#EducationIs a public good. The report outlines three funding options: 1) Funding Option One: A Predominantly State-Funded System. 2) Funding Option Two: Increased State-Funding with Continuing Student Fees. 3) Funding Option Three: Increased State-Funding with Deferred Payment of Fees Through Income Contingent Loans. USI know that Funding Option One is key for Irish students' future. Funding Option One: A predominantly state-funded system advocates that the state would significantly increase its core grant to institutions and the €3,000 undergraduate student contribution would be abolished. Higher education would be free at the point of entry for all first-time EU students and for part-time learners.There is also the possibility of extending free tuition to postgraduate education. Funding Option Three will have a negative effect on the lives of current and future Irish students. USI know that an income-contingent loan scheme is not a viable solution to third-level funding as a burden of €20,000+ debt upon graduation will deter people from applying to college. Financial strain of placing this debt on graduates spans across all communities and groups including parents, children, staff and teachers - not just students. The campaign is supported by members of the Coalition for Publicly Funded Higher Education including SIPTU, IMPACT, TUI, IFUT and the National Youth Council of Ireland (NYCI) so far. FACTS ABOUT LOANS America's student loan debt ($1tn+) is greater in value than the combined economies of Ireland, New Zealand, and Australia. In other words, American students owe the combined value of all transactions in those countries in a year. Home-ownership in under-40s in New Zealand has drastically fallen since the introduction of student loans, from 57% to 25%.” Charging no tuition-related fees, Germany has 41 universities that are considered by Times Higher Education to be among the best in the world. In France, where they have registration fees of under €200, there are 27. 70% of the 2015 college graduates in the UK are not expected to ever repay their college loans, according to The Institute of Fiscal Studies.

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. In addition to that a similar Trade agreement named CETA if the TTPIP fails will deliver a similar agreement between the EU and Canada, with similar legal provisions thus providing a backdoor for the same restrictive legal provisions to be implemented: CETA summary: http://www.ase.tufts.edu/gdae/Pubs/wp/16-03CETA_ES.pdf

The decisions that in amateur sport of boxing are making a mockery of the sport. How can one country appoint 7 of its own members into a committee into a ruling body and then make a decision that no boxer can make inquiry into the decision that has been made. Just look at the decisions that were made in the so called fair Olympics. A complete mockery of boxing is going on and has to be stopped before amateur boxing is destroyed.

There is a severe shortage of spaces for secondary school kids in rural Ireland and CIE refuses to sanction extra buses to meet the demand

The Marine Institute has applied for a 35 year lease for an offshore electricity generating station in Galway Bay off of Spiddal. There are 5 applications relating to this all to be found on www.environ.ie. Although, there have been a couple of public meetings about this, the most recent meeting in the Connemara Coast revealed that a huge amount of people have very little or no information about what this entails. Indeed, there are too many Galwegians and Clare people who have no idea that this is the plan for Galway Bay. We would like to inform people of the details and have asked the Marine Institute and Simon Coveney, who has the power to sign off on this, for more time to examine the applications and the consequences for Galway Bay and its surroundings. Please help us spread the word quickly as we only have until August 2nd for submissions on this. Unless our TDs and Councillors stall the deadline for us.

Our Judges continuously hand down suspended or short sentences to rapists and those found guilty of sexual assault in this country, including those who sexually assault children. We do not accept these sentences which legitimise the rape of both adults and children and allow dangerous and violent criminals to walk freely on our streets. Enough is enough. If our judges are unable to punish those who have committed these abhorrent crimes, then we call for their resignations from their positions.

NAMA owns Lynams hotel in the middle of O'Connell St. This 47 bed hotel currently hosts many homeless families as 'Emergency Accommodation' -- a last resort for families hit by economic evictions with nowhere else to go. It could host many more -- every single day families are refused and sent to 'self accommodate' which means they have to source their own hotel by phoning every hotel in the city. Lynams hotel can hold more than 40 families and ensure none of these children are left on the streets. NAMA want to privatise this hotel, selling it back to speculators and developers at a huge discount so they can make huge profits from us again. We wont let this happen! Join our fight for a better city, against homelessness, against privatisation, against rent increases and against elite corruption.

It will help in the fight against self serving associates robbing money donated by well meaning people. The latest scandal involves Console. Draft sections of the audit revealed that former Console boss Paul Kelly and his wife and son spent almost €500,000 on designer clothes, foreign trips, groceries, and other expenses between 2012 and 2014. All three benefited by almost €500,000 in salaries and cars in the same period. This is not good enough. The legislation exists but it's not being implemented. This must change. PART 4 of the Charities Act first action: Protection of Charitable Organisations Investigation of affairs of charitable organisation. 64.— The Authority may appoint a person (in this Act referred to as an “inspector”) or more than one such person to investigate the affairs of a charitable organisation and to prepare a report thereon in such manner as the Authority shall direct.

This is important because football is one of the most important sport in Ireland. Too many clubs that were in the league have gone bankrupt due to the incompetence of the FAI. Currently, teams such as Waterford United are on the brink of bankruptcy. This has to change. By signing this petition, you're showing the FAI you care about the League of Ireland's future

This is important as it appears that the Dublin Port Company failed to adhere to licence conditions in previous dumping carried out under the same licence and these failures to comply were not acted upon by the regulatory authority (EPA). These conditions were imposed to protect the Bay. As the cultural status of the site has since been raised to an SAC its protection has been recognised under both Irish and EU legislation as now being even more important. The Irish Underwater Council (IUC) believe that dumping at the designated dump site of the Burford Bank, will cause long term damage to an environment already only gradually recovering from previous significant historical dumping. While the IUC recognises the necessity of the dredging being carried out, we believe alternative dump sites must be considered. If the use of the current dumpsite is to continue, then this activity must undergo the proper appropriate assessment required for EU protected sites.

Irish greyhounds are being exported out of the country and ending up being exploited and abused in countries like India and Pakistan by being made race against motorbikes in an extremely dangerous and unregulated sport. [1] This is not the first time that a story has broken about the fate of Irish greyhounds when they leave the country. As it stands, the breeders and sellers have no responsibility to ensure that the greyhounds are not going to be abused and can make a lot of money selling greyhounds with no responsibility. That is why we are calling on the Minister to immediately implement an emergency ban on the export of greyhounds until a proper system is in place. It is not good enough to breed thousands of these dogs, sell them, and then shirk any responsibility for their welfare post sale. The Irish government and the greyhound industry say that they have no information on where Irish dogs are sold onto after they are sold to the UK. For this reason, there has to be an immediate, emergency ban on exports until a proper, transparent system is put in place.  Will you sign your name to this please? P.S I have updated this petition to reflect the recent revelations around greyhound-motorbike races but the ask in the petition stays the same; there needs to be a proper system in place to ensure lifelong welfare.

Is é an Gaeilge ár teanga náisiúnta, agus le Aire sinsear Gaeltachta, is féidir leis an Stát an Stráitéas 20 Bliain don teanga a neartú. Ba chóir go mbeadh gach Roinn den Rialtás áiseanna as Gaeilge a chur ar fáil, agus le béim níos fearr ón córas polaitiúil, beadh seans níos fearr do athbheocháin na teanga.