Around 100 residents in the Shannon Arms on Henry Street are currently facing mass evictions from several landlords, most notably, Supermacs owner and multimillionaire, Mr. Pat McDonagh. Some of the other landlords have a history of mass evictions from the properties they control. Tenants have come together as part of CATU Ireland (www.catuireland.org) to resist these evictions. Some evictions have already occurred at the Shannon Arms complex, with further evictions taking place at the end of May - let's show Pat McDonagh that the public support the tenants by signing this petition! Though these evictions have been raised in the Dáil, and with other relevant bodies including the local council, there has been no tangible intervention to help the tenants, some of whom are young families and people with disabilities. The looming threat of these evictions have deeply damaged both the mental and physical health of a number of tenants, which has led to some residents being hospitalised. Due to the extremity of the housing crisis, and the lack of housing available within the city, there are scant options available for the tenants if they are to be evicted at the end of the month. We are calling on Pat McDonagh, and the other landlords who oversee the buildings to revoke these eviction notices and let the Shannon Arms residents remain in their homes.

New Look staff in Strabane, some with over twenty years service, are being forced into redundancy by a senseless Lidl relocation from Bradley Way to Strabane Retail Park. It will bring ten new jobs but will cost up to sixty job losses. Strabane is an area of high social and economic deprivation and these potential job losses will be a disaster for a town with historically high unemployment. Four retail units will close to facilitate this Lidl development and relocation (New Look, Menarys, Peacocks, Argos). Strabane Workers Together are highlighting this redundancy injustice and are calling on all four aforementioned employers to relocate within Strabane.

Ukraine's national debt is €120 billion, that's almost 80% of their GDP. They are spending €6bn a year just servicing this debt, and have had years of austerity measures pushed as a result. This is illegitimate debt, built up due to the oligarchisation of society, the failure to tax the rich and currently increasing rapidly due to the brutal Russian invasion. Now a growing international movement is demanding this debt be cancelled. Given our own history, Irish people should be at the forefront in demanding the the cancellation of this odious debt.

It’s very important to ensure that such crimes on humanity & sites deemed to be crime scenes is properly investigated and while such is dragged out by the Irish government, the least we can do is protect & preserve the whole of the land respectfully until it’s investigated in the manner it legally should be.

"11 million Ukrainians wander, they have had to abandon their homes, take their children under their arms and flee? How else can one treat the mass rapes, the mass murders, the bombing of maternity hospitals"... In view of the unprovoked aggression by the Russian government in attacking Ukraine and killing thousands of its citizens call on the Irish government to reduce the number of Russians based in the Russian Embassy in Dublin without delay. 29/03/2022 - Today the Irish government asked 4 Russian diplomats to leave Ireland. Of the 31 Russian diplomats based in its Orwell Road embassy 27 remain. Ireland has 5 diplomats in Moscow. Today the Netherlands and Belgium announced they were expelling 17 and 21 Russian diplomats respectively for engaging in espionage. The Irish government need to expel more Russian diplomats or justify why they are not. Add your name to this petition to encourage the government to take this action.  Also please ask your friends to sign the petition. https://www.irishtimes.com/news/politics/four-senior-russian-diplomats-expelled-from-state-following-security-advice-1.4839308?mode=sample&auth-failed=1&pw-origin=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.irishtimes.com%2Fnews%2Fpolitics%2Ffour-senior-russian-diplomats-expelled-from-state-following-security-advice-1.4839308 https://www.irishtimes.com/news/crime-and-law/garda-expands-security-operation-around-russian-embassy-in-dublin-1.4829674

In 2019 all references to 'Human Rights' were removed from CORU’s Code of Professional Conduct & Ethics for Social Work, the legally binding document which governs Social Work practice in Ireland, and which Social Workers must adhere to. No explanation has been provided by CORU for the removal of human rights from the code. CORU’s previous 2011 Social Work Code contained six separate references to ‘Human Rights’, recognising its fundamental nature to the Social Work profession. The foreword to the 2011 Code noted: “Social Work is a profession based on principles of Human-Rights and Social Justice”. In 2021 the membership of the Irish Association of Social Workers (IASW) voted overwhelmingly in favour of initiating a campaign to have the term Human Rights reinstated to the Code. This petition forms part of that campaign, please support us. Advocating and upholding Human Rights and social justice is a core Social Work value. The International Federation of Social Workers’ (IFSW) 2014 Global Definition of Social Work states: "Principles of social justice, human rights, collective responsibility and respect for diversities are central to Social Work". The IFSW’s definition is a beacon to Social Work practitioners across the world, many of whom tenaciously hold onto the values embodied in this definition. This definition has been adopted globally, including by the IASW, and has been translated into 28 languages. Human Rights feature centrally in the Codes of Ethics of Social Work organisations in countries across the world, including England, Australia, Aotearoa New Zealand, Canada, Finland, Japan, and South Korea. The Australian Association of Social Workers Code of Ethics refers to Human Rights thirteen times. Similarly, the British Association of Social Work (BASW) Code of Ethics for Social Work features Human Rights a total of twelve times in its 15-pages. Removing the phrase ‘Human Rights’ from the Code effectively alters the narrative and meaning of Social Work, and has implications for how we, as Social Workers, both individually and collectively, understand, frame and practice our profession. It is imperative that Human Rights is included within CORU’s Code of Professional Conduct and Ethics for Social Work in Ireland. We call on CORU to reinstate all references to ‘Human Rights’ from the 2011 Code to the current Code of Professional Conduct and Ethics for Social Work. For more information: https://twitter.com/SWs4Change

Asylum policy is a reserved matter decided by Westminster that lies outwith the Northern Ireland devolved government. Westminster's response to the humanitarian crisis unfolding in Ukraine has been shameful. We the undersigned from Northern Ireland call on Boris Johnson to put in place a visa waiver scheme for Ukrainian people seeking shelter from the war and on the Northern Ireland Executive to put in place a scheme to facilitate the resettlement of refugees in Northern Ireland.

People powered campaigns are the best for delivering for their own communities, join to enrich the culture of our hometown.

Doug Beattie, the UUP Leader, said in January that "Northern Ireland has been blighted by division.. and yet we don't take the brave steps to try and deal with that division...we need to end educational apartheid which is taking place here in Northern Ireland." But his party is opposed to the Bill and may join the DUP in using this undemocratic Assembly mechanism to block the Bill. Doug and his party need to rule out using a Petition of Concern to block the Bill.

Ireland has international humanitarian obligations to act and respond to this crisis. The crisis in Ukraine has already forced people to flee for their lives and their safety. People power has previously forced the government to agree to an increase in the number of refugees we have accepted in Ireland. Now we must step up again to make the government live up to this commitment.

Right now, the Integrated Education Bill is going through the NI Assembly - but those opposed to integrated education are misleading schools and parents, telling them the Bill will harm existing schools - it won't. The Bill can pass if enough parties support it - and what the Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) do will be crucial. Last month, Doug Beattie, the UUP Leader, signalled his support for integrated education and said "Northern Ireland has been blighted by division.. and yet we don't take the brave steps to try and deal with that division...we need to end educational apartheid which is taking place here in Northern Ireland." We need Doug and his MLAs to support the Integrated Education Bill, and resist attempts by the Bill's opponents to sign a "Petition of Concern" - an Assembly motion that would doom the Bill. Write now and tell Doug how you feel!

No more Garda politics on sex work. Ending violence against people in sex work matters. We do not want sex workers in Scotland to suffer as Irish sex workers are suffering. Please share this petition on social media #NoMoreGardaPolitics #SafetyForSexWorkers References Amnesty International (2022) Ireland: “We live within a violent system.” Structural violence against sex workers in Ireland. Available from: https://www.amnesty.org/en/documents/eur29/5156/2022/en/ A Model for Scotland (2022) A Model for Scotland. Available from: https://www.amodelforscotland.org/ Campbell, R., Smith, L., Leacy, B., Ryan, M. and Stoica, B. (2020) Not Collateral Damage: Trends in Violence and Hate Crimes Experienced by Sex Workers in the Republic of Ireland. Irish Journal of Sociology. Cusack, J. (2015) Garda accused of rape says he arrested prostitute - then later returned to 'brothel' to have sex with her. Belfast Telegraph [online] 13 July. Available from: https://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/republic-of-ireland/garda-accused-of-rape-says-he-arrested-prostitute-then-later-returned-to-brothel-to-have-sex-with-her-31373259.html Department of Justice and Equality (2013) Report of the Inter-Departmental Committee to establish the facts of State involvement with the Magdalen Laundries [online]. Dublin: Department of Justice and Equality. Available from: http://www.justice.ie/en/JELR/Pages/MagdalenRpt2013 McCafferty, N. (1985) A Woman to Blame: The Kerry Babies Case. Dublin: Attic Press.