We are in a housing crisis. Many people living with disabilities are forced to share accommodation. Even if they share with strangers people living with disabilities are not eligible for the Household Benefits or Fuel Allowance Package. So people who depend on electricity for medical equipment are excluded because they share accommodation. It makes no sense and feels discriminatory. Allow people living with disabilities eligibility for €35 a month for electricity and for the fuel allowance for the winter. People living with disabilities didn't chose this life and deserve not to be punished for it.

Diabetes is a disease that currently affects 425 million people worldwide - and HALF do not even know they have the disease, according to the International Diabetes Federation (IDF). There are different types of Diabetes, but the main two are Type 2 (95%) and Type 1 Diabetes (5%). (You can read up on the difference between the two here: https://www.webmd.com/diabetes/guide/types-of-diabetes ) Early diagnosis can be accomplished through relatively inexpensive testing of blood sugar - so why are both children and adults worldwide still dying of Diabetic Ketoacidosis? (Diabetic Ketoacidosis is a life threatening complication of Diabetes that occurs when your body produces high levels of blood acids called ketones. The condition develops when your body can't produce enough insulin, and can result in swelling of the brain, coma, and death. Read more here: https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/diabetic-ketoacidosis/symptoms-causes/syc-20371551 ) If medical professionals administered a simple finger prick as standard at every and any medical appointment, early detection could prevent these deaths. Routine Blood Glucose Checks should be as common as taking a patient's temperature or blood pressure, especially since half of all Diabetics remain undiagnosed and Diabetes in general is still rising globally (Estimated 620 million people by 2040).

The Pharmaceutical Society of Ireland (PSI) Council approved rules that will mean that 248 women- in their late 50's, with an average 35 years of experience working as qualified professionals, will lose their livelihoods. The new rules would restrict a qualified Pharmaceutical Assistant (PA) to working ONE HOUR PER DAY in the absence of a pharmacist, rendering the qualification worthless and the job position economically unsustainable. If the new rules are signed into law by the Minister for Health, PA's will no longer be able to provide professional cover for pharmacists’ day off. “It is not possible to get locum cover so if the PA can’t cover I may have to remain closed some Saturdays…It’s fairly disastrous for pharmacy in Ireland”, a pharmacist explains in research carried out to assess the impact of the rules on pharmacy services. PA's have worked on average 18 years in their present pharmacies and know their customers very well. Continuity of care is paramount to patients' health and safety. This is something that PA's offer but the PSI have totally disregarded and ignored this crucial cornerstone. PA's like Sarah explain how “I will be out of a job. I am only 60 and state pension only available at 67…I have two children in college…it will be a financial disaster…I need my work and my money “, Marie spoke of how “I still have a mortgage so am worried about keeping my family home as I am a widow with a disabled adult living with me” NO consideration or provision for compensation has been made by the PSI, in drafting these rules.

The National Transport Authority are responsible for expanding the Cork 'Coke Bikes' scheme. The scheme has been a huge success but it needs to be expanded to cover more of the city! Cork needs to send a clear message to Dublin to secure funding for this.

The Irish State has no funding stream for services that help to prevent or treat gambling-related harm. We all know someone whose life has been impacted by problem gambling - either their own, or that of a loved one. In fact, 1 in 10 of us will experience gambling-related harm in our lifetime. Unfortunately, the HSE do not acknowledge gambling addiction as an issue and don't even mention the word gambling in their Service Plan. This means that support services are left to desperately under-funded NGOs. Ireland has the lowest Betting Duty in the world - and will continue to do so, even if the rate is increased to 2%. The increase would bring in an additional €50 million to the Exchequer. Problem Gambling Ireland and the Rutland Centre are proposing that €5 million be made available to all relevant addiction services, working in the area of gambling-related harm. This would leave €45 million for other badly-needed state-funded services. We urge you to contact the Minister for Finance and/or your local TD, asking for an increase in the Betting Duty to fund problem gambling support services. Thank you for supporting this cause and taking the time to have a positive impact on the lives of the thousands of people in Ireland, affected by gambling-related harm. Barry Grant, CEO, Problem Gambling Ireland

There will be a public meeting in the Ballyfermot Civic Office at 7.30pm on Tuesday the 4th September. This meeting is to voice the feelings of residents regarding the cancellation of the 79 bus route from the main road up through Cherry Orchard. This means that anyone living in Cherry Orchard will have to walk to the main road of Ballyfermot to access buses. For all young and old it is very important to turn up and voice your concerns in protest of this proposal. As well as the 79 they want to remove the 76 bus route altogether and change the route of the 18 that will no longer go through Palmerstown or out as far as Sandymouth. All support is greatly needed to prevent our local needs from been taken away. There is public consultation on the 19th September between 3 and 7pm in the Ballyfermot Civic Offices...as this is happening, it is very important that residents and people who work in the Ballyfermot area to meet together as a community to develop a community stance.

Incineration is TOXIC. Do not believe the authorities and Politicians.

I would like to encourage people to start thinking about planting NATIVE species in their gardens, instead of foreign exotics, which are mostly force-grown by garden centres and are of very little value to our native wildlife!! Good examples of native species are: hawthorn (crataegus monogyna) which makes a wonderful thorny hedge. Also great is holly (ilex aquifolium) a red-listed evergreen with beautiful shiny dark-green leaves and red berries, much loved by birds. Another excellent choice is our native black elder (Sambucus Nigra) and our native Rowan tree (Sorbus Aucuparia). You could also plant silver birch (Betula Pendula) in a slightly larger garden. There are many more species to choose from, but those are some of the best!! I'm in the process of creating my own little piece of heaven in my back garden: most of what I've planted is native to Ireland (and central Europe) as you can see in my campaign photograph. My garden is still very young and mightn't look like much, so don't be put off by what it looks like right now!! Wildlife gardening is wonderful, as I am increasingly finding out myself!! Not only am I learning SOOO much (which is great for the brain) - I am also getting plenty of fresh air and gentle exercise, which beats spending too much time indoors or on social media!! Wildlife gardening is also wonderful for MENTAL HEALTH, another topical issue I care deeply about: I suffer from anxiety and find, that being out in my garden always helps me to relax and unwind! I am looking for like-minded people I can share my passion with!! Also, we need to start putting down less concrete and gravel in our gardens: we are at risk of turning our beautiful neighbourhoods into an urban wasteland!! As most of us already know, many of our native wildlife species are in serious decline, due to modern intensive farming practices in the countryside and also for other reasons. Many of our songbirds, for example, have found refuge in our towns and cities, where they have been able to find hedges to nest in and have been able to take advantage of various food sources no longer available in their previous native habitats. I am increasingly seeing a trend, where people are 'tidying up' their gardens, by putting down more and more hard landscaping and by taking out trees, hedges or shrubs, crowding out our urban wildlife in the process!! This is happening EVERYWHERE, not just in my local area!! I think this is tragic and will do very little for our own wellbeing in the long run. We could create an urban paradise, abundant with wildlife, simply by planting NATIVE trees, shrubs, hedges and wildflowers in our own gardens!! This would also help tackle climate change. This is an appeal, not to politicians or other officials, but to my fellow citizens, who - I'm sure - don't want to end up living in a concrete jungle, either!! PLEASE SIGN MY PETITION, SO I KNOW, PEOPLE CARE ABOUT THIS ISSUE!! Maybe you could pledge to plant even ONE native shrub, tree or wildflower bed in your own garden!! It's time to open our hearts and bring nature back into our lives!!

Ireland has just divested from fossil fuels. But at the same time, our publicly owned Electricity Supply Board is pouring money into a coal fired power station in the Philippines. We already know we're dangerously close to losing our shot at a safe climate. For us to avoid disaster, 80% of known fossil fuel reserves have to stay in the ground and never be burnt. That's why it's crazy to be building new coal fired power stations - we should be closing down the ones that already exist. What's more, this project has seen shocking abuses of the community from the start. Residents were lied to, and told the project would be a Liquid Natural Gas plant. After it was approved, it was changed to a coal fired power plant. People who live near other coal fired power plants in the Philippines have seen a huge spike in tuberculosis and other respiratory diseases, but residents are not being heard. People were forced out of their homes to build the plant, some of whom got no compensation and some who were coerced to sell for far less than market value. Even worse, local priests who have spoken out have been receiving threatening text messages. Ireland cannot back a project like this. As a developed country, our role must be to support fair, renewable, and community led energy initiatives in developing countries - not dirty coal.

Blessington and the surrounding areas have a growing young population. Presently the residents must travel outside of our community to Naas or Tallaght to access swimming facilities. The nearest community swimming pool to West Wicklow, provided by Wicklow County Council, is in Bray, an hour drive away from Blessington by car. According to the 2016 Census the municipal district population of West Wicklow is over 26,000 people. A community swimming pool would be of great benefit to the local communities and would help promote physical exercise, water safety and provide local employment. We believe that a community swimming pool needs to be provided for the growing population of West Wicklow.

Both Gemma O'Doherty (award winning journalist) https://gemmaodoherty.com/ and respected financial whistleblower Johnathon Sugarman http://whistleblowerirl.blogspot.com/ have un blemished track records in uncovering political and financial corruption for the public good in Ireland. Notably issues that are totally relevent, newsworthy, affect peoples lives and need to be known by the Irish public. For instance Gemma O'Doherty was the first to uncover the penalty points scandal and has yet to be interviewed or allowed to comment on this issue! Johnathon Sugarman who is a financial whistleblower with indepth knowledge about the financial and banking corruption that is rife including the recent Drumm judgement. Why have they not been asked to comment? Is this a form of media censorship? Many People believe that for any other reason than balance alone they should be given a voice on mainstream media otherwise this is a form of Censorship in Ireland.

There is a global movement toward the decriminalisation of cannabis, supported by extensive research and large, real-world trials. Evidence demonstrates that legalisation can be accomplished in a manner which improves overall societal health and wellbeing, while generating substantial tax revenue for schools, hospitals, and other social services. Furthermore, legalisation has resulted in reduced underage cannabis use [1], reduced opioid use and related deaths [2], and reduced alcohol consumption [3]. Furthermore, legal cannabis is a large and growing industry which creates many jobs and generates tax revenue [4]. Legal US States, with populations equivalent to Ireland, now receive over $100 million per year in taxes [5]. The legal cannabis market in the United States now generates approximately $18 billion per year in revenues [6]. Furthermore, ending prohibition correlates with reductions in serious crimes like rape (15-30% reduction) and theft (10-20% reduction), strongly indicating that prohibition governments make our communities less safe [7]. Therefore, in light of these findings, we are calling on the Taoiseach to immediately lead Ireland towards the legalisation and effective regulation of cannabis in order to improve our societal wellbeing.  --- [1] https://www.zmescience.com/medicine/marijuana-among-teens-drops424/ [2] https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/legalised-cannabis-latest-solved-opioid-crisis-medical-marijuana-studies-scientific-jama-internal-a8293831.html & https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/legalised-cannabis-latest-solved-opioid-crisis-medical-marijuana-studies-scientific-jama-internal-a8293831.html [3] http://blog.norml.org/2017/12/01/study-alcohol-sales-fall-following-cannabis-legalization/ [4] https://itep.org/five-years-in-cannabis-tax-haul-rivals-or-exceeds-alcohol-taxes-in-many-states/ [5] https://taxfoundation.org/recreational-marijuana-tax-revenue-by-state/ [6] https://www.leafly.com/news/industry/marijuana-sales-data-americans-bought-more-weed-to-survive-2020 [7] https://www.econstor.eu/bitstream/10419/161145/1/dp10522.pdf