It is not natural to put children into uniforms for all of their childhood. Be in no doubt that they sap some of the light and levity out of the child and out of the school. They introduce fear and conflict because they involve enforcement, punishments, reprimands, and alienation. Schools become that bit more hostile to many children. Teachers waste enormous amounts of time enforcing and harassing and haranguing students about the clothes they are wearing and very stupid things like the colour of their shoelaces. They are expensive, restrictive, uncomfortable, oppressive and outdated. They reflect a right-wing conservative need for ultra-conformity to control children. In France it is Le Pen's neo-Nazi's who want to introduce uniforms. They are counter to modern educational philosophy which values plurality, problem-solving, creativity and self-expression. Ireland and Malta are the only two EU countries with this widespread practice, both with a British colonial past and a widespread smothering conservative, Catholic control of schools. It is a myth that uniforms protect children from bullying. In the wider European continent, out of 40 countries, uniforms are the norm in eight, and all eight of those report above average levels of bullying (Statista 2018). Rather than trying to make everyone look the same (impossible anyhow) by enforcing ridiculous dress and appearance rules, better for school to focus on developing children's ability to be resilient, accept themselves and other people for who they are in all their wonderful human diversity.

Let's make Mullingar accessible to everyone, bring the bus!

It's a change for the people of Ireland who understand the health benefits of consuming a natural product than an unnatural one and about the people having a say about there own experience and how it's positively affects them in there personal life

On the back of the Citizens' Assembly, urgent change to cannabis policy is needed.

APCP believes it is unfair and unjust to APCP members who have worked hard to meet rigorous professional requirements, for the HSE to continue with these exclusionary hiring practices. APCP promotes the belief that all clients should be treated fairly, equally, with respect and autonomy and yet, the opposite has been presented to members of APCP when it comes to recognition for posts within the HSE. We, as a representative body, who are very proud of our members achievements, high ethical practice, standards and commitment to best practice request that due consideration and fairness be extended to our members.

Aside from being unfair to NAPCP members who have worked hard to meet rigorous professional requirements, for the HSE to continue with these exclusionary hiring practices would be gravely irresponsible and potentially damaging to members of the public - many of whom are not currently receiving the care that they need.

May 25th is five years since the Repeal referendum when the people of Ireland voted overwhelmingly for choice, compassion and care - after an historic mass movement forced the government to finally let the people decide. Now, an official review has found many serious problems with the abortion law. Instead of acting quickly to fix them, the Government wants to delay, to drag things out and avoid taking decisions until after the next election. That’s why on May 25th this year, People before Profit is introducing a Pro-Choice Bill in the Dáil to fix the problems in the law and provide for real choice. The Health (Regulation of Termination of Pregnancy) (Amendment) Bill 2023 would: abolish the patronising and medically unnecessary 3 day wait to access abortion care fully decriminalise abortion to end the chilling effect for doctors - a draconian 14 year prison sentence still applies to medical professionals if they perform abortions outside the law. This is hindering access in cases of fatal foetal anomaly and for pregnant people suffering serious risks to their health or life. The number of abortions provided on life or health grounds is no larger than it was before repeal, forcing women in medically dangerous situations to travel. reform the fatal foetal anomalies law to ensure care is available here for all those who need it. Currently, half of parents in this tragic situation are still forced to travel to access abortion care. abolish the rigid 12 week limit and allow abortion on request until viability to provide real choice. The 12 week limit makes no allowance for women and girls pushed over the limit by failed procedures or inability to access medical appointments. It fails those with irregular periods who didn’t realise they were pregnant in time; women whose situations change, for instance being subjected to domestic violence, which often begins during pregnancy when they are at their most vulnerable; and many others in the myriad other difficult situations that pregnant people can face. We need your support to pressure politicians to vote for the Bill so that it becomes law.

An equal society is a better society for everyone.

The shore of Belfast Lough is special - lovely walks at low tide, seals, birds, the beach. It's a perfect place for people to enjoy, and to improve their physical and mental health, and appreciate our natural environment. Yet it's closed off. Access denied! NIWater and MEABC have the power to change that. So simply open the gate, and #ShareTheShore!

The swimming pool in Ballaghaderreen is an important and well used amenity, it's closure is a loss to the town and needs to be re-opened.

We have come together to draw attention to a 28.87 acre site being sold in Carlow. Gateway & Adjoining Lands, Strawhall, Athy Road, Carlow Town, Co. Carlow is for sale by Greencore Group plc. Advertised as “Tremendous potential for further development” There is zero mentioning of any mature trees nor woodland within the advertisement; lot 6 has a well established woodland (Link below for sale details) We are calling on you to help us protect these trees from potential destruction. We want these woodland back as a public amenity. . We want to protect the wildlife under the Wildlife Act 1976 that call this place home already. Trees are vital to preserve and hugely important to biodiversity in the ongoing climate change. And as we have seen before, trees and woodlands removed overnight; we have come together to prevent this from happening. We need our trees! Though this is not solely about the trees and wildlife this is about the community coming together seeing the potential these lands already have for the community. For our future community. Protecting and enhancing our environment for future generations. And only a brisk walk away from our town centre. What we need? We need time. To buy time we need support. We need you to join us, sign our petitions, and share our social posts. Write your support to newspapers. Contact the local representatives. Contact the Carlow County Council. Spread the word for the love of our trees we are coming together! Already a large community has come together in Carlow and further nationwide to bring these woodlands into the public domain. We hope you will share some support and hopefully some day you will get to come visit 😉 Contact us [email protected] (Link to sale details below in "campaign website")

-Students in UCC do not want to see the return of Race Day. - Race Day promotes animal cruelty, gambling, fast fashion and binge drinking. All the while, creating an unsafe environment for attendees and portraying a bad reputation of the student body to the public. -Efforts should be put into events which promote better values; events that do not use animals for our entertainment, and that do not encourage young people to gamble during a cost of living crisis. Horse Racing in Ireland -176 horses have died on racetracks since 2021. Thousands more are bred for the industry and are killed when they are not profitable. -€72.8 million of taxpayers money was paid out to the horse racing industry in 2023, compared to only €15 million total which was paid to the FAI, GAA, Athletics Ireland, Swim Ireland and the Special Olympics combined. -Horses are unique and intelligent animals, we don’t need to use them for entertainment. For more information… -List of Horses killed on Irish Racetracks https://irishhorsedeathwatch.com/ -Watch the BBC’s documentary ‘Panorama - The Dark Side of Horse Racing’ -Visit website of the National Animal Rights Association https://naracampaigns.org/ and read their campaign to stop Horse Racing https://naracampaigns.org/horse-racing/ -Further reading on Blood Sports in Ireland https://banbloodsports.wordpress.com/?fbclid=PAAabu4O8kG-Vv2TmH-3iaB3_MvIfy2pNcc51VIVVam3SVW80ndInZ0EvA0YU -Sign petition to stop government funding of Horse Racing https://www.change.org/p/irish-government-stop-giving-millions-of-euros-to-horse-racing - Australian Coalition for the Protection of Rachorses, #NupTheCup Campaign https://horseracingkills.com To support horses in Ireland visit My Lovely Horse Rescue https://www.mylovelyhorserescue.com/