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.

According to the latest IPCC report, the next twelve years are crucial for action on climate change. There are four ambitious climate and environmental Bills which have been brought by Opposition Parties to the Dail. If the government truly wants to make Ireland a leader on climate change, it should support the passage of these Bills immediately. These are - The Climate Emergency Measures Bill (Bríd Smith PBP) - The Microgeneration Support Scheme Bill (Sinn Fein) - The Just Transition (Worker and Community Environmental Rights) Bill (Green Party) - The Waste Reduction Bill (Green Party) This is a simple ask. These are all sensible Bills which will move Ireland towards being a cleaner, greener and fairer place to live. We have no time to wait. #ClimateActionNow

It’s one of 9 local authorities not to drawn down any funding allocated for it to provide the accommodation. Over €1.2 million in funding earmarked for the provision of the accommodation has gone unspent.

Since the economic crash in 2008 hundreds of thousands of Irish people have been affected by financial legal issues which can end up in court proceedings. There are currently 20,000 cases for repossession in the Irish Courts. With a typical family of 5 that is over 100,000 people. Some experts say 250,000 - 500,000 are affected by potential repossession in Ireland. While every criminal in Ireland from the petty thief to the rapist, murderer, drug dealer and maybe even Bankers in criminal proceedings are entitled to legal aid, Civil Legal aid is only available for family law issues in Ireland. People in financial difficulty have to try and represent themselves in Court, or, just not go to Court at all, and lose their homes by default; without a defence being put forward. While ordinary citizens go unrepresented, the financial institutions often have a Solicitor, or maybe even two, and one or two Barristers. A Fair Trial requires there to be balance and equality between the parties and is known as an Equality of Arms. In Irish Courts there is #NoEqualityofArms The "Scales of Justice" are completely lob-sided in the financial institutions favour. Ireland... #ThisIsNotDemocracy Article 47 of the European Charter of Fundamental Rights says everyone is entitled to be advised and represented if the legal issue involves EU law, but this is not implemented in Irish law and, Judges appear not to have jurisdiction to grant legal aid in Civil Cases. Irish Citizens are being denied one of the most Basic and Fundamental Human Rights, the Right to a Fair Trial. The foundation of democracy is based on the Justice & Legal systems. If basic human rights guaranteed under EU law are been withheld from Irish Citizens then... #Ireland... #ThisIsNotDemocracy Minister, please introduce emergency legislation to make civil legal aid available to the tens of thousands of people in the Irish Courts involved in repossession proceedings. No Fair Trial = Ireland... #ThisIsNotDemocracy Ireland needs #CLAN PS: Please support the Irish #CLAN Please share on social media and ask your friends and family to do the same, the Irish #CLAN needs everyone's support!

Monaghan County Council could be fined because it hasn’t spent any Government funding on traveller accommodation. It’s one of 9 local authorities not to drawn down any funding allocated for it to provide the accommodation, Longford and Westmeath are also included. Over €1.2 million in funding earmarked for the provision of the accommodation has gone unspent.

Established in 1996, Lifeline Inishowen provides professional and confidential support to women and children who are experiencing or have experienced domestic abuse: physical, emotional, sexual or financial. The service's volunteers provide support to 54 families per year, on average. HSE funding was withdrawn in 2010. Although Lifeline receive a small sum from TUSLA towards their Child Counselling service, their main source of funding for the past 8 years has been donations through their own fundraising efforts, and their charity shop. Local support has been overwhelming, but is sadly not enough to secure the future of this vital service. Inishowen has a bigger population than Co Leitrim and a larger landmass than Co Louth. The only funded domestic violence support in the entire county of Donegal is located in Letterkenny – a 120km round-trip from Lifeline's Carndonagh base. This is simply impossible to access for Inishowen women and children in controlling and abusive households. Minister Zappone and TUSLA, we demand that the funding for Lifeline Inishowen's running costs is reinstated. The centralisation of domestic abuse services in a big, rural county like Donegal is disastrous for families in Inishowen. Closure of Lifeline will literally put lives at risk. Reinstate the funding to secure the future of these essential services in Inishowen. Lifeline Inishowen Charity nr: 19971

Drug Policy, and the war on drugs has had children, parents, politicians and stranger murdered in broad daylight. Thanks to gang activity, I myself shake and fear at the noise of bangers going off. The entire country lives in fear of gangs, gangs fed through drug money, drug money coming from the "black market". Little do they realise that the failing drug policy, the politicians and their lobbyists are directly financing this through their stern, "moral" views on dirty drugs. It is absolutely unacceptable. I am sick & tired of burying my friends and lending their brokenhearted families a soaking shoulder to cry on because the government failed them. The governmental position on drugs, the policy set in place in the early 1970's, has absolutely failed them. Where were you when they found their bodies, that nobody heard of because the news would rather report the stash of Class A narcotics they found in a shed, behind a burnt out house and a car filled with hand guns and machetes. Where were you and where are you now? What are you going to do to change this? My name is Sandy Brun, I am a qualified Toxicologist and I hope to graduate with a Master's degree in Neuroscience & Pharmacology. You can find me on LinkedIn. I am sick and tired of burying my friends with dirty drugs in their veins, up their noses and everywhere else. I am sick and tired of being let down by this never ending agonizing political situation that is murdering my friends and breaking the hearts of their families. I've lived in Ireland since I was 10 years old, and I've buried a friend every year since I was 13. You're so proud of the 100th 1916 Easter Rising anniversary that the country celebrated 2 years ago. You're so damn proud to be Irish. You're so damn prejudicial and soft. Stand and fight. For our sons and daughters.