This new cost rental housing model would be a self-financing approach to housing, involving State provision of housing which would be made available for rent to a mixture of households on medium or high incomes as well as those on the social housing waiting list. It’s a model that caters for all. The current system is not working, the housing crisis is crippling the lives of individuals, families and communities. In 2017 local authority data show that 100,000 people are on waiting lists for social housing in Ireland. Already successfully rolled out in Denmark and Switzerland, this housing model is guaranteed and permanent. It provides security of tenure and will put an end to people living hostage to rapidly increasing private rental rates, to unsustainable mortgages, and to the risk of debt, eviction and homelessness. Public land should be used for public good, not for profit. Almost 6.1 billion of public money has been paid out in rent supplement to private landlords in the last 17 years, alternatively that could have built well over 30,000 homes.

The Office for Public Works (OPW), a government agency, is proposing to build the new Garda Operations Center over the route of the greenway in Kilmainham. The greenway will be a pedestrian and cycle only route from the gates of the Irish Muesem of Modern Art (IMMA) at Royal Kilmainham Hospital along the river Camac to Heuston station. The OPW does not have planning permission yet. They don't have to build over the greenway route. They are only using 29% of their proposed site for the new building. They can move the building off of the greenway route protecting it for local residents and visitors to our city. This greenway will provide a safe and friendly environment for locals and visitors to move freely in this part of the city. It will connect key cultural and tourist destinations in our city such as Kilmainham Gaol, the Irish Museum of Modern art to the rest of the city. It should not be built over. "I avoid cycling in the area. It's too unsafe. My only option is the busy N4 dual carriageway alongside Heuston station. This greenway will give me a safe alternative to cycle to work" -- Kevin, local resident "This greenway will give me a safe and quick option to walk from my train at Heuston to my patients. I currently walk alongside the Luas tracks and it just doesn't feel safe" -- Sarah, nurse at St. James' Hospital Sign this petition to show your support. There is more you can do. Follow these steps to show more support: https://www.rivercamacgreenway.com/support

The Seabury Estate is over 35 years old and there has never been a bus shelter at either Stop 4339 or Stop 3641. The existing bus stops are very exposed, with nowhere nearby to sit or to shelter from the elements. https://www.google.ie/maps/@53.4525644,-6.1835511,3a,75y,90t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sjgcbXMtoje192aqXZtPCdA!2e0!7i13312!8i6656?hl=en These stops are used by a wide variety of people, including older people, the disabled, wheelchair users, parents with buggies and young children, school kids and everyday commuters. Dublin Bus will consider building bus shelters if enough people sign this petition.

The new Metro-North Project is a vital piece of infrastructure connecting the growing town of Swords, with Dublin Airport, Dublin City University and Dublin City Centre. The existing roads and bus infrastructure is at breaking point and the need for a high speed and environmentally friendly rail solution for Swords and the M1 corridor is long overdue. With the Government due to announce a €100 billion Capital Plan in the next couple of weeks, it is vital Metro-North is included as a priority piece of infrastructure to be progressed. The National Transport Authority and Transport Infrastructure Ireland commenced preparatory work on the planning and design of the project over the past two years and a dedicated Steering Group was set up by the previous Government to push Metro North forward. We are now at a crucial point and we want to see the detailed planning process get underway in the first half of this year if construction is to begin by 2021. For that to happen Minister Donohoe needs to give the go-ahead now! Let the Minister for Finance and Public Expenditure know that this is a long overdue priority for the people of Swords...Let's have our voices heard!

Galway, with a population of 80,000 people, is a beautiful, thriving, bilingual city in the west of Ireland, situated on the Corrib, and the gateway to the biggest Gaeltacht in Ireland. The people of Galway however face the daily challenge of serious traffic congestion which impacts enormously on their quality of life. In addition, Galway is projected to increase its population to 124,000 people by 2040 so urgent action must be taken to improve the public transport system in the city. We also face a real challenge in fulfilling our commitments under climate mitigation legislation which oblige us to take both immediate and long terms steps to reduce our emissions. A light rail system, as part of an integrated public transport system, will go a long way towards achieving these objectives. It will also provide positive opportunities for sustainable urban renewal. We believe that the provision of a light rail service in Galway has to be an integral and essential part of the solution. Building on the dedicated work of the Gluas team, the matter was raised in the Dáil in November, 2017 with the Minister for Transport with a view to providing a light rail service in Galway. The Minister’s response is interesting and is worth a look: https://goo.gl/paGKDT He issued a challenge to the people of Galway to show that there is a demand for light rail, and if we can show that demand, he is willing to discuss and review the situation. That challenge has led to this petition campaign which started on the streets of Galway on the 13th of January 2018 and which will continue for 8 weeks, with the specific aim of collecting 30,000 signatures. If you haven’t signed the petition already on the streets of Galway, please show your support by signing now. Now is the time to act.

St Anne’s Park is a valuable public space given in trust to Dublin City Council by the Guinness family, for citizens of all ages, abilities and social groups. It is also part of the environmental buffer zone for Bull Island, a UNESCO protected environment. Right now Crevak Developers are trying to by-pass proper planning procedures and steal a public space for private gain. An application for this development was previously turned down and people are already objecting for any reason [1] The more of us that raise our voices in objection, the better our chances will be to save St Anne’s! NOTES: [1] http://ilovestannes.ie/wp/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/Suggested-grounds-for-objection.docx

This is important because money could be better spent in redevelopment in other areas of the city. The park is one of the few left in the city that has been left untouched for years. The park provides many community events throughout the year and brings people together for all types of occasions. This site was privately sold but still comes under the umbrella of the park so if this development goes ahead it opens the flood gates for endless destruction to the park through building. Where does it end?

Like many areas across Dublin South West, Firhouse is without a single playspace or playground. We now have five primary schools in the general area and it is simply unacceptable that families have to get in their car to travel to the nearest amenity. The Scientology Centre in Firhouse has applied for planning permission to put in a playground on their grounds. This should not be left up to private businesses to offer what is essentially a public good. We ask South Dublin County Council to ensure that such amenities for young children and their families are provided for in the local area and accessible in public spaces only.

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.]

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).

Tell the Councillors that the Sean McDermott Street Magdalene site must be preserved as a national centre for commemoration and education. The institutional and clerical abuses that have caused pain and destruction to so many people and families in Ireland must be acknowledged. We must never forget, and we must never allow them to happen again. This is the new Ireland. We can and must remember. We must honour survivors when they say: "I’d like them to acknowledge what has happened and accept what has happened - instead of saying, ‘oh yes I’m sorry,’ but no meaning behind it - and make sure it never ever, ever happens again." (Link to http://jfmresearch.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/JFMR-report-to-CAT-for-the-session-2017-Main-Report.pdf ) We must respect the survivors who tell us: "I just would like it to be known. I would like it to go into the history books and I would like...do you know, the younger generation of today including my own grandchildren to know that that’s the way it was long ago. It wasn’t the perpetrator that went in, that got into trouble, it was the victim. You know, you’d have had to have been a girl, like, for that to happen." (Link to http://jfmresearch.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/JFMR-report-to-CAT-for-the-session-2017-Main-Report.pdf ) We must hold the Taoiseach to what he told the Pope last weekend, and demand action, not just brave words. As Leo Varadkar said on Saturday: "the failures of both Church and State and wider society created a bitter and broken heritage for so many, leaving a legacy of pain and suffering. ...It is a history of sorrow and shame. ...Wounds are still open and there is much to be done to bring about justice and truth and healing for victims and survivors." DCC Councillors will shortly vote on the following motion: “Following the repeated recommendations of the United Nations Committee Against Torture (UNCAT) that the Irish State should undertake a thorough and impartial investigation into ill-treatment of girls and women at the Magdalene Laundries, promote greater access to archival information regarding the Magdalene Laundries and fully implement the outstanding recommendations of Mr Justice Quirke, including services for survivors and memorialisation, the elected members of Dublin City Council (DCC) consider it entirely inappropriate that DCC is currently offering the Magdalene Laundry site at Sean McDermott Street for sale to private developers. The elected members of DCC are also concerned that, despite it being the first recommendation of Mr Justice Ryan's Commission to Inquire into Child Abuse, a memorial to those abused in residential schools has never been created. We hereby request a halt to the sale of the Magdalene Laundry site at Sean McDermott Street. We welcome the creation of the Lord Mayor's Commission and look forward to receiving its recommendations regarding the appropriate use of the site.”

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/