsible for starting and escalating wars, killing thousands of people, displacing hundreds of thousands of people and leaving countries around the world mired in violence, chaos and poverty. We must not be part of that. We support peace and say no to NATO. Notes: [1] https://www.buzz.ie/news/irish-news/irish-people-strongly-support-neutrality-26723135 [2] https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/neutral-ireland-likely-get-more-involved-eu-defence-policy-deputy-pm-2022-03-01/ [3] https://www.rte.ie/news/2022/0628/1307399-taoiseach-spain-visit/ [4] https://www.codepink.org/what_planet_is_nato_living_on

As the world goes digital for all types of audio and visual entertainment, Ireland is going in the opposite direction. Radio in Ireland is stale - dominated by just a few media groups, most of which play the same music over and over again. DAB Radio stands for Digital Audio Broadcasting and can offer much more choice for the radio listener. Imagine having multiple non stop music stations of every conceivable genre? The Broadcasting Authority of Ireland (BAI) is the body responsible for regulating radio in Ireland, however no new licenses have been issued in the last decade. When it comes to Digital Audio Broadcasting, provision has been made in section 131 parts i and ii of the Broadcasting Act 2009 to open up Ireland to Digital Radio, however in over 13 years the above Commission has sat on its laurels and failed to realise the provisions of this act. If you have come to this petition, it is most likely because you have been listening to a DAB service in Ireland which has been set up to demonstrate what could be, if our regulators embraced this technology (like most other countries in Europe) The EU have allocated 36 frequencies in the VHF band exclusively for use by Digital Audio Broadcasters - each one of these frequencies capable of broadcasting over 20 digital music services each – if we do the maths, that’s a lot of potential services available. It is now an EU requirement for every new car to have a DAB tuner on its entertainment system. on average 120,000 new vehicles are sold in Ireland each year, it will also be a requirement soon that any "portable radio" sold must also include the DAB band to receive Digital radio. In Ireland this frequency band is completely unused. When any enterprising entrepreneurs take it upon themselves to demonstrate what could be, swift action is taken by the regulators to close these services down. Ireland needs the restrictive rules around broadcasting removed. Imagine only one takeaway, or one car retailer being allowed in each town or even each county? !! well that's the way it is with radio. The BAI needs to fully embrace DIGITAL radio and to remove, completely amend or rework the existing Broadcasting Act 2009, which combined with the Wireless Telegraphy Act 1926 and 1988 completely stymies any third party from entering the radio market. This makes the overall radio experience of Irish people much poorer than their EU or UK counterparts. DAB radio is also extremely environmentally friendly - 20 stations could potentially use the same amount of electricity as just one FM service. Three of these DAB frequencies could be used to transmit every station currently on FM across the entire country. About 40 transmitting sites would be needed to provide almost national coverage. Those sites are already being used for FM. The National stations from RTE, Today FM and Newtalk currently use 6 analogue frequencies on each site. Add into the mix the local and community stations, and in many parts of the country this exceeds 10 analogue frequencies. All these could be condensed into just 3 national DAB Multiplexes. Imagine being able to select the local radio station for Kerry while on holiday or business in Donegal without the need to use mobile data and a clunky app, or being able to tune into a Monaghan local GAA match while in Cork on the Monaghan local station. With Digital radio this is all possible. Add another 3 multiplexes into the mix and we could have 60 national non stop stations bring you every conceivable music format. DAB can also be used on a local basis. In the UK this is called small scale DAB. County multiplexes could contain numerous versions of the very successful community services, local sports events, religious services and live local government broadcasts.

Unregulated private consultants or 'experts' are routinely used in the Family Law Courts to determine if children should be forced to be 'reconciled' with a parent (usually a father) without any consideration of the children's wishes or reports of evidence of abuse and violence in the home. Because of the 'in camera' rule there is no exposure of this widespread practice, no data, no oversight or accountability and if women and children speak about what is happening they can be criminalised for breaking the 'in camera' rule. Very recently a woman's young children were taken without warning from their school in the company of Gardai. They were removed from the care of their mother and the only home they have ever known and forced to live in their father’s house. They are not allowed to see or speak to their mother. The children have told their teachers, doctor and the social workers what they want and why but the court won’t listen and says they can’t have a voice - on the recommendation of a so called unregulated 'family expert witness'. The 2015 Child and Family Relationship Act says that all children have a right to be heard in matters concerning their lives and should be involved in decisions made about them. The children’s father has continued to exert power and control through post-separation abuse. The greatest way to hurt her is by taking the children away from her, aided by unregulated experts in the family law courts who are silencing victims of domestic violence and their children. We hear from many mothers who are victims of domestic and sexual violence, that in the family courts, when it comes to guardianship, custody and access hearings, domestic abuse survivors are not being heard or prioritised. Many of the reports are very similar to the story outlined above. The reasons offered for these forced separation/reconciliation decisions by 'family court experts' are unreliable. Their arguments draw on concepts that are unscientific and discredited ie. parental alienation. To stop this 'in plain sight' abuse of children and women who are survivors of violence - scrutiny of the decisions being made in Family Law Courts is urgently needed. Unregulated experts have to be investigated and their decisions published and reviewed. Mandatory training and education, accreditation and accountability for all professionals is desperately needed for all professionals working in the Family Courts. There must be independent monitoring and oversight. Children should have the right to live free from fear. Our children should never be subjected to forced removal from their home and family and silenced by so called unregulated 'experts'. Children’s views, voice and wishes, their feelings and human rights should be paramount in all decisions by the court regarding contact arrangements.

Whistleblowers expose workplace wrongdoing that impacts on other workers, services to the public and public finances. Failing to listen costs us much more. Victimising whistleblowers has a negative effect on society as well as punishing people of integrity.

The local community in Inchicore have used the public library for generations since 1937. Now the Art Deco library needs refurbishment and a wheelchair access ramp built. The architects plan has been drawn up by DCC, but the tender has not been reissued after Covid. There may be alternative plans to convert the historic building into a tourist attraction - a possible social history museum, similar to EPIC. The library keys were handed over by the librarian to the DCC Dept of Property Development and Planning in January 2022. No one in the local community has been consulted about this. The local community are worried that they will lose access to this valuable community space. We are asking DCC to work with the local community on the future of the library, maintaining community access. The building has been empty for 2 years and is unheated. Refurbishment works are urgently needed before the Autumn wet weather sets in. The wheelchair access ramp has been fully designed - the tender just needs to be reissued by DCC.

Long-distance journeys cause unnecessary suffering to animals. They can become exhausted, sick and injured, hungry, dehydrated and stressed, having to cope with high temperatures and humidity and extensive periods in cramped, filthy conditions, sometimes with little or no food and water. Every year thousands of young bulls are exported to countries outside the EU including Turkey, Libya, Lebanon and Morocco. As if that wasn’t bad enough this year new markets have been sought and shipments have gone to Jordan and Egypt. A trade deal with Israel has also been ageed for cattle and sheep. THIS IS GOING IN THE WRONG DIRECTION! These are all countries with no or minimal animal welfare regulations in place and appalling standards, particularly at slaughter. These bulls are subjected to unimaginable suffering, crammed into hot, filthy vessels for up to two weeks, usually just to be slaughtered in a brutal manner shortly after arrival at their destination. Slaughter methods in these destination countries include slashing tendons, stabbing in the eyes, being strung up by a rear leg, multiple slashes at the throat, being hit over the head with poles, all whilst fulling conscious and in front of other animals. The slaughterhouse workers have a lack of education, and training, lack of facilities, there is no vet present and there is little in the way of legislation. Street slaughter is common. We are calling for the Minister to ban export to all countries outside the EU that do not share our welfare standards, both in documented legislation and in practice. You can find out more about the industry here: https://www.ethicalfarmingireland.com/live-export/

We are in the midst of a cost of living crisis and the pressure on the health waiting lists is unparallelled. Article 47 of the Northern Ireland Act confers on the Secretary of State powers to cap or reduce salaries if the Executive isn’t functioning. We need a government in Northern Ireland. In signing on the roll, but refusing to nominate a Speaker, the DUP has ensured that they will be paid their salaries, while they refuse to do their jobs. This can't stand.

The new NMH will be our new maternity hospital. We need all uncertainty removed (all documents published) and questions answered such as: - Publishing all correspondence between the Sisters of Charity & the Vatican to demonstrate what, if any, conditions apply to the transfer of land to SV Holdings CLG - What conditions, if any, are applied to the Indemnity provided by SVHG to the Sisters of Charity? - What happens to operation of new NMH if a claim against the Sisters of Charity significantly impacts SVHG finances? Will the State be expected to vail out the hospital group? - Given a new hospital lifespan is 50-70 years, does this 299 year lease sign the taxpayer up to building successive new maternity hospitals in order to not breach 10 euro yearly discounted rent? - What requirements are detailed in contracts to require SVHG to provide all required adult services (as detailed in 2008 KPMG report) for the life of the new National Maternity Hospital (and potential subsequent replacement hospitals)? - Why not adopt Slaintecare patient rights based values as opposed to the Sisters of Charity values in the constitutions of SV Holdings CLG and SVHG (which new National Maternity Hospital will be a subsidiary of)? - Will a definition of "clinically appropriate" be added to the contracts? Or removed? - Under what conditions can the HSE/State break the lease with the landlord, SVHG? - Why do SV Holdings CLG refuse to sell or gift the land at Elm Park to the State given single ownership is not required at the James' site to facilitate and support co-location? - If a patient at the new National Maternity Hospital requires the Minister of Health to enact their golden share, what is the procedure for this to happen? - In the published documents, SVHG has the power to set healthcare policy in the new National Maternity Hospital. As such it is possible to impede the access of healthcare that is prohibited by Catholic ethos. How will the Minister ensure that accessibility of elective/on-demand healthcare is not overly onerous on a patient? - In the published documents, SVHG has the power to hire staff. As such it is possible for SVHG to hire predominantly anti-choice staff. How will the Minister ensure that this will not happen? - Specific adult services (as identified in the 2008 KPMG report) are required to support the new National Maternity Hospital and is the purpose of co-location. Where in the contracts is SVHG required to ensure adequate staffing at all times, night and at the weekend for example, to ensure that all services required are accessible to new NMH patients? Similarly, what legal guarantee is there that patients of the new NMH will be prioritised as they compete for resources at St. Vincent's University Hospital?

"11 million Ukrainians wander, they have had to abandon their homes, take their children under their arms and flee? How else can one treat the mass rapes, the mass murders, the bombing of maternity hospitals"... In view of the unprovoked aggression by the Russian government in attacking Ukraine and killing thousands of its citizens call on the Irish government to reduce the number of Russians based in the Russian Embassy in Dublin without delay. 29/03/2022 - Today the Irish government asked 4 Russian diplomats to leave Ireland. Of the 31 Russian diplomats based in its Orwell Road embassy 27 remain. Ireland has 5 diplomats in Moscow. Today the Netherlands and Belgium announced they were expelling 17 and 21 Russian diplomats respectively for engaging in espionage. The Irish government need to expel more Russian diplomats or justify why they are not. Add your name to this petition to encourage the government to take this action. Also please ask your friends to sign the petition. https://www.irishtimes.com/news/politics/four-senior-russian-diplomats-expelled-from-state-following-security-advice-1.4839308?mode=sample&auth-failed=1&pw-origin=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.irishtimes.com%2Fnews%2Fpolitics%2Ffour-senior-russian-diplomats-expelled-from-state-following-security-advice-1.4839308 https://www.irishtimes.com/news/crime-and-law/garda-expands-security-operation-around-russian-embassy-in-dublin-1.4829674

The people of Ukraine are losing their homes, families, and lives as a result of Russia's war of aggression. Ireland should stand in solidarity with the Ukrainian people by expelling Russia's ambassador in Ireland. Taking this action will generate international headlines and send a clear message to Ireland's allies and diaspora that we resolutely oppose Russia's war and we support the people of Ukraine.

It's been 40 years since the first integrated school was started here, but in 2022 only 7.5% of schools here are integrated schools - bringing together children from all backgrounds - Catholic, Protestant and other. But there is overwhelming demand: 71% of people here believe our children should be educated together. Stormont has commissioned a new Independent Review of Education that could change everything - but we need you to tell them integrated education matters to you so that they make recommendations to promote integrated education! Now's your chance to speak up! Email the panel members now and tell them that you want to live in a future where all our children are educated together, promoting reconciliation.