Despite little information being given to the public throughout the rezoning and planning permission process, the public - which includes those living directly within the vicinity of the site as well as residents within town - have expressed both formally (through submissions) and informally (through public meetings) a number of concerns and objections to the factory. These concerns have been largely left unaddressed and it is for this reason that we demand the halting of the factory's development and the appeal of planning permission for the project. We are concerned about the overall lack of accessible information given to us surrounding the project. Land was rezoned in Poundlick, Skibbereen in April 2016 from "Town Greenbelt" to "Business Use," in order to allow the factory to be built. The rezoning occurred following an inadequate public consultation process, which consisted of one advertisement on p. 33 of the Irish Examiner print edition on February 10, 2016. While this one ad formally commenced the public consultation process, this does not constitute as clear, adequate, or accessible notification. Given that not a single submission was made by a resident of Skibbereen in response to the land rezoning, it is evident that the residents of Skibbereen did not access this information, which is understandable given its singular and obscure location. We should also be able to rely on our elected representatives to communicate such vital information to us in a widely accessible manner. Similarly, those living in the vicinity of the site were only informed that planning permission was sought after PLANNING notices went up at access points to the site. Again, this is an inadequate format for disseminating information, which has severely stunted the public consultation and engagement process on this matter, and means that our informed consent cannot be given. In addition to the poor process of public consultation and notification, our concerns circulate around our health; the environment (no Environmental Impact Assessment has been undertaken and nor has the County Council requested this!); our property value; the traffic that will result; the amount of topsoil that will be removed; the rezoning of land for industry amidst a housing shortage; the lack of consultation with a retirement home in the vicinity. A plastics factory was sued in Athlone in 2005 following a number of health hazards it created within the community, and should such a case be necessary in Skibbereen, this will come at great financial and time cost to our town's residents.]

An Taoiseach is our representative abroad. When he accepts prejudice, racism and bigotry, it shames the people of our country. We feel that such an alliance is not good for our country's reputation and undermines our relationship with other countries. Trump is a despicable human being. A point must be reached where falling at the foot of a powerful man, at the expense of our values and morals and international reputation is not acceptable! "'Shame'rock for Trump: Not in our Name"

Eirgrid has an important job to ensure our energy needs are met. However this can not be at any cost. The only issue of placing lines underground for Eirgrid is an increase in cost. Surely protecting our beautiful country is worth the increase in cost. It is also important to protect important landmarks, such as the Hill of Tara, which is seeking UNESCO status. It is time to start looking to the future and build the Interconnector and other national projects underground where they will be safe from storms, and keep our country beautiful for the next generations (and tourists).

As per the Irish Times article on November 29th by Kitty Holland, homelessness among single adults is up 44% in the Midlands in the year since October 2016 and this shelter, having already cut its staffing is now facing closure (1). The assertion by the Department of Housing that "the needs of regions are kept under review on an ongoing basis" and "it will help to meet the costs faced by housing bodies." is clearly not of any value here. This shelter which also serves the needs of people in Laois, Longford and Offaly needs to be kept open and Midlands Simon has to be given concrete assurances that it will receive adequate funding as a matter of urgency. https://www.irishtimes.com/news/social-affairs/sole-westmeath-homeless-shelter-likely-to-close-over-funding-1.3308697

The planning committee have a duty to represent ratepayers and seek to establish if these are unlawful decisions. These decisions may be unlawful if there has been no study of the combined health impacts on the people living in the area. Downwind, and in the six miles between these two developments, lie the homes of tens of thousands of people, as well as recreational water bodies, holiday sites and the shores of Belfast Lough. The human cost of poor air quality is huge causing the deaths of more people per year, in Northern Ireland, than passive smoking or road accidents combined and costing the NHS over £20 billion per year. (1) At a time when the World Health Organisation are saying that the greater Belfast area air already exceeds safe levels by 20% we deserve a cumulative health impact study before any further work proceeds. (2) Read more on FB @Stop the Newtownabbey Pig Factory & Stop Hightown Waste Incinerator 1. https://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/northern-ireland/belfast-air-pollution-levels-among-the-worst-in-uk-35636923.html 2. http://breathelife2030.org/ 3 https://ukhumanrightsblog.com/2017/11/13/air-quality-breaches-stops-development-which-threatened-to-exacerbate-them/

Dublin Region Homeless Executive should be a body that understands homelessness, that supports homeless individuals and their needs. Recent comments by Ms Gleeson show a lack of empathy and understanding of homeless individuals and families [1] stating that homelessness is a result of bad behaviour. Saying that volunteers who offer soup or tents are being unhelpful shows that Ms Gleeson is only focussed on homelessness as a problem to society rather than a symptom of society. These public comments do not reflect the person-centred approach advocated by the Homeless Executive's mission and show that Ms Gleeson is unfit to lead an organisation that so badly needs to embody a more humane approach to their cause. NOTES: [1] https://www.irishtimes.com/news/politics/tents-and-soup-will-not-fix-homeless-emergency-1.3291978

In the light of the recent RTE Prime Time Program "Nightmare to Rent". It is now obvious to all of us that the inspection regime who the County Councils are responsible for is not working. Tenants are being forced to live in unsafe and sub-standard accommodation in Co Meath and all over the country. Meath County Council and all its councillors have a duty of care to all tenants especially those in emergency accommodation to ensure their safety and that their accommodation is not sub-standard.

Women diagnosed with Gestational Diabetes were previously granted temporary LTI numbers to allow them access free drugs and testing strips to monitor their condition (as people with Type 1 and 2 can). This right was removed in 2013, causing untold stress to any pregnant woman diagnosed with GD. Because of how dangerous the condition is in pregnancy, many women have to test their blood multiple times a day. The strips for the testing machines can cost anywhere up to 59 euro a box, meaning that many women are spending 144 euro a month (max you pay on DPS scheme) buying strips, which were previously free. People with other types of diabetes are given an automatic right to free strips, for life, while pregnant women are once again punished by a government that does not care about them or their well being. There are few among us who could cope with suddenly needing to shell out 144 euro a month, especially low paid workers with no medical card entitlements - and when you're saving for a new baby it's even more stressful. Pregnancy is universal, people from all walks of life want to have families, but the working poor are once more being punished by a government that does not care. Give women back their rights, treat pregnant women equally and fairly.

Dr. Lynn was an incredible woman, revolutionary and role model. She did so much to improve the lives of children in Ireland and she deserves to be recognised. Nothing would be more fitting than a Children's Hospital named in her honour.

RTE is the single most popular media source on this island. We even fund them via a licence fee mandatory for every household. They influence society as a whole & their lagging behind on climate change is beyond unacceptable, it's dangerous. When we are paying up to a billion euro in fines annually because we couldn't meet emissions targets set decades ago, will RTE have Fitzmaurice or Healy Rae on to tell us it's God that controls the weather? Here is a great opinion piece from 2014 on this very issue - http://www.irishexaminer.com/viewpoints/columnists/victoria-white/prime-time-and-rte-are-in-denial-of-the-truth-about-climate-change-264064.html Coverage of the horrifically outdated debate RTE held only this year where the topic was basically "is climate change real?" - https://greennews.ie/shocking-climate-change-denial-aired-rte-claire-byrne-live/

We are calling for the full #55million for the mental health budget so our most vulnerable in our society can access 24/7 mental health services this must implemented accross Ireland, and no doubt will help save life's we need to break down the barriers and stigma that surrounds this lets send a clear message to this Government #endstigma #makementalhealthapriority #lifesmatter #Hope #WalkofHOPETeam

It would be an altogether too powerful body and they would have a complete monopoly on pesticides, fertilizers, seeds etc. Monsanto is a producer of genetically modified crops. A merger between these too would spell disaster for farming and farming produce in Ireland.