Our beautiful planet has reached a dangerous toxic load of Roundup weedkiller. In 2018 over 5 billion pounds of it was spread worldwide and this will rise each year if we do not stop it. Roundup's makers, Monsanto, have been proven in numerous high profile lawsuits to have hidden the scientific proof that it does not, as they claimed in the 1970s, break down in the soil; it remains active and therefore harmful for at least ten years. Yet still we spray. The fact that is does not break down is evidenced by it being found in urine and breast milk samples, and organic honeys which are nowhere near spraying. It is, at this stage, everywhere. It has been proven to attack beneficial bacteria in all lifeforms, including humans, and is linked to numerous diseases including cancers, celiac disease, autism and gluten intolerance. It is proven to kill honeybees and other pollinators, and has been implicated in the ill health and death of dogs and other pets. The only reason it is still on the shelves is because our business-focused governments keep lobbying to keep it there. We are essentially putting the profits of corporations above the health and future of our planet. This is insanity. The only way we are going to stop the spraying is by pressuring those in the newly formed council to wake up and take action; to remind them their jobs are to serve the community's healthy and well-being, not amass wealth for an elite class. Look around your towns and countryside, and when you see Roundup sprayed speak up. Tell people that there are much healthier and cheaper alternatives. See recipes here: https://garden.lovetoknow.com/wiki/Recipe_for_Vinegar_Weed_Killer

Because it is disrespectful, depressing and completely wrong. It is not the answer and the only people who would ever have to live like this are those who can't currently afford the ridiculous rent levels. Stop pushing people out of Dublin & think about the kind of cities and communities we want - not what developers want.

Under the Loco Parentis rule, parents of disabled children are restricted from leaving their own home while a respite nurse is in the home to provide in-home respite. An adult must remain in the home. This is not respite. Parents who are caring 24/7 for their medically fragile children must be able to recharge, run errands, go to medical appointments, spend time away with their other children, and much more. The siblings of the disabled children must also be able to have the most normal social life outside of the home as possible. For this to happen, parents must be able to leave the home with these siblings during in-home nursing respite hours. This rule is particularly discriminatory against lone parent carers who don't have a partner to be the adult to remain in the home as the Loco Parentis. Of all carers, lone parent carers are typically under the most amount of stress - physically and emotionally - and as such, being able to leave the home, even just once a week for 5 hours, is desperately needed. Ultimately, the best care possible for the disabled child is what is at risk if the parent carer is unable to maintain their own physical and emotional well-being. The other children in the family, and family unit as a whole, are also at risk of harmful, irreparable dysfunction if essentially trapped in their home due to such an inhumane, unjust, policy as is Loco Parentis. This rule, implemented by the HSE, is clearly a violation of human rights and the rights of children.

There is no current policy in place which promotes the mental health of women after they've had an abortion. An abortion can be a very emotional experience and can be very difficult for women who may have mental health difficulties. I believe that women should be entitled to support when accessing abortion services.

Ireland has changed, we are a more inclusive, equal and progressive society and sex education in Irish schools must reflect this. Young people we work with have said that sex education is not fit for purpose, does not reflect the variety of identities and sexual orientation of people today, putting the health and safety of young people at risk. Recommendations by the Oireachtas Committee on Relationships and Sexual Health, and the NCCA Review of the RSE, echo what our young people say.

As parents to 2 terminally ill boys, Cathal (4) and Ciaran (3) we do not want any other parents to suffer our pain unnecessarily. We want our boys to be amongst the last born in Ireland with a disease that could have been treated at birth. Our sons have a rare condition Metachromatic Leukodystrophy (MLD) with a life expectancy of 5 yrs. Through a trial gene therapy treatment program in Milan, Italy, we were able to treat Ciaran who is now 2 years post therapy and doing well. For Cathal however there was no chance of treatment be cause once the condition had been diagnosed it was to late. Through our experience in Italy we learnt of their program to expand their newborn screening program from 4 diseases to 40 in 1 year. This has been a huge success and will save so many lives and so much suffering that we must follow their lead and protect our children here in Ireland. The Italian government has presented this information to the EU parliament and their ministry of health and the charity organisations who drove this change have openly offer their assistance to us to copy their model in this expansion. I have written to every politician in Ireland and shared this information and the relevant contacts with our HSE. But I have been advised from the people who made it happen in Italy that public will and pressure on the government are the best ways to effect change. All the studies and validations for all 40 diseases they now screen for are available to use, along with the financial cases for each disease. Making this change will also save millions of euro! 1 in 1500 births in Ireland will have 1 of these detectable and treatable conditions. 1 baby every 8 days. We have watched our son Cathal grow to be a beautiful 2 year old boy with no problems and then slowly fade over the last 3 yrs. He is fully paralyzed now and close to the end. We cannot bear the burden of knowing there will be other parents like us unless their is an immediate action taken on this. Please take the time to sign this petition and to share it with everyone and anyone you can. There is a wonderful opportunity to make a huge change here in Ireland, saving the lives of children and the suffering of so many families. https://www.facebook.com/themartinfamilytrust

Every 18 hours in 2018 someone tested positive for HIV in Ireland. HIV infections reached a record high of 531 people in 2018. This could have been avoided if there was adequate resources and funding to fully implement prevention methods such as easily accessible nationwide HIV testing and a national PrEP programme. These two measures are proven to reduce infection rates. Antiretroviral Therapy is now so effective that when on treatment for HIV the virus is suppressed in a persons system so well they have a suppressed viral load. This means they cannot pass HIV to another person. Undetectable equals Untransmittable is a very important message which should be promoted and celebrated. Ireland has become a very progressive and open society in the last number of years, however HIV positive people still face unwarranted stigma. This stigma has led to poor mental health and low self esteem. The stigma that surrounds HIV is also a barrier to getting tested and seeking treatment. Education is the key to undoing years of misinformation and stigma and will help HIV positive people lead ordinary lives free from discrimination. We have the knowledge and methods to drastically reduce HIV infections, what we need now is political desire and commitment to make this a reality.

All patients should have the right to use all treatment suitable for them to have an opertunity to fight for a better quality of life and possible cure. Your chance of survival or quality of life should never be determined by the size of your wallet.

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 important as the University Hospital Limerick formerly Limerick Regional Hospital is the most overcrowded hospital in Ireland, we need Saint Johns A&E reopened to help alleviate the pressure on University of Hospital Limericks A&E

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.

Clare-TCU is the office where local dispatchers take calls for bookings, who know where all our regular passengers are based. We have 16 years’ experience of delivering a flexible and fully accessible bus service to the people of Clare and South Galway. Dispatchers work closely with drivers to make sure the bus diverts to where the people are, facilitating bookings up to an hour before departure. The dispatchers are the life force, that direct the bus service, look after drivers and, above all, look after the passengers. They are part of your community. The TCU is the driving force behind Clare Bus, taken away from our community the service will be a shadow of its former self. Impact on passengers: loss of the highly responsive service that has become a life line to many people. Impact on Clare Bus: loss of dispatchers, taking out local control of service provision and development threatens the viability of the whole service and potentially puts 25 Clare jobs at risk.