We have found out that our community youth  space is about to be closed because the council won't continue to fund it.  The Factory Youth Space in Limerick City is a space for all the community. Every week hundreds of people use if for youth groups, dance classes, sports and disability groups. The place is hopping! Yet the council just couldn’t be bothered to guarantee funding to keep this essential space open. We are calling on John Moran, the Newly Elected Mayor of Limerick to use his new position to make a real difference to the people of Limerick and save our youth space. By Christmas the youth and sports groups will be made homeless as there are no other community spaces to be found. Even Scrooge wouldn’t kick young people with out into the cold.  We won’t go quietly and are going to kick up a stink. If enough of us shout loud enough together, they can’t pretend not to hear us. We are calling on Mayor John Moran to act on behalf of the people he is supposed to be serving.  Sign the petition to help make our voice loud enough that the Mayor can’t pretend not to hear us.   Limerick Youth Voices

From the Causeway Coast to Newcastle, NI Water have discharged sewage into coastal bathing waters across NI for 8,993 hours in 2023. According to the new analysis from the Belfast Telegraph, those pipes are releasing untreated sewage directly into or close to bathing waters that are protected by law. Not only that, NI Water is only monitoring a fraction of the pipes. NI Water needs to first come clean on the amount of sewage it is pumping into our waters. Analysis found in bathing waters in Newcastle found a pipe near the central promenade discharging for 1,532 hours! Testers are discovering forms of bacteria found in human intestines and poo. Swimmers, kayakers, coastal walkers and everyone in society deserve clean and safe bathing water. It is time for NI Water to stop protecting polluters and start protecting our waters and livelihoods. 

Since May Waterways Ireland has erected steel fences all along the Grand Canal. Waterways Ireland's antisocial management of our canals, and the government's inhumane treatment of Dublin's homeless and homeless asylum seekers must be opposed. The erection of steel fencing along the Grand Canal this year is an escalation in a long-term policy of Waterways Ireland to prioritise anti-homeless action and infrastructure over their role in restoring, developing, and pinoting Ireland's waterways. These fences are more than physical barriers; they represent the deliberate exclusion of certain groups from public spaces and, by extension, from society. This exclusion is part of a broader pattern within our economic and political system that prioritises the interests of capital over those of ordinary citizens. The current actions of Waterways Ireland, including the erection of these barriers, disproportionately affect vulnerable groups such as asylum seekers, the homeless population, and working-class people. Public spaces are meant to be inclusive areas that foster community and provide safe havens for all, However, the recent actions by Waterways Ireland have turned these spaces into sites of exclusion and hostility. The fences have an estimated cost of €30,000 a week and its maintenance assumed to continue up to October could cost as much as €390,000. This money could be better spent addressing the housing crisis by providing real solutions and support for those in need. These barriers are tools of division and exclusion. They are being used to weaponize the immigration issue in Ireland, particularly to divide working-class communities that are already suffering from the deliberate degradation of social services, including public housing, healthcare, and education. Instead of listening to our calls for a humane and constructive solution to this disgraceful situation Waterways Ireland has instead referred to it as not ideal' and has called for 'restraint’. They have refused to engage in dialogue while simultaneously claiming a commitment to “actively involving communities in the stewardship of these vital resources”. The lack of communication, transparency and accountability can go on no longer. We as residents are speaking up.  We demand 1. Remove fencing on the Grand Canal 2. No more hostile architecture  3. Stop evicting refugees and Irish people  4. Secure accommodation, tenancy rights and right to union representation through the Community Action Tenants Union for everyone homeless, in temporary, IPAS and emergency accommodation

The ongoing conflict in Sudan, which has been raging for over 15 months, has been described as a ‘forgotten war’. While we welcome the funding contributed by Ireland and the EU so far, it is greatly disproportionate to the needs of the people living in Sudan. In Ireland and Europe, media and diplomatic attention seem focused on conflicts with greater strategic relevance to political leaders but the deteriorating humanitarian crisis in Sudan must not be forgotten. Since the war began in Sudan, almost 10 million people have been displaced from their homes (1), more than 15,000 people have died and a growing list of atrocities have been committed.(2) Half of Sudan’s population, or 25 million people, are currently in need of humanitarian assistance. Almost half of those are children.  Close to 4 million children are facing acute malnutrition (3) and famine was recently declared in camps housing between 400,00-600,000 internally displaced people in part of Al Fasher. (4)   Sudan is currently experiencing one of the worst education crises in the world, with over 90% of its 19 million school-age children lacking access to formal education. (5) This ongoing disruption to children’s security, health and education will lead to a generational crisis for the country with negative impacts for years to come. Urgent action is needed to protect the lives and basic human rights of all children living through this conflict.   The catastrophic effects of food insecurity and famine are compounded by the risks from infectious disease outbreaks, disruption to public health services and lack of access to clean water and sanitation. Nearly three-quarters of health facilities are out of service and diseases including cholera, measles and malaria are spreading at a time when two-thirds of the population lack access to health care. (6)  Despite these harrowing statistics, adequate humanitarian assistance has failed to materialise, with only 32% of the estimated 2.7 billion USD requirement for the Humanitarian Response Plan having been provided.(7) To put this in perspective, since the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the EU has made available almost 52 billion Euro in support for Ukraine encompassing macro-financial assistance, crisis response fund and humanitarian assistance.(8) EU funding for Ukraine is welcomed, but considering that EU funding for humanitarian assistance in Sudan totals only 1.045 billion since 2013 (9), the international community and the Government of Ireland must do more for the people of Sudan.   Ireland benefits from over 1,600 Sudanese doctors (10) working within our health service, providing essential healthcare to our population. Their families, loved ones and fellow citizens in Sudan are bearing the brunt of this war.  We must do more. We must keep advocating for far more humanitarian assistance and for far greater diplomatic endeavours to end the armed conflict as quickly as possible. Though it may not be a geopolitical issue, it is a human rights issue. References 1.    Sudan Situation: UNHCR External Update #68, 28 June – 4 July 2024 https://reliefweb.int/report/sudan/sudan-situation-unhcr-external-update-68-28-june-4-july-2024  2.       https://news.un.org/en/story/2024/04/1148536 3.       https://www.unicef.org/sudan/stories/find-test-and-treat#:~:text=Sudan%20is%20grappling%20with%20one,suffering%20from%20severe%20acute%20malnutrition 4.       https://fews.net/east-africa/sudan/alert/august-2024?utm_source=press&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=sudan_august 5.       https://www.unicef.ie/2024/04/15/sudan-war-second-year/ 6.       https://www.unrefugees.org/news/sudan-crisis-explained/ 7.       https://reports.unocha.org/en/country/sudan/ 8.       https://eu-solidarity-ukraine.ec.europa.eu/eu-assistance-ukraine_en#strong-and-comprehensive-eu-response 9.       https://civil-protection-humanitarian-aid.ec.europa.eu/where/africa/sudan_en#facts--figures 10.   https://www.medicalindependent.ie/in-the-news/breaking-news/lack-of-wellbeing-support-for-sudanese-doctors-in-ireland-amid-devastating-war/

Football unites us all. No matter who we are or where we come from, our beautiful game is for everyone, right across the world. While hundreds of thousands of Palestinians are under brutal attack by the IDF, Israel is allowed to continue to compete in football competitions.  Israeli players are not neutral -  joining the Israeli army is mandatory in order to become a football player in the national team, and Israeli players have proudly posted comments on social media such as “Why haven’t 200 tonnes of bombs already been dropped on Gaza?” and “We’ll erase Gaza permanently”, with no consequences imposed by the Israeli Football Association. [1] The chance to compete on the international stage is a privilege that should be reserved for states that do not commit genocide.  We, the undersigned, call on Interim FAI CEO David Courell to give the FAI’s support to the Palestinian Football Association’s call to suspend Israel from FIFA and UEFA.  Sources:  [1] FIFA's failure to ban Israel makes it complicit in Gaza genocide | The New Arab

For the past 7 months, the state of Israel has brought death and unimaginable destruction upon the civilian population of Gaza in a stark escalation of 75 years of colonial violence. According to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, more than 35,000 Palestinians have been killed, 14,500 of them children and 9,560 women. More than 79,000 people have been injured. 1.7 million people have been forcibly displaced, many of them multiple times. Famine is imminent - half of Gaza’s population is facing food insecurity due to the intense bombardment of the Gaza strip and the severe limitations being placed on humanitarian access by Israel. According to the World Health Organisation (WHO) in February,1 in 6 children under the age of 2 was acutely malnourished. An interim damage assessment by the World Bank, EU, and the UN, has estimated the total cost of damages in the Gaza strip at 18.5 billion US dollars and has found that 60% of homes in Gaza have been damaged or destroyed. The WHO conducted a preliminary assessment of the extent of destruction wrought on Al-Shifa hospital during an Israeli siege on the facility. The WHO have described the hospital as “an empty shell” - most of the buildings are destroyed, the medical equipment is unusable and no patients remain. Israel’s latest bombardments over the last 7 months have further intensified the occupational deprivation and injustice experienced by Palestinians by denying them access to the safety and opportunity to engage in even the most basic of essential occupations. Despite ongoing advocacy by Occupational Therapists worldwide, (Arab Occupational Regional Group, Occupational Therapists and Scientists against Occupation, Palestinian Justice is Occupational Justice) the World Federation of Occupational Therapists (WFOT) have remained silent on these violations of human rights and international law, and have failed to call for a ceasefire. WFOT issued a tweet on November 6th 2023, stating that their “fundamental beliefs mean that [they] are unable to take positions on political agendas of any nation” (WFOT 2023). This stance is inconsistent with the federation’s own commitment that “WFOT, its Member Organisations, occupational therapists, assistants, and students are obligated to support occupational justice and human rights. WFOT affirms its commitment to challenge and address systemic racism and continue to advocate for people, communities, and societies.”  The inadequacy of WFOT’s stance on Gaza however goes beyond its failure to call for a ceasefire, and extends to its stance on the fraught international status of the Occupational Therapy degree program currently being taught in Ariel University, in the settlement of Ariel in the Occupied West Bank. The consensus of the international community is that Israeli settlements in the West Bank are illegal under international law. This view has been upheld in the International Court of Justice and by repeated resolutions of the United Nations Security Council. Ariel University therefore must be regarded as having been illegally constructed on stolen Palestinian land. The university is currently subject to an academic boycott by the Boycott Divestment Sanctions (BDS) movement. Despite this international legal consensus, the World Federation only last year took the decision to accredit the degree programme at Ariel University. WFOT has incorrectly listed this programme on its website as located in “Israel”, a designation that further normalises illegal settlement. This is unacceptable from a professional organisation that ostensibly takes an anti-racist, human rights based approach.  As Occupational Therapists, we have an ethical duty to fight for occupational justice for all people and to do what we can to ensure that all people have equal access and opportunity to engage in occupations of necessity, obligation, and choice. 

What greater act of solidarity would it be than for Cork to twin with Gaza City? Gaza was a beautiful and vibrant city before the repeated, violent Israeli attacks. Both Cork City and Gaza City have suffered from acts of vengeance. “The people of Cork have been on the streets ever since October. The solidarity has been heartwarming for me as someone who was born in Gaza and who has many friends and family still there suffering unimaginable hardship. It would be the greatest honor for them if our two great cities were to be connected by ‘twinning’. ” Nasser Al Swirki. A son of Gaza living in Cork UCC links: Gaza is a University City. All of Gaza’s universities now lie in ruins. The Gaza City university has developed partnerships with 142 higher education institutions around the world. Let’s make UCC one of those partners! CUH links? Al-Shifa Hospital was the largest medical complex and central hospital in the Gaza. We will need medical partners. Environmental Links? Now destroyed. Wadi Gaza: In 2023 the Gaza Strip’s only wetland was slowly coming back to life.

**Update May 03 2024** We have hand delivered the petition with 16,000 signatures to Minister Jack Chambers on May 02nd 2024 The Minister's team provided Email contact details which have been sent onto the Freedom Flotilla crew Lines of communication are being opened to allow the crew to apply for registration in Ireland. We will continue to update once we have more, please continue to sign and share this petition until we get the Freedom Flotilla flagged!! Below is the press release by the Freedom Flotilla who are attempting to get 5000 tons of Aid into Gaza: "For immediate release, Saturday April 27 ISTANBUL, TÜRKİYE: On Thursday afternoon, the Freedom Flotilla Coalition was contacted by the Guinea Bissau International Ships Registry (GBISR), requesting an inspection of our lead ship – Akdenez. This was a highly unusual request as our ship had already passed all required inspections; nevertheless, we agreed. The inspector arrived on Thursday evening. On Friday afternoon, before the inspection was completed, the GBISR, in a blatantly political move, informed the Freedom Flotilla Coalition that it had withdrawn the Guinea Bissau flag from two of the Freedom Flotilla’s ships, one of which is our cargo ship, already loaded with over 5000 tons of life-saving aid for the Palestinians of Gaza. In its communication informing us of this cancelation, the GBISR made specific reference to our planned mission to Gaza. It also made several extraordinary requests for information, including confirmation of the ships’ destination, any potential additional port calls, and the discharge port for humanitarian aid and estimated arrival dates and times. It further demanded a formal letter explicitly approving the transportation of humanitarian aid and a complete manifest of the cargo. Again, this is a highly unusual move from a flagging authority. Normally, national flagging authorities concern themselves only with safety and related standards on vessels bearing their flag, and are not concerned with the destination, route, cargo manifests or the nature of a specific voyage. Just like when you register your car, the authorities don’t require you to detail to them every place you are going to go with the car. Sadly, Guinea-Bissau has allowed itself to become complicit in Israel’s deliberate starvation, illegal siege and genocide of Palestinians in Gaza. Israel is showing the world the extent to which it will go to deny Palestinians the aid they need to stay alive, in direct contravention of International Humanitarian Law, UN Security Council resolutions, and two orders of the International Court of Justice. Israel is only allowed to get away with this because we have an international order where law does not apply equally, where people are not valued the same, and where might equals right. The US has hijacked international law and is violating its own laws to protect Israel at every turn. A recently-leaked USAID memo states that “famine in Gaza is inevitable,” and that “changes could reduce but not stop widespread civilian deaths.” It also states that the government of Israel does not currently demonstrate necessary compliance with U.S. law required to receive U.S. military aid. Nevertheless, last week, the U.S. Congress passed and Biden signed a $26 billion aid package for Israel. It is this kind of naked impunity, over decades, that has brought us to this point where Israel can carry out a genocide, that includes a public declaration by Israel’s leaders that it is going to deliberately starve children, and not only face no consequences, but also involve a majority of world governments in its crimes. While our governments claim to care about Palestinian lives, they are complying, and indeed enforcing a situation where a state that has been found to be plausibly committing a genocide, is allowed to control what, if any life-saving aid gets to the people trying to stay alive. Yesterday, the UN Special Rapporteurs on the Right to Food, on the Right to Housing, and on the situation of human rights in the occupied Palestinian territory, issued a statement stating that civil society initiatives like the Freedom Flotilla are important precisely because governments are not complying with their obligations under international law and many of these governments are even complicit in Israel’s siege and genocide. The statement affirmed that ours was a legitimate challenge to Israel’s control over the delivery of aid to Gaza and it demanded safe passage for our flotilla. However, without a flag, we cannot sail. But, this is not the end. Israel cannot and will not crush our resolve to break its illegal siege and reach the people of Gaza. The people of Gaza and all of Palestine remain steadfast under the most horrific, unimaginable conditions. We take strength from their incredible, inexplicable ability to maintain their humanity, dignity and hope when the world has given them no reason to do so. It is our responsibility to keep that hope alive. WE WILL SAIL." We are calling on the Minister for Transport, Eamon Ryan, as a Qualified person under "The Mercantile Marine Act, 1955, as amended by the Merchant Shipping (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act, 1998, and Sea-Fisheries and Maritime Jurisdiction Act, 2006" To Register the Freedom Flotilla ships as an Irish ships and allow it to sail to Gaza under the Irish Flag!

Educate D8 is a community group representing families in Dublin 8. For generations Dublin 8 has experienced under-investment in secondary education. Our Educate D8 Campaign has two main aims to address the under- provision of school places in our area: 1. To secure the establishment of a new secondary school in the area. 2. To gain access to the consultation process on ethos and patronage. Why do we need a new school? 45% of children in Dublin 8 have to leave the area to go to secondary school. 2135 Dublin 8 kids will need to leave the area for secondary school by 2026. Only 11% of children in Kilmainham Dublin 8 walk or cycle to school (active travel) in comparison with 75% in Clonskeagh Dublin 6. Kilmainham children have the longest commutes in Dublin. Children in Dublin 8 face up to a 90-minute commute to Sandymount Educate Together Secondary School, which was offered by the Department of Education as a solution to our problem. The average national commute for teenagers is 19.5 minutes (CSO, 2022). 62% of the population in Dublin 8 is not Catholic (CSO, 2022). 0% of the secondary schools in Dublin 8 are multi-denominational. 89% of Dublin 8 parents surveyed would like to send their children to a local secondary school. 6th class pupils in Dublin 8 are dispersed to up to 14 different secondary schools, decimating their community. Population growth in Dublin 8 between 2016 – 2022: -the population grew by 14% as opposed to 4.6% in Dublin City. -the population of 10-19 year olds grew by 30% in comparison to 14% growth nationally. PLEASE SUPPORT OUR CAMPAIGN AND SIGN OUR PETITION ASKING MINISTER OF EDUCATION TO GRANT US A NEW SCHOOL FOR OUR CHILDREN. Visit our website https://d8newschool.ie/ or join our campaign WhatsApp https://chat.whatsapp.com/Kl3PytsabTv1jsZfStgPTr

Children, parents and grandparents are tripping over pot holes in the playground rubber surface. Childrens clothes are covered in green slime from the moss on climbing frames. Some playgrounds have burnt equipment that has still not been repaired. There can be broken glass in playgrounds. Summer is coming and the children of Dublin 8 need safe and clean places to play. The Dublin 8 playgrounds that need attention are in the following locations - Oliver Bond Flats block CDE - Oliver Bond Flats block RST - Tyrone Place 3 playgrounds & pitch - Watling Street playground - School Street playground - Bridgefoot St Playground - Island Bridge Court playground - Inchicore Community Centre basketball pitch (pothole & gate locked by health & safety officer) - Oisin Kelly Park pitch & playground covered in weeds, pothole, broken glass, burnt out - Weaver Park playground equipment burnt out - Vicar St Playground pitch & playground - Poole St Pitch & playground

Mobuoy dump is beside the River Faughan, which supplies 60% of Derry's drinking water. Experts say the Mobuoy site may contain 1.6m tonnes of waste. If the dump is not properly cleaned up soon, then the river could be contaminated, making our water undrinkable. Even though the site closed in 2013, people are still illegally dumping at the site! The minister responsible for waste in NI, Andrew Muir has yet to come up with a recovery plan for the site. The only suggestion his department has provided is to give local residents bottled water if the river becomes impacted. It is time for the Minister to get a grip of the situation: secure the site, clean up Mobouy and ensure clean and safe drinking water for the people of Derry.

Nearly 4 years later there has been no movement on this. After numerous email correspondences with the Department of Justice and James Browne’s office there has been no clear answers. I now need the support of the public to get this legislation fast tracked. In the words of Deputy James Browne 21st July 2020 - “Currently the theft of a pet is treated by the law as the very same as stealing a deck chair. Yet, the theft of a pet can have a devastating effect on its owners and their family. This should be reflected in the sanction given out for such a theft. Where the theft is of therapy or support dog there should be an even greater sanction.” Dogs and other companion pets are still being stolen daily in Ireland. The theft of a pet needs its own classification and adequate punishment. Pet theft is a LOW RISK/ HIGH REWARD CRIME.