Evictions from Rental properties are allowed again as of Friday 23 April. Threshold and opposition parties have warned that this can bring many more families into homelessness, while greedy landlords continue to profit. This while we are still fully in the pandemic with most lockdown measures and mandatory hotel quarantines still in place. In the current conditions, it is absolutely unacceptable that entire families can end up homeless. In fact this is never acceptable, but much less now. Hence urgent action now is required. We want to call the Government to extend the eviction ban in Ireland until all of the covid-19 restrictions are fully lifted. This will allow all residents of Ireland to have a safe place to quarantine and live their life, at least until they are fully empowered to go back to work in an Ireland that has succesfully gone through the Covid-19 Pandemic.

Conversion therapy is an inhumane practice, based on the belief that being gay or transgender is something that can ‘be cured’. Since we launched, survivors have been sharing their stories of suffering at the hands of conversion therapy and the adverse effect it has had on them. This is still going on, it is still ruining lives. It has to stop. Members of the LGBTQ+ community have suffered trauma and developed serious mental health problems as a result of experiences of conversion therapy, and some have taken their lives as a result of their experiences. This is a tragedy. We in the ACTC want to ensure that conversion therapy, both in the Republic of Ireland and in Northern Ireland, is relegated to history. We hope that you can sign our petition today as a showing of support for all those in the LGBTQ+ community, and all of those who are no longer with us as a result of conversion therapy. Your signature will send a clear message to our politicians that we want to see this reprehensible practice outlawed without exception. Go raibh míle maith agaibh. Thank you all very much. Anti Conversion Therapy Coalition. Twitter- @antictcoalition Facebook- Anti Conversion Therapy Coalition Instagram- @antictcoalition Email- [email protected]

On the rare occasion that stalking is prosecuted in Ireland, it is prosecuted under harassment laws. The terms ‘stalking’ and ‘harassment’ are sometimes used interchangeably, but they can be significantly different. Harassment is unwanted behaviour from someone else that makes you feel distressed, humiliated or threatened. Stalking, however, is more intense, sinister and distressing. Stalking is a pattern of fixated, obsessive behaviour which is repeated, persistent and intrusive. It causes fear of violence or engenders alarm and distress in the victim. Victims of stalking are often at risk of violence from their stalker. The Law Reform Commission has recommended that stalking be defined as a separate crime to harassment. In the UK, when stalking was made a crime there was an increase in prosecutions - meaning it was necessary and overdue. We urgently need the Minister for Justice to act and legislate to make stalking a crime in Ireland. This petition was set up by Stalking Ireland, a campaign started by Eve McDowell and Una Ring. Eve and Una are using their experiences of stalking to change the law and better support victims of stalking in Ireland. This petition is supported by Sexual Violence Centre Cork.

The government plans to continue with direct provision in existence until the end of 2024. The government has not committed to ending the delays in the international protection process, that greatly exacerbate the impacts of the direct provision system. This failure has severe impacts on people's mental health and ability to integrate in the community. In order to address this ongoing harm, the government must identify suitable alternative modes of accommodation immediately and introduce new modes of accommodation in 2021. Further priorities that government needs to act on right now are identified in the Catherine Day Report (page 83). These actions can and should be done immediately. 1. Carry out vulnerability assessments for all people in the international protection process to identify and accommodate their special reception needs. A pilot program has commenced, but this will need to be heavily resourced to ensure that all people can be assessed, as Ireland has been obliged to do since 2018. 2. The allowances currently paid to people in direct provision should be increased from January 2021 and regularly reviewed in line with the cost of living. (4.12) – This has not been done. 3. The right to work should be made available after 3 months. (5.1) – This has been reduced to 6 months, not 3 months. It should be reduced to 3 months or 0 months without delay. 4. Applicants should be entitled to apply for driving tests and licenses as soon as they have made an application for protection. (5.2) - This has not been done yet. Government has committed to implementing this by summer 2021 in the White Paper. 5. Applicants should have the right to access higher education on the same basis and at the same fees as Irish people, once they meet the qualifying criteria (5.5). Access to education has been expanded but not to this extent; education is a human right, delay is not acceptable. 6. To clear the backlog of current cases a one-off case-processing approach should be introduced for all applications which have been more than two years in the system (6.7). This has not been done and there has been no commitment by the Department of Justice to do so. This priority – the case processing system – is a crucial action that needs immediate implementation by the Department of Justice. The delays in the international protection process have worsened due to the impact of Covid-19, because international protection interviews and Tribunals were paused for many months. People have been left waiting sometimes for over one year for a decision even after their interview. This has a negative effect on people's mental health, ability to integrate in the community and delays the possibility of their family members joining them. As well as the once-off case processing approach for all applications which have been more than two years in the system, the government must act to ensure that interviews take place and decisions issue within specific lengths of time. The Minister for Justice must ensure that the International Protection Office has the resources, staff IT equipment to deliver this even in challenging situations such as Covid-19. Minister Roderic O’ Gorman has called the timeline of the end of 2024 ambitious. Calling this ambitious is a disgrace. We know that our government can act quickly in the common interest when it has needed to since the start of COVID-19. We’ve had 21 years of people in Ireland living in direct provision and the harm that this does to people and to our communities. The government must act now identify suitable alternative modes of accommodation immediately, while also taking immediate actions to fully implement the priorities identified in the Catherine Day Report, and introduce new modes of accommodation in 2021.

Last week, the Irish Government published a report on children’s rights and best interests in the context of assisted human reproduction, written by the Special Rapporteur for Child Protection, Professor Conor O’ Mahony. If adopted, the recommendations contained in this report would address numerous legislative gaps that prevent children conceived through AHR, from having a legal parent-child relationship with both the parents, who love and care for them on a daily basis. Equality for Children are calling on the Government and Minister for Health, Stephen Donnelly to immediately adopt and implement the recommendations made in this report. We urge you to sign our petition in order to push the Irish government to take the actions our children need! More information about the report: The report by Professor O’Mahony provides clear, practical solutions, which uphold the rights and best interests of children including their right to family life, identity and non-discrimination. The report recognises the reality of AHR treatment, which can often involve needing to access services abroad. The report also highlights the need for legislation to address the real-life circumstances of individual children including those already born, so they can establish a legal parental relationship to the parents who love and care for them daily. It highlights the need to provide comprehensive legislation to cover areas such as; altruistic surrogacy in Ireland, the recognition of the rights of children born through international surrogacy, and crucially addressing the gaps in both the Children and Family Relationships Act 2015 and the drafted Assisted Human Reproduction Bill by including children already born through surrogacy, children conceived using a known donor and children conceived outside of clinical settings. The report acknowledges the distress caused to children born through assisted human reproduction and their families due to the absence of appropriate legislation “Children have been left in vulnerable legal positions for lengthy periods of time due to the failure of the Oireachtas to legislate to address their status.” Ranae von Meding, CEO of Equality for Children says, “Last week’s launch represents another crucial step forward in our campaign. By adopting all of the recommendations in Professor O’ Mahony’s report, thousands of children in Ireland will finally be able to have a legal parent-child relationship with both of their parents, something that has been denied to them to date. This includes children born to gay dads through surrogacy, children conceived using known donors and those conceived outside of clinical settings left behind in the Children and Family Relationships Act, 2015”. “Significantly, the report recognises the uneven impact the CFRA has had on children conceived outside of clinical settings and born to LGBT+ parents who cannot rely on the presumption of paternity/maternity as male-female couples can. This very principle has been a significant pillar of our campaign at Equality for Children, as it has effectively resulted in children of LGBT+ parents being discriminated against based on the sexual orientation of their parents.” “We urge the Government to act swiftly and adopt all of these recommendations into legislation governing assisted human reproduction. It is almost 6 years since our country voted for marriage equality. We are still waiting for the legislation that will allow the children of LGBT+ parents to be treated equally." “As it stands currently , in the vast majority of LGBT+ families, only one parent can be a legal parent. This must change. It’s not equal and it’s not what we voted for.”

This is extremely important as many people are left to suffer on long waiting lists or are forced to pay privately for services. Covid 19 has also had a negative effect on accessing these services and as a result investment is vitally required to keep these services running and develop them further, so they are accessible for all. For those who are unable to pay for services privately or are not able to travel for services ,accessing neurological services becomes extremely inequitable and this is something that needs to change.

So many are suffering because of the Covid19 pandemic. Most people have used their cars 50% less than normal because of Lockdown rules. Why should they pay the full insurance premium to the insurance companies?

Tá an Ghaeilge taréis a bheith an-feiceálach ar RTÉ le linn Seachtain na Gaeilge. Bheadh sé iontach dá gcloisfeadh agus dá bhfeicfeadh muintir na hÉireann an Ghaeilge go laethúil mar chuid lárnach de chláracha de gach saghas ar stáisiúin raidio agus teilifíse RTÉ. The Irish language has been freely used by presenters on our main national broadcaster during Seachtain na Gaeilge. It would be uplifting and in-keeping with our rights as citizens if our national radio and TV channels featured our national language used freely and naturally to indicate a truly bilingual broadcasting environment.

The GAA have already been sold public land for development which included conditions and contributions that haven't been fully met by the GAA including providing public lighting along The Marina. This park was intended be kept as a green space including a children's play area which has also not materialised. There has been considerable loss of habitat already due to development and building further on public land should be outright refused. Surrounding areas suffer greatly from significant traffic and illegal parking on match days, however provision of 124 extra spaces should not and will not be for public use during match days. Offering alternatives to people driving to the stadium should be the first priority. Solutions include better walking and cycling routes on match days such as road closures for non-locals and/or a GAA funded shuttle bus from the city centre. As the stadium is a 30 minute walk from the city there should be no extra motor vehicles being diverted towards the area. A "fan zone" with food trucks can be setup on the existing parking and paved space that exists on the Eastern side of the stadium should it be needed.

The rate of infant mortality in the Traveller community is 3 times higher than the settled population. For a first world country, there should not be such a large gap in these rates between a minority group and the rest of the population. The government has known about this issue for more than 13 years and yet has not done anything in order to reduce the rate. Please sign this petition so that we can bring around change.

Violence is happening everywhere and all women are at risk. It's happening on the street, in homes, in workplaces, in entertainment, and in intimate relationships.

The aim of this petition is to highlight that there is a need for more support for at home carers. These are people who have been caring around the clock to support a loved one who may be ill, have additional needs or are elderly during the COVID-19 pandemic. Although they do receive carers allowance which can range from €219 - €385.50 and additional monies depending on how may dependable children there is. This petition would be used to highlight not only do they need financial support but they also need a form of relief from the general day to day strenuous tasks they encounter not only physically but also emotionally. Since the start of the pandemic last March the supports they heavily relied on for relief were reduced or simply taken away. They had and still have very little relief as many of the people they are caring for would be very high risk if they contracted COVID-19. With the help of these signatures it will highlight that more support needs to be given to carers and will hopefully facilitate in implementing a change that will ultimately support these people more effectively and efficiently.