Jigsaw Roscommon provides a free and confidential support service for young people aged 15 to 25 living in County Roscommon. The Jigsaw hub, opened in 2012, is located in Roscommon Town in the Primary Care Centre on the Golf Links Road. There has also been a huge outreach programme, to areas where young people found it difficult to access the hub, such as Boyle, Monksland, Castlerea to name a few. Jigsaw Roscommon is part of the national Jigsaw network supported by Headstrong, the National Centre for Youth Mental Health. Jigsaw Roscommon has always aimed to make sure that young people’s voices are heard, that they get the right support, where and when they need it. Unfortunately, due to the unsuccessful recruitment of a Clinical Co-ordinator, the service is temporarily suspended with it's future uncertain. We need to find a Clinical Co-ordinator so the 5 other posts (Project Manager, 2X Clinical Support Workers, Youth Engagement Officer and an Administrator) can be filled with the Jigsaw Roscommon Service restored and the mental health of the young people of Roscommon cared for. According to the reports, over the 3 year period, a total of 409 young people were supported by Jigsaw Roscommon aged between 12 and 26 years. The age of highest need presenting to the service is 17 years of age. This is the typical age that falls between child and adult service provision. The numbers of referrals seen in the first year of Jigsaw Roscommon in 2012 was 39 with one staff member. When there were two members of staff in 2013 the number of young people coming to the service multiplied four times to 184. We have no doubt that had efforts been put into raising awareness of the service in schools and at a community level that the Jigsaw service in Roscommon would have had the potential and scope to be of benefit to many other young people in County Roscommon.

Twelve percent of the population of Ireland are migrants, of whom so many have the right to vote. Migrants bring enterprise and initiative, and in order to actively participate in Irish society, migrants must be visible in all spheres of Irish life and be represented proportionally to our number in the Irish population in all decision making processes. Irish political actors have done little or nothing to reach out to immigrants during elections. Integration has dropped off the radar and from the programmes of all political parties. A diverse republic needs inclusive politics and institutions that reflect the composition of a diverse society. Government bodies and local authorities need to do much more to engage with immigrant communities. We, the Migrant-Led Coalition, are calling on all politicians and candidates to sign up to our election manifesto and pledge to represent the needs of their migrant constituents.

-Education is a right not a privilege-The United Nations Conventions on the Rights of the Child states the following:States Parties recognize the right of the child to education....States Parties agree that the education of the child shall be directed to the development of the child’s personality, talents and mental and physical abilities to their fullest potential(Articles 28,29) -Without the education setting of the Cork Life Centre the young people accessing it would have no suitable alternative educational placement. -Alternative models of education such as our centre need to be recognised and funded. At present in Ireland up to 10% of young people on average do not complete secondary level education. It is more than obvious that one size does not fit all. -Funding is an ongoing struggle for the Cork Life Centre-at present we are in receipt of just €47,500 in direct funding from the Department of Education and Skills. When one considers that it costs €9,000 per child per annum in the mainstream system and our setting offers a range of additional supports and is asking for just €5,000 per student the lack of response of the government does not make financial sense. -Education by its very definition should be holistic and meet not just the learning needs of young people but also their social and personal needs. At the Cork Life Centre our first priority is to create a warm and welcoming community where young people can build relationships with trusted and supportive adults as well as their peers.

1304 deceased patients of St.Lomans Hospital Mullingar, County Westmeath are buried without individual grave markings - one of these is my great gran Julia Leronard (nee Caffrey). My family and I discovered this after our application to have her remains exhumed to be re-interred in a family plot was turned down. Following this I visited the graveyard and discovered 1304 men and women including my great gran are in what has been allowed to become a mass grave. In 2011 the HSE sanctioned graveyard maintenance work resulting in - the removal of all the crosses marking each grave. I have heard these crosses are stored in a shed on the grounds of the hospital. The last person buried here was in 1970. These deceased patients were forgotten by Irish Society while interred in what was then known as the Asylum - I want to remember these people today and afford them some dignity and respect by marking their graves properly. On February 6 2016 myself and my family erected our own cross in the memory of our great -gran/grandmother Julia on the mass grave site. We felt we needed to do something to honor her memory as Government Authorities are not doing anything. We would like to see; 1.An expert Archaeologist hired to restore the graveyard 2.Restoration of the graveyard - meaning restoring the individual identity of all the graves i.e individual markers/crosses on each grave with the name of the person buried there and their date of birth and death. 3.Permanent memorial wall with all the names of the men and women buried there. 4.Exhumation of my great gran Julia - to be re-interred with the baby boy taken from her in the hospital - my grandfather. I think as it stands it shows up ongoing discrimination in the area of mental health. If this graveyard was in the general community there would be outrage at headstones being removed and a graveyard being turned into a mass grave.

I have just read a report detailing the appalling and disgusting conditions under which homeless families in Ireland have to live. Yesterday I read about the conditions in the temporary refugee camp at Calais in France, which is run under the auspices of the French and UK governments and the EU. The conditions for the homeless in Calais and the homeless in Ireland are horrifyingly similar. Yet the Irish Government is pleading that it has no funds available to intervene and is sticking rigidly to its market economy addiction. This is not good enough when our Government is willing to throw money at bankers and developers and any johnny-come-lately who has robbed the people and contributed to the enforcement of the austerity regime. The Government's inept handling of our housing crisis is a contributory factor to the increase in anti-refugee sentiment in the country. This is cowardly behaviour on the part of those who claim to lead Ireland and who boast about what they claim to have done for Ireland. Front up for the sake of the unfortunate people who are suffering and set an example in 2016.

Very few diagnosed so people with ADHD are being treated for anxiety and depression to name but a few of the symptoms not knowing what they actually have.

An ambulance person shouldn't have to wait 3 hours to get a stretcher back form a hospital and put themselves at risk at viruses and bugs. Also our elderly shouldn't be on corridors. They fought for our country to be treated like this

Many people are struggling to find suitable accommodation with their pets and some are even forced to give up their much loved pets. Let's do what the French do. Allow our cats and dogs etc. to live with us.

Homophobia in schools has effected many students all over Ireland,some students mental health becoming permanently destroyed in the process. From calling someone gay for liking something stereotypically male or female to calling someone homophobic slurs and telling them there "not valid" and "doing it for attention", homophobic bullying is a horrible thing that should happen to NOBODY. In recent years the government has tried to combat this, but there is still a lot of work to do. I think i good way to help would be, by making a country wide helpline for students suffering from homophobic bullying in schools, it would be confidential and easy for all students of any age to access, say next to the principles office there could be a poster with the phone number for the helpline on it. There are already lots of helplines for young people like SpunOut and belong-too but, I think that there should be a helpline solely dedicated to helping this issue. I wouldn't think a helpline would be hard to set up, its not like im asking for a country wide change of all the rules, So please don't let this petition be unnoticed, this is a really serious problem the NEEDS to be solved. Thank you.

Direct Provision also known as asylum seekers is a term used to describe the money, food, accommodation and medical services an individual receives while their international protection application is being processed (Citizensinformation.ie, 2021). As of 2019 there were a total of 4,781 applicants for the protection status in Ireland (‘Statistics’, 2020). There were 7,330 still pending at the end of 2019 and a total of 585 people living in Ireland with the refugee status. Due to the large numbers of asylum seekers and the growing increase over the years, facilities are exhaust leading to poor treatment of the basic human rights and needs of an individual living in direct provision. Asylum seekers are given a weekly payment of €38.80 per adult and €29.80 per child, as a result of this they are unable to afford education, healthcare or sufficient food (Citizensinformation.ie, 2021). Not only their physical health is being damaged, but also their mental health. People in direct provision are five times more likely to have issues in relation to their mental health (‘Direct Provision – Doras’, 2021). The total funding for the Irish Refugee Protection Programme (IRPP) is €770,000 (Justice, 2020). This is to be spread across seven different areas around Ireland, allowing only €110,000 for each geographical area. This is not enough funding to provide adequate accommodation, food, education and healthcare for all. The White Paper was released in February 2021 which contains a description of the current plans in relation to abolishing Direct Provision. This is in fact great news however, change needs to be made now and cannot wait three or so more years. There are people currently living in Direct Provision and their voices and concerns need to be heard and their needs must be met. Immediate action must be taken to help those currently living in Direct Provision. The following are links to more detailed sources in relation to this issue: Information on Direct Provision: https://www.irishrefugeecouncil.ie/listing/category/direct-provision Information on the food provided: https://nascireland.org/sites/default/files/WhatsFoodFINAL.pdf Information on the White Paper: https://www.gov.ie/en/press-release/affd6-minister-ogorman-publishes-the-white-paper-on-ending-direct-provision/ References: Citizensinformation.ie (2021) Direct provision system. Citizensinformation.ie. Available at: https://www.citizensinformation.ie/en/moving_country/asylum_seekers_and_refugees/services_for_asylum_seekers_in_ireland/direct_provision.html ‘Direct Provision – Doras’ (2021). Available at: http://doras.org/direct-provision/ Justice, T. D. of (2020) Irish Refugee Protection Programme, The Department of Justice. The Department of Justice. Available at: http://www.justice.ie/en/JELR/Pages/Irish_Refugee_Protection_Programme_(IRPP) ‘Statistics’ (2020) Asylum Information Database | European Council on Refugees and Exiles. Available at: https://asylumineurope.org/reports/country/republic-ireland/statistics/

Direct Provision also known as asylum seekers is a term used to describe the money, food, accommodation and medical services an individual receives while their international protection application is being processed (Citizensinformation.ie, 2021). As of 2019 there were a total of 4,781 applicants for the protection status in Ireland (‘Statistics’, 2020). There were 7,330 still pending at the end of 2019 and a total of 585 people living in Ireland with the refugee status. Due to the large numbers of asylum seekers and the growing increase over the years, facilities are exhaust leading to poor treatment of the basic human rights and needs of an individual living in direct provision. Asylum seekers are given a weekly payment of €38.80 per adult and €29.80 per child, as a result of this they are unable to afford education, healthcare or sufficient food (Citizensinformation.ie, 2021). Not only their physical health is being damaged, but also their mental health. People in direct provision are five times more likely to have issues in relation to their mental health (‘Direct Provision – Doras’, 2021). The total funding for the Irish Refugee Protection Programme (IRPP) is €770,000 (Justice, 2020). This is to be spread across seven different areas around Ireland, allowing only €110,000 for each geographical area. This is not enough funding to provide adequate accommodation, food, education and healthcare for all. The White Paper was released in February 2021 which contains a description of the current plans in relation to abolishing Direct Provision. This is in fact great news however, change needs to be made now and cannot wait three or so more years. There are people currently living in Direct Provision and their voices and concerns need to be heard and their needs must be met. Immediate action must be taken to help those currently living in Direct Provision. The following are links to more detailed sources in relation to this issue: Information on Direct Provision: https://www.irishrefugeecouncil.ie/listing/category/direct-provision Information on the food provided: https://nascireland.org/sites/default/files/WhatsFoodFINAL.pdf Information on the White Paper: https://www.gov.ie/en/press-release/affd6-minister-ogorman-publishes-the-white-paper-on-ending-direct-provision/ References: Citizensinformation.ie (2021) Direct provision system. Citizensinformation.ie. Available at: https://www.citizensinformation.ie/en/moving_country/asylum_seekers_and_refugees/services_for_asylum_seekers_in_ireland/direct_provision.html ‘Direct Provision – Doras’ (2021). Available at: http://doras.org/direct-provision/ Justice, T. D. of (2020) Irish Refugee Protection Programme, The Department of Justice. The Department of Justice. Available at: http://www.justice.ie/en/JELR/Pages/Irish_Refugee_Protection_Programme_(IRPP) ‘Statistics’ (2020) Asylum Information Database | European Council on Refugees and Exiles. Available at: https://asylumineurope.org/reports/country/republic-ireland/statistics/

To reduce gambling addiction & not add more temptation for vulnerable people to a town in the North West of Ireland already struggling to reduce social deprivation, reduce crime , reduce drugs ....