This is because the Finn Valley has a growing elderly population and a reducing number of potential family carers. Also parts of the area have little access to public transport and are quite isolated i.e the border and gaeltacht areas. For over three years the People of the Finn Valley and wider Donegal area have been asking the question about what is the future of St Josephs Community Hospital in Stranorlar, Co. Donegal. The government and HSE representatives have never given a clear answer on the future of the Hospital and have even provided conflicting information. The people of the area have twice held well attended public demonstraions where they marched from the Hospital in Stranorlar to Jacksons Hotel in Ballybofey a distance of 2.6km. Many who marched were over 60 and feel abandoned by the way they are being treated. We wish to know the answer of how many and what types of beds that are planned to be serviced at the hospital. What staffing levels will be retained in future at St Josephs in terms of Doctors, Nurses, Nursing Assistants, Administration and Ancillary staff. We want to know now what Capital Budget and other Budgets will be allocated and the plans that will be transformed into buildings i.e. refurbushements, extensions etc so as to meet HIQA standards.

It is important because I feel the cost and construction of the crossings could have and should have been put to better use. I feel that a one-way system around secondary school would have solved the problem and would have cost less, it is also important because it puts the safety of drivers and school children on the line and since they have been constructed one fatal accident has occurred at the location. Finally, it is important for those with authority to focus on smaller projects which would benefit communities more instead of larger un-necessary projects which cost more money.

Clare-TCU is the office where local dispatchers take calls for bookings, who know where all our regular passengers are based. We have 16 years’ experience of delivering a flexible and fully accessible bus service to the people of Clare and South Galway. Dispatchers work closely with drivers to make sure the bus diverts to where the people are, facilitating bookings up to an hour before departure. The dispatchers are the life force, that direct the bus service, look after drivers and, above all, look after the passengers. They are part of your community. The TCU is the driving force behind Clare Bus, taken away from our community the service will be a shadow of its former self. Impact on passengers: loss of the highly responsive service that has become a life line to many people. Impact on Clare Bus: loss of dispatchers, taking out local control of service provision and development threatens the viability of the whole service and potentially puts 25 Clare jobs at risk.

Kildare needs more facilities for children and adults to engage in sports to promote a healthier lifestyle benefiting physical and mental health. With BMX all Ages and Abilities are Welcome: BMX isn’t just for children, Parents and children can ride bikes together, there aren’t many sports out there that parents and children can participate in together. It’s a great way for families to bond over a common interest helping to combat the raising obesity rate and reducing screen time and promoting general well being. Kildare town is constantly growing with more new housing developments but no new projects promoting sports activity have been completed, with the communities help we can change this! With the provision of a BMX bike track being built Kildare could envision provincial and national champions coming from the BMX club that would be based there. Kildare has already produced Provincial and National champions with no local facilities! Because of the involvement of adults mentoring and coaching the younger riders there is never any prospect of antisocial behavior. Building a BMX bike track will reduce any antisocial tendencies drawing the interests of the youth to ride their bikes in a safe fun place, and help role model BMX bike riding by discouraging the use of scramblers on the Curragh plains. The BMX bike track would become a bike tourism attraction drawing families to try the sport, raising revenue for the town from extra foot fall to local businesses. For more information of what is a BMX bike track click the links below https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gfA3fBgA10g https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mXqlMh8U81M

- The costs of public transport poses hardship to many people with epilepsy who are not eligible for Disability Allowance or any other payment which Free Travel is attached to. - The Free Travel Pass would enable people who have been told they cannot drive for a minimum period to stay economically active and compensate them for the added costs of public transport. - This would make a huge difference to supporting people with epilepsy in travelling to work, retaining employment and improving overall quality of life. - Travel concessions for people with epilepsy are available in other countries and there should be similar provisions here. - Successive governments have not delivered on the issue of free travel despite intense lobbying from organisations - we need public support on this issue!

In recent years our town and its surrounding areas have expanded greatly due to increased housing development, while this is welcomed we also need a significant update of Garda presence. This is something that we as a community feel should be built on alongside our development and instead it has gone the opposite direction. we hope that with this petition, we can increase the presence of Garda in our area and reduce the anti-social behaviour. We also would like to see our station be opened more often for tasks such as forms being completed etc.

Imagine if Ireland was able to implement a single policy that could reduce traffic, combat climate change, let people take up jobs they couldn’t before, make life in rural Ireland easier and reduce the cost of living all at once. And it only took a year or two to get it up and running. It may sound too good to be true but free public transport could do all this and we want to pilot it in Galway during 2020. Dear Minister Ross, Minister Bruton, and Minister Donohue, We, the people of Galway, ask you to trial free-fare public transport in Galway during 2020. This a policy that has been piloted across Europe and is working. In Aubagne, a French city of 100,000 people, public transport ridership increased by 142% and car trips decreased by 10% once free public transport was introduced. Overall, there was a reduction in public expenditure per journey of 48% from €3.93 to €2.04. This policy of fare-free public transport could allow the following outcomes across Ireland: * Reduction in traffic and commute time in cities and counties * Reducing our climate emissions and contributing towards our stated ambition to make Ireland a leader in tackling climate change * Increased economic activity and lower social welfare costs through improved social mobility and access to jobs and lower cost housing * Improved rural mobility with better public transport options in rural Ireland * Reduced cost of living through lower fares and giving families the option of giving up second cars With Galway welcoming the world to the European Capital of Culture in 2020, and our well-documented traffic problems, Galway 2020 is the perfect place and time to pilot this policy. We respectfully request that the Department of Transport and Department of Climate Action would immediately begin design and costing a pilot for free-fare public transport in Galway during 2020 and that the Department of Finance would allocate for this pilot in the 2020 Finance Bill or as part of the Climate Action Fund. We would ask that this pilot allows for: * An increase in bus capacity in Galway city and county so that buses are more frequent and reliable * A redesign of the route network including multiple crossings of the bridges and avoiding all bus traffic going through the city centre * The addition of new buses designs with modern interiors (similar to BRT designs like Glider in Belfast) that make the bus experience more pleasant * A proper study of the economic, environmental and social outcomes of the pilot. We are available to meet with you at your earliest convenience to outline our request and work with you to make it happen. Yours sincerely, Galway Free Public Transport Campaign

Super Valu only has two disabled parking spaces which is completely inadequate for the potential costumer base of the post office which includes the elderly and people on disability allowance. This will put extra pressure on the Super Valu car-park which is already struggling to cater for their own customers parking. The car park is also very badly laid out for pedestrian access and the extra traffic will exacerbate this problem. Main Street in Manorhamilton, where the Post Office is now located, is slowly becoming decimated and this move will be the final nail in the coffin. We thereby plead with you to reconsider this ill-thought out decision and to retain our Post Office where it rightly belongs on our Main Street.

Nurses are currently experiencing terrible pay and working conditions. There are not enough nurses employed by the HSE - nurses employed are being overworked to deal with the government-induced healthcare crisis. The result of this is seen in the overcrowding, patients on trolleys and lengthly waiting lists. We cannot take our nurses for granted and we stand with nurses strike action in Kilkenny!

Kilkenny has voted overwhelmingly for a YES vote and the people of Kilkenny and Carlow have campaigned tirelessly for years to end the shame and stigma surrounding abortion. We have ended the need for people in crisis pregnancy having to travel abroad for healthcare. St. Luke's Hospital cannot continue to export people seeking abortions to other hospitals.

Carlow is one of the four counties in which not one single GP has signed up to provide the abortion service to people. People in Carlow campaigned tirelessly for abortion and Carlovians voted overwhelmingly for local healthcare. We have ended the need for people having to travel abroad. Carlow cannot continue to export people seeking healthcare to other counties.

It’s time the Government stepped up and recognised that having a home is more important than rich institutions and people making huge profits off the back of the housing crisis. But, they need to know that there is massive public pressure calling on them to act now.