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Expand the Cork Public Bike SchemeThe 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.151 of 200 SignaturesCreated by #ibike Cork
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Save ALL Magdalene historic sites.Recently Sean mc Dermot street Magdalene laundry, Dublin, was protected from being sold to a hotel because it was the only institution within state ownership. All Magdalene laundries currently named in the mcayleese report should be protected and that should have already been the plan, just like the graves that lay on some of these sites. But instead, Sunday wells, cork Magdalene laundry had been sold by the church and they plan to build housing on it. The same is currently happening to st Vincent’s Magdalene laundry, cork. It was rumoured to be given to another housing development company. The church who own many of the buildings of these institutions, although clearly just as responsible for the treatment of these women had contributed nothing to the scheme for this women that paid out for just their wages (which was capped at 10 years by the government meaning those who worked longer gets the same as someone who worked there less time) and a tip of a medical card. The government foot the whole bill, rather than a 50/50 deal like what was made for the Ryan report (which they still haven’t completed paying) their assets should have already been stripped from them to compensate these women and children but now the church they are acting quick and selling the laundries, for profit or to cover up further. These places shouldn’t be touched until a full investigation happens and a small gesture to the survivors & their families would be to give these places back to the community. The mcayleese didn’t even hit the tip of the iceberg in regards to the laundries, nor did it address all the crimes in relation to the laundries, they took so much but refuse to give so little back. The laundries still standing should be places of historic importance and not built upon to cover their shame or for what ever other reason. They shouldn’t have been allowed to be sold In the first place! St Vincent’s Magdalene laundry, (now named st Vincent’s Centre for those with “intellectual disabilities”) it is a fully functioning building, in fantastic condition and only recently they built and new Covent for the nuns on the land, why would you get rid of something that is so Newley built and in good condition? Although the last laundry closed in 1996, they kept the women on the same land in st Vincent’s, in the same dorms, just closed down the laundry part and it was run by the same people the sisters of charity right up to 2017, then when standards fell so low HSE took over and had a month to up standards, they failed the centre which was now named a centre for “intellectual disabilities” and failed the Magdalene women still in their care in that centre, those who was made to remain in the sisters of charity’s care even after the church refused to accept any responsibility to the Magdalene women’s scheme. The tax payer foot the whole bill for the women’s wages and medical card as the church felt they did nothing wrong regardless of the extensive evidence. We now need to protect all Magdalene laundries sites still standing named in the Mcayleese report. My nan died in st Vincent’s Magdalene laundry after they neglected her to death which we have the prove regarding, a doctor recommended a hysterectomy but they left her for over a decade due to the churches believes regarding being sterilised, during that time she developed cancer to the womb and bled to death, they dumped her in a mass grave where 72 women lay. Since 2013 we have been trying to exhume my nan from the mass grave after the apology was just issued to the living working residences (not even minutes was issued for the dead women) the children residents and the children of these women who died due to proven neglect and put into a mass grave wasn’t acknowledged and my mum sat in the Dàil the night they issued it heart broken for years she had been fighting to see her mothers, hers and her sisters form of justice in regards to the laundries and the fight continues. My mums sister was in sunday wells, when she left the laundry she left to Liverpool, she came back to cork but to try visit her mother who was in another Magdalene laundry, st Vincent’s, they left her outside and she never got to see her mum that day, she flew back to Liverpool and that coming Christmas Day & she committed suicide, when she was found she was found with the address of her mothers laundry on her, the authorities called the laundry her mother was in to inform her regarding what happend My nan and her children was all separated and taken due to prejudice against unmarried women but what stands out clearly in my mothers and nans reports, is that it wasn’t just due to one that prejudice of being unmarried but two, the prejudice towards those who was itinerant (irish Travellers) although reports stated my nan was a good mum and all the children was “well nourished” no stated bruises but what they did state and care for is regarding her living circumstances and being of “no fixed adobe” of the “itinerant stock” and in the 1960s a commission took place stating that very itinerant children will be taken from their families and institutionalised. Simply put, they was attempting to socially cleansing the community by using institutions and breaking up families. After the exclusive apology from the state was issued in 2013, are family requested right to removal and have been ignored by those who own the land, the sister of charity. We cannot exhume my nan without their permission, (which should be a right to survivors like my mum they do so for people just moving house) after the order first ignored us in 2013 we applied to the council and in their response in 2014, they stated although we stated we already asked the orders permission, we need their permission before taking it any further as they are owner of the site. Everyone that signs this petition, it’s so greatly appreciated, thank you all.285 of 300 SignaturesCreated by Laura-Angela Collins
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Bring the Baby Blimp to the BannerTo facilitate peaceful protest to Trunp and his policies and to respect the political heritage of Co Clare, the Banner County.,15 of 100 SignaturesCreated by Michael McNamara
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Let's stop turning our urban neighbourhoods into concrete jungles - let's bring our wildlife back!!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!!291 of 300 SignaturesCreated by Carola Blaney
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Save our home**WE NEED SUPPORT TO SAVE OUR HOME** This is our story: With rents soaring to an all time high and mortgages becoming harder to obtain, we needed a plan. Like most people our age, renting in the private sector whilst also trying to save became impossible. That's when the idea of temporarily living in a cabin (to the rear of a privately owned home) to continue to save up for our own home, became appealing. If fortunate enough to be in a position to do this, that's great. The council will not have a problem with it nor will they approach you. Planners acknowledge the proliferation of log cabins across the city. If no objections are made they can turn a blind eye. However, if there is an objection.. Then it becomes a "planning issue". Which brings us to our current situation, in short.. DCC enforcement have ordered the cabin to be removed on the basis of one complaint, from one neighbour. There's not much need to go into details but everyone who is familiar with the situation has seen first hand how this particular neighbour has treated myself and my family throughout this ordeal and I can only hope that they hang their head in shame at their disgusting behaviour. We're calling on the council to relax the laws and clarify the grey area regarding permission for these sorts of temporary structures at the upcoming meeting on 25th september. I'm not suggesting allowing these structures is going to fix the housing crisis. There are record numbers nearing 20,000 on Dublin City councils housing list. 1,338 families with 2,886 children are living in homeless accommodation in the Dublin area. Building houses is the only real solution but Ireland does not have a public housing system to meet the needs of society and the countries housing crisis is most likely down to housing being treated as a commodity rather than a human right. It's simply not acceptable. The right to housing is recognised by the United Nations (article 25 in the universal declaration of human rights) and the UN have been active in highlighting homelessness as a VIOLATION OF HUMAN RIGHTS. Being deprived of a home gives rise to a social identity through which "the homeless" is constituted as a social group subject to discrimination and stigmatisation. This housing crisis affects people in so many different ways, and it's going to continue to affect us and have a knock on affect for years to come. Most frightening, its damaging the children, the youth of this country and in turn the future of this country. If by allowing these structures temporarily will help even a few families avoid being part of these statistics.. It's worth it right? Because every family matters. Just one of the many "immediate obligation of states" from the UN is to eliminate the practice of forced eviction, especially when it would lead to homelessness. I believe that having a place to call home is the most fundamental of human rights. For me personally a "home" is somewhere safe and secure where my two boys can feel comfortable and be themselves. This is exactly what we have provided for them as our response to this housing crisis and we won't let it be taken away from them without a fight. Please help us raise awareness on this and show your support by signing our petition..thank you!2,407 of 3,000 SignaturesCreated by Sharon Brereton
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BAN MILITARY TESTING IN IRISH WATERS!We want an investigation to be implemented into the mass stranding of at least 16 offshore deep diving cetaceans, beaked whales which occurred from August 3rd to August 25th 2018, along the north-west coast of Ireland from Co. Mayo, Donegal and Co. Antrim. Simultaneously, 13 beaked whales stranded off the Scottish coasts and 2 more were reported stranded in Iceland. These are minimum estimates of mortality as they do not account for animals which may have sunk to the seabed or animals stranded in remote places and remain unreported. Previous studies on cetacean carcass drift have suggested that strandings represent a minimum of at sea mortality; depending on drift conditions carcasses may not always wash ashore, thus, the actual number of dead animals may be much higher (Peltier et al., 2014). Other mass stranding events of beaked whales around the world indicate beaked whales are susceptible to death or injury directly (temporary/permanent hearing damage) or indirectly (gas embolism, ( also known as the 'bends' ) due to extremely loud man-made oceanographic noise such as that produced by low and mid frequency naval sonar and certain types of acoustic survey used to examine the sea floor and below. Mass strandings of beaked whales associated with naval exercises have been recorded in Greece, the Canaries and the Bahamas. With no certain cause of these beaked whale mortalities on Irish shores having yet been established, this needs to be recognised as an unusual mass stranding event (UME) in an effort to identify the potential cause(s) and perhaps prevent future stranding events. Beaked whales are among the most diverse yet least understood groups of marine mammals.owing to their deep-water oceanic existence and typically inconspicuous surface behavior. Feeding in depths often exceeding 1000 m, most species are rarely seen; some have never been identified alive at sea and are known only from beach-stranded carcasses. According to the IUCN Red List, approximately 40% of marine mammal species are considered Data Deficient, whereas for the Ziphiidae, 90% are Data Deficient. Population trends for all beaked whale species are listed as unknown on the IUCN Red List. Ziphius and Mesoplodon are the two beaked whale genera known to suffer impacts from naval sonar activities. They exhibit strong behavioral responses to certain types of active sonar, resulting in altered movements and space use for prolonged periods after exposure (e.g., several days). In more extreme cases there can be physiological consequences leading to death or stranding. Mass strandings of beaked whales throughout the Northern Hemisphere have been associated with offshore military activity (Moore & Barlow, 2013). It is important that we aim to mitigate these stranding events and reduce human impacts on beaked whales in Irish waters. Thank you for taking the time to address our concern, Kind Regards, Emer Keaveney, Executive Director, ORCA Ireland.1,267 of 2,000 SignaturesCreated by ORCA Ireland Ocean Research & Conservation Association
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Child Safety for Seabury Estate, MalahideWe are asking Fingal County Council to implement new child safety measures for the Seabury Estate in Malahide. Child Safety Measures Needed: 1. New ramp between Seabury Place and Seabury Crescent 2. New signage to say 'Slow Down - Children at play' along Seabury Lane and Seabury Crescent 3. Speed limit to be reduced (currently it's 50km/hr) 4. Business Work Vans are parked out on the road (we kindly request that they park in their driveways or elsewhere) ________________________________________________ Why are we requesting these safety measures? - In recent years, many of the local, younger children have been playing outside on the road. - They usually play here in the cul-de-sac or just beyond the dangerous junction where Seabury Lane meets Seabury Crescent. - Signs to indicate appropriate driving speeds / children at play are not clearly visible. - It has been noted that some cars drive from Seabury Place onto Seabury Lane at high speeds and with little regard for the children at play. - Many cars also turn from Estuary Road onto Seabury Lane and drive at high speeds, despite the small ramp which is about half way down the road. - There are cars parked along Seabury Lane, including 2 or sometimes 3 large white work vans parked along Seabury Lane which make it more difficult for drivers to see children playing up ahead.9 of 100 SignaturesCreated by Fiona OB
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Community Swimming Pool for West WicklowBlessington 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.2,013 of 3,000 SignaturesCreated by Deirdre McCormack
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Go Hydrogen.Major breakthroughs are being made in the hydrogen technology sector in transport, energy production and storage. The production of hydrogen is getting greener month on month. Worldwide, countries are running trials with hydrogen as it's main source of it's green transport needs for the future. If the Irish government fails to include Hydrogen in future plans then we will be left behind yet again. We have the capacity as a nation both in our technology and chemistry sectors, to drive this forward and to lead the way on green technology.23 of 100 SignaturesCreated by Tony Ryan
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No fast food chains near Skerries schoolsIreland is facing a child obesity crisis with huge long term implications. Part of the reason for this is the marketing of high sugar and high fat foods specifically targeting children. Fast food chains are particularly guilty of this. Granting permission to a fast food chain restaurant beside a primary school and Montessori school will have negative consequences for the health of the 100s of children that currently pass this site on a daily basis and the 1000s that will do so in the long term if permission is granted. Let’s protect our children and set an example to other Councils around the country369 of 400 SignaturesCreated by Joe O'Brien
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Give Savita the Recognition she DeservesSavita was by all accounts a bright, vibrant, kind young woman who was failed by the state- her kindness and life as an immigrant who came to Ireland to provide care to people should be recognised and celebrated. Savita’s unnecessary death and cost to her family should be acknowledged and the role of this unnecessary death and her family’s efforts played in gaining bodily autonomy for women, (and also trans men and anyone with a womb). She deserves to be remembered, acknowledged, and her courageous family, who have been put through so much pain and hurt, deserve our thanks. Savita’s place in Ireland’s history (though a shameful chapter) is important and should be acknowledged. I would like Galway to install a memorial in her honour to remind us of her contribution to Ireland as an immigrant and to always remember her tragic death and place this as part of Ireland’s history, setting us toward the latest referendum. After this vote we need to remember Savita, and allow Irish people a place to go to pay their respects to her and her family.125 of 200 SignaturesCreated by Naomi Oldenburg
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Cycling For All in IrelandIreland needs to unlock the current suppressed potential for cycling — transport, mental and physical health, and environmental benefits, and also more wide-ranging positives of mass cycling. These wider benefits include giving teenagers and parents freedom from the parent taxi; freeing many people across the country from the restrictive options of driving or depending on infrequent public transport; and supporting “last mile” trips to high-quality public transport.2,336 of 3,000 SignaturesCreated by Cian Ginty