We, the  Student nurses , call on the Irish Government to introduce payment for all mandatory clinical placement hours completed by student nurses and midwives, as the prices of apprenticeship rise and we work hard and don’t feel rewarded. Student nurses regularly work full 13-hour shifts, often three days per week, while balancing academic requirements and rising living costs. Many students must work additional jobs to pay rent, bills, transport costs and other essential expenses, as Susi don’t cover the summer times the student nurses must work in. The current system places significant financial and personal strain on nursing students and may discourage people from entering or remaining in the profession. We call on the Government to: • Introduce fair payment for all mandatory clinical placement hours. • Review financial supports available to nursing and midwifery students. • Ensure no student is forced into financial hardship while completing compulsory healthcare training. • Support recruitment and retention of future nurses by removing unnecessary financial barriers.

We, the undersigned citizens of Ireland, call for an immediate pause on the forced removal of private and semi-private care pathways within public maternity hospitals. While we fully support the long-term goal of a universally funded, single-tier public health system, the current execution of Sláintecare reforms creates a deeply unjust double standard that uniquely targets women when they are at their most vulnerable. In the Irish healthcare system, an individual requiring orthopedic surgery, cardiac care, or general medical treatment retains the freedom to choose private care and access it via dedicated private hospital infrastructure. However, maternity care is fundamentally different. There are no standalone private maternity hospitals in Ireland. Every expectant mother, regardless of her choices or medical needs, must use the same 19 public maternity units. By banning consultants on new contracts from treating private patients within these shared public units, the Government is systematically dismantling the only pathway women have to guarantee continuity of consultant-led care. For many, this choice is not a luxury; it is a vital clinical safety net used to navigate severe past birth trauma, high-risk medical conditions, or a heartbreaking history of miscarriage. To strip this choice away before the public system is actually resourced, staffed, and capable of delivering guaranteed continuity of care to all women is a premature structural shift. A patient in labor cannot defer care, shop around, or walk out if the system is failing; they are entirely vulnerable to the infrastructure available on the day. Restricting choices in a female-only healthcare sector, while leaving options intact for general and male-dominated medical specialties, represents a profound inequity.

An Appointment, Not a Waiting List. This campaign is born out of my family's absolute worst nightmare. 19 months ago, we suffered the devastating, heart-breaking loss of my nephew to suicide. Today, we are living through the nightmare all over again. My niece has been diagnosed with ASD Level 1 and severe depression, yet she is currently stranded on a HSE CAMHS waiting list, denied the urgent care she needs. We know the terrifying cost of waiting. We are being pushed to the brink of crisis while the system stalls, and I refuse to sit by and watch the state fail another child. Right now, over 4,700 children across Ireland are stranded on HSE CAMHS (Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services) waiting lists. Hundreds of them have been waiting for more than a year. Behind these statistics are real families in despair. Parents are forced to watch their children’s mental health deteriorate day by day in a broken system. Early intervention is vital, but the HSE is tied up in recruitment bottlenecks and systemic delays. If a child is waiting too long for a physical surgery, the state steps in through the National Treatment Purchase Fund to pay for them to be seen privately. Mental health deserves the exact same urgency. We are demanding that the Minister for Health and the Minister for Mental Health establish a Mental Health Treatment Purchase Fund. Our demand is simple: If the HSE cannot provide a child with a CAMHS appointment within 3 months, the state must automatically fund alternative, accredited private or community-based therapies. Access to life-saving mental health care should be based on a child's medical need, not their parents' ability to pay hundreds of Euros in private fees. If the state cannot provide the public care in time, the state must pay for the alternative. Sign this petition to demand immediate funding relief for the thousands of children left behind by CAMHS. Our children cannot afford to wait.

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

Shingles is not merely a temporary rash. Many people experience severe and persistent nerve pain, known as post-herpetic neuralgia, which can continue for months or years after the visible symptoms have disappeared. This can have a devastating impact on quality of life, independence, mental health, and the ability to work or care for family members. Making the vaccine affordable—or free for those at highest risk—would not only prevent suffering but could also reduce healthcare costs by avoiding expensive treatment of complications and long-term pain.

Why this matters to Ireland: • A Proven System: For decades, Ireland has operated a safe and effective "Natural Health Ecosystem" through Health Food Stores and local Pharmacies - already governed by strict FSAI guidance. • Public Health: 80% of Irish adults have used food supplements to support their wellbeing, reducing the long-term burden on our public health system. • Economic Impact: These regulations threaten the viability of local health businesses and established Irish brands that are leaders in the European market. •  One size does not fit all: Proposed "harmonisation" takes no account of differing geographical needs — Irish people require higher levels of certain vitamins, including Vitamin D, than most other EU member states.  

For those with small babies, they are left unable to feed their children with no notice. For those unable to travel, they are left with no access to a shop to purchase water. The elderly and vulnerable are left with no heating, and farm animals and pets are left with no drinking water. There is a knock effect for everyone when this basis necessity is taken so regularly, and without warning.  The water rarely, if ever, returns at the aforementioned time, and when it does, it is unusable for at least a whole day after due to the sediment. 

Smoking remains the leading cause of preventable death in Ireland, killing over 4,500 people every year. A generational smoking ban—stopping the sale of tobacco to anyone born after a certain year—will protect our children and future generations from the harms of addiction, disease, and early death. Countries like New Zealand showed that this approach works, reducing smoking rates and saving lives. This ban is not about punishing current smokers, but about creating a healthier future. It will save billions in healthcare costs, reduce the burden on our hospitals, and ensure that no young person ever starts a deadly habit. Ireland has always been a leader in public health, and we were one of the first to ban smoking indoors, let’s make history again by becoming the next country to say no to tobacco for good.

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.