Last year's removal of Maser's repeal the 8th mural brought censorship of the arts to the forefront of our minds once again. The register of prohibited books is practically obsolete, but until the Censorship of Publications Act is also obsolete, the threat of censorship hangs over artists in Ireland. Minister, repeal the act and liberate the arts from the threat of censorship once and for all!

For two years, Human Rights Watch has spoken with Airbnb about their brokering of rentals in West Bank settlements that are illegal under international humanitarian law and for which Palestinian ID holders are effectively barred from entering. The settlement movement has sought to encourage tourism in occupied land, with the help of the Israeli government, which established national parks there. A leaked European Union report said some projects were being used “as a political tool to … support, legitimise and expand settlements”. Irish people know only too well the negative consequences of imperialist racist occupation. [1] https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2018/nov/19/airbnb-removes-rentals-in-israeli-west-bank-settlements

This is because the Finn Valley has a growing elderly population and a reducing number of potential family carers. Also parts of the area have little access to public transport and are quite isolated i.e the border and gaeltacht areas. For over three years the People of the Finn Valley and wider Donegal area have been asking the question about what is the future of St Josephs Community Hospital in Stranorlar, Co. Donegal. The government and HSE representatives have never given a clear answer on the future of the Hospital and have even provided conflicting information. The people of the area have twice held well attended public demonstraions where they marched from the Hospital in Stranorlar to Jacksons Hotel in Ballybofey a distance of 2.6km. Many who marched were over 60 and feel abandoned by the way they are being treated. We wish to know the answer of how many and what types of beds that are planned to be serviced at the hospital. What staffing levels will be retained in future at St Josephs in terms of Doctors, Nurses, Nursing Assistants, Administration and Ancillary staff. We want to know now what Capital Budget and other Budgets will be allocated and the plans that will be transformed into buildings i.e. refurbushements, extensions etc so as to meet HIQA standards.

The Four Masters' Park is a small green lung on Berkeley Road in the heart of the North inner-city; one of the very few. It has many historic resonances, as it commemorates the Annals of the Four Masters while the memorial itself was commissioned by Sir William Wilde and executed by James Cahill. It was given by the Sisters of Mercy for the benefit of the local community. The current plan for the new MetroLink is to consume a substantial part of our green space for the new metro station. Less than 100 metres away from our park is a station already built under the Mater Hospital. This was a part of the old Metro North plans at the time Leo Varadkar was Minister for Transport in 2012. €20 million was spent on installing a station box beneath the new adult hospital. The Metro North enabling works were completed in 2013 under the Mater Whitty Building by BAM Contractors Ltd on behalf of the Railway Procurement Agency. It makes no sense to waste €20 million of public money and destroy a beloved local park. Recently, two vacant industrial sites nearby have been identified as possibilities, yet neither have been investigated by MetroLink. The beginning of 2020; a New Year of campaigning and we're delighted to welcome the support of the DUBLIN NORTH CITY BUSINESS & CULTURE COMMUNITY which comprises of 107 individual businesses from Parnell Square, Frederick Street, Upper and Lower Dorset Street, down to Croke Park and the Croke Park Hotel, who have added their signatures to the petition. Please join us in supporting this campaign.

With the homeless figures officially exceeding the 10,000 mark, it is blatantly obvious to the public how ineffectual Minister Eoghan Murphy is. 10,000 men, women and children forced to live on the streets or in temporary shelters. Despite numerous protest marches and numerous demands from the public to deal with this EXTREMELY important issue, Minister Eoghan Murphy has time and again not dealt with this matter and despite all the promises that were made to deal with this matter effectively, the situation has gravely worsened. For the sake of all the people whose lives are at a risk on a daily basis on the streets, it is now high time for Eoghan Murphy to resign and for someone COMPETENT to take on the job.

PESCO was rushed through the Dail by Fine Gael and Fianna Fail in 2017 without enough attention or coverage.(1) Under PESCO Ireland will increase its military spending which is currently approx. €1billion per year by up to as much as €6billion per year.(2) Instead of weaponry these enormous financial resources could be constructively spent tackling the housing and health crises. (3) The goal of the PESCO agreement is to integrate the armed forces of all the members and create an EU army. This runs completely counter to Ireland's peaceful role as a neutral state. Ireland can and should leave PESCO. RESCIND PESCO before it's too late. More info: The People's Movement https://www.facebook.com/peoplesmovementireland/ (1) https://www.oireachtas.ie/en/debates/debate/dail/2017-12-07/38/ (2) https://www.irishexaminer.com/breakingnews/ireland/concerns-government-will-have-to-commit-to-annual-3bn-defence-bill-if-they-join-pesco-817557.html (3) https://www.thejournal.ie/readme/if-we-are-heading-for-an-eu-army-what-does-that-mean-for-irish-neutrality-4331443-Nov2018/

1. The annual IRP renewal requirement has become a nuisance for international post-graduate research students, as it hinders their ability to attend research seminars, conferences, workshops, summer schools and research visits within & outside EU. [A] 2. The entire process of: a. Finding an appointment; b. Arranging the required documents; c. Attending the appointment in person; d. Waiting for the IRP to arrive; e. Getting a bank draft ready; f. Applying for a multi-entry visa via An POST; g. Followed by the hassle of applying for country or region specific visa i.e., Schengen visa, is just too time consuming and cumbersome for us. 3. The entire process needs to be rethought if high-quality research outputs are expected to be delivered by highly-qualified, international post-graduate research students. [A] Please see https://visaguide.world/europe/schengen-visa

To date, 25 species of cetaceans have been recorded in Irish waters (Lusher at al., 2018). All cetaceans, pinnipeds; including harbour seals (Phoca vitulina) and the Eurasian otter (Lutra lutra) are protected in Ireland under a range of national and international legislation. Under the Wildlife Act (1976) and amendments (2000, 2005, 2010 and 2012), it is an offence to intentionally hunt, injure, wilfully interfere with or disturb or destroy the resting or breeding place of a protected species (except under licence or permit from the department). The 1976 Wildlife Act applies out to the 12 nm limit of Irish territorial waters. Additionally, all cetaceans, pinnipeds and otter and are protected under the EU Habitats Directive, where all cetaceans are included in Annex IV of the Directive as species ‘in need of strict protection’. Under this Directive, the harbour porpoise, bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus), grey seal, harbour seal and Eurasian Otter are listed under Annex II, which identifies these species of community interest and whose conservation requires the designation of Special Areas of Conservation (SACs) (O’ Brien, 2016). 3. Man-made noise generated from dredging operations, both from the physical presence of the dredger, and increased water turbidity within the area have potential to cause low levels of disturbance, including the masking of communication and induce behavioural impacts such as displacement from important habitat (O’Brien, 2016). Recently published literature on the impacts of dredging on marine mammals in Aberdeen Harbour found that bottlenose dolphins exhibited avoidance behaviour to dredging in a highly urbanised foraging patch, despite the expected high level of tolerance given the high level of vessel activity in the area (Pirotta et al., 2013). A similar review by Todd et al., (2014) found that in regard to dredging activities, the effect on marine mammals depends on the type of dredger used, state of operation, local sound propagation conditions and the receiver’s sensitivity and bandwidth of hearing. It also highlighted the potential for accidental collision with marine mammals. The review concluded that noise from dredging although perceived as being below the injury threshold for permanent hearing loss (PTS), according to criteria outlined in Southall et al., (2007), highlighted the potential for temporary damage to hearing (TTS) to marine mammals, such as the harbour porpoise after prolonged periods of exposure, also found in a more recent study (Kastelein et al., 2012). Indirect impacts from exposure of marine mammals to anthropogenic noise from dredging operations can result in changes to protected species physical environments, affecting prey distribution and introducing toxins and pollutants from dredge spoil.

THE EASY WAY TO COVER STUFF UP, IS TO BURY IT, IN THE NATIONAL ARCHIVES, STATING IT'S FOR OUR OWN GOOD OR IN THE INTERESTS OF NATIONAL SECURITY. IN LAY MAN'S TERMS, THAT MEANS, THEY ARE COVERING UP FOR PADEOPHILES AND MURDERERS THAT ARE MOST LIKELY STILL ALIVE AND MORE THAN LIKELY, THESE ARE HIGH PROFILE PEOPLE. DO NOT ALLOW YOUR INTELLIGENCE TO BE INSULTED. LOCKED IN THE NATIONAL ARCHIVES FOR 75 YEARS MEANS. COVER UP.

"Thousands of oral and written testimonies documenting the abuse of children in residential institutions and elsewhere here are to be sealed and locked away from public scrutiny for 75 years under legislation. An estimated two million documents relating to the work of three commissions - the Commission to Inquire into Child Abuse, the Residential Institutions Redress Board and the Residential Institutions Redress Review Committee - will be preserved for future generations under the Retention of Records Bill. Announcing publication of the bill, Minister for Education Joe McHugh said he had agreed to a request from Minister for Children Katherine Zappone that the legislation include a review clause that can be invoked in 25 years' time. Mr McHugh said he was very conscious of the agreement made with survivors around anonymity and confidentiality in giving testimony to the inquiries. He said there was a balance to be struck between the public interest and the need to preserve material for future generations, and the need for sensitivity to be shown towards survivors. The minister said it was "a difficult issue" and that assuring survivors who gave testimonies of anonymity and confidentiality was critical. Once the legislation is commenced the documents will be sent to the national archives and sealed. No one will be granted access and provisions such as those normally available under Freedom of information legislation will not apply. In 2009 the Dáil passed a motion calling for the retention of the documents. "We want to ensure records of such huge historical importance are preserved while at the same time respecting the real-life stories and deeply personal testimony of all of the individuals who engaged with the redress bodies," Mr McHugh said. "Seventy-five years is a very long period of time to restrict access to records but it is essential given the sensitivity of the material," he added. " Please share the truth. Thank you all. 💚

It’s important that this building is used so that the local authority’s plans to redevelop Limerick city’s waterfront can begin. It’s currently casting a shadow on any plans to further develop as per Limerick 2030. It lies vacant as a housing crisis continues unabated.

At a time when other countries are progressively acting to restrict the harmful effects of slot machines, we believe the adoption of this act would be a regressive step, increasing the potential for gambling addiction in Donegal. In short, this is a short-sighted money grab by a handful of business people at the expense of the wider Inishowen and Letterkenny communities. Gambling addiction is the most hidden and corrosive addiction and also the hardest to treat. Counsellors from White Oaks and Gamblers Anonymous who are at the coal face of this issue have spoken out, urging councillors to refrain from adopting this motion. It is shocking that councillors would consider adopting this act without hearing from them. At a minimum, they should have equal time to present their expertise and concerns to the Inishowen and Letterkenny Municipal Councils. The business people operating these gaming establishments HAVE been asked to address the Municipal District Councils and have lobbied them to legalise these casinos. They claim 129 jobs are at risk in Inishowen following Revenue seizing slot machines because their establishments were not compliant with the current laws. Let’s be clear here, this is a red herring. These gaming establishments currently operate as private members’ clubs which allows them to bypass the current laws, but those laws do restrict the size of the payouts these machines can make. These establishments are already very lucrative for the owners, but this attempt to allow them to increase the size of the payouts is an attempt to make them even more so. Allowing these establishments to increase the size of the payouts will give them leave to prey on the most vulnerable, with increased payouts acting as a lure to draw more & more people into further debt. Slot machine play is one of the most harmful forms of gambling in the world. Much of the focus around gambling problems is aimed at the individual gambler, but it is also important to look at ways that the games themselves contribute to gambling problems. High speed of play and features that promote false beliefs comprise some of the more problematic elements associated with slot machines. Slot machine players may find it helpful to be aware of those features that may make slot machine play more risky. Irish people lose more money per head on gambling than anywhere else in Europe, with an estimated 40,000 Irish people already in the grip of this addiction. Slot machines are huge revenue generators, and many of their features are designed to keep players in their seats in order to maximise revenue for the operator. Some of the machines’ features, however, may lead people to believe they have a better chance of winning than they actually do. Most players don’t realise that the reels on slot machines are weighted so that low-paying symbols come up much more often than jackpot symbols. Unbalanced reels are created when one reel contains fewer jackpot symbols than the other reels. This makes it more likely that players will see two jackpot symbols but less likely they will see three. This creates a type of ‘near miss. When players watch the reels spinning, it looks as if all symbols have an equal chance of coming up, but this is not the case. Players would have no way of knowing that one of the reels is lacking in jackpot symbols and could believe they have a better chance of winning than they really do. Slot machines are quite simply an operation in deceit. We urge councillors not to bow to the pressure of a handful of business people at the expense of the many. Listen to the experts and ask addiction counsellors dealing with the victims of this predatory business to have equal time to give their presentations and act in the interests of the health and wellbeing of the residents of Inishowen and Letterkenny. Sinéad Stewart, Inishowen Cathal Mac Fhloinn, Letterkenny