Decriminalisation of Sex Workers should be of high priority.

Linda Fairstein achieved her fame & fortune at the expense of five innocent individuals who became known as The Central Park 5. These men were children at the time aged between 14-16. There was not a single shred of physical evidence linking these boys to the crime she hunted them for. She led the investigation that fundamentally changed these men’s lives forever & unfairly tarnished their reputations. She then went on to launch her writing career in fictional true crime. And not that any more reason to get her "stories" off the shelves is needed, but she also represents Harvey Weinstein (media mogul , serial sexual assault perpetrator), proving her actionsin 1989 were never about justice for sexual assault survivors as she is representing the perpetrators now. This dangerous, vile woman used the Central Park 5 case to advance her the aspiring career as a crime writer. For Raymond Santana Jr, Korey Wise, Yusef Salaam, Antron McCray and Kevin Richardson, whom she KNOWINGLY & WRONGFULLY hunted and coerced into a conviction & because of her everything she has gained at their expense, I am starting a petition to ask ALL retailers & book publishers in Ireland and around the world to stop selling Linda Fairstein books or any product that is linked to her.

Our beautiful planet has reached a dangerous toxic load of Roundup weedkiller. In 2018 over 5 billion pounds of it was spread worldwide and this will rise each year if we do not stop it. Roundup's makers, Monsanto, have been proven in numerous high profile lawsuits to have hidden the scientific proof that it does not, as they claimed in the 1970s, break down in the soil; it remains active and therefore harmful for at least ten years. Yet still we spray. The fact that is does not break down is evidenced by it being found in urine and breast milk samples, and organic honeys which are nowhere near spraying. It is, at this stage, everywhere. It has been proven to attack beneficial bacteria in all lifeforms, including humans, and is linked to numerous diseases including cancers, celiac disease, autism and gluten intolerance. It is proven to kill honeybees and other pollinators, and has been implicated in the ill health and death of dogs and other pets. The only reason it is still on the shelves is because our business-focused governments keep lobbying to keep it there. We are essentially putting the profits of corporations above the health and future of our planet. This is insanity. The only way we are going to stop the spraying is by pressuring those in the newly formed council to wake up and take action; to remind them their jobs are to serve the community's healthy and well-being, not amass wealth for an elite class. Look around your towns and countryside, and when you see Roundup sprayed speak up. Tell people that there are much healthier and cheaper alternatives. See recipes here: https://garden.lovetoknow.com/wiki/Recipe_for_Vinegar_Weed_Killer

Do you think that it is fair that Deaf community in Ireland can simply thrive in the UK with the provision of Access To Work Scheme funded by the British Government, but not here in Ireland? In the UK, Access to Work Scheme gives a wide range of reasonable accommodation such as sign language interpreters in the workplace, note-takers for meetings, and different supports that Deaf individuals may need. This scheme would not just benefit the Deaf community but all people with disabilities. People with disabilities are diverse including physical disabilities, intellectual disabilities and mental health and with the Access to Work Scheme, people with disabilities in the UK are thriving too with supports they need. This scheme in the UK has proved to be economically beneficial, that for every £1 spent on ATW, £1.48 is recouped by the government, as more people are in employment and not on dependent on the government welfare system. Unfortunately, there is no such scheme like that here in Ireland. Deaf community face severe barriers and discrimination in the workplace here. Deaf people are 2-4 times more likely to be unemployed than their hearing peers. Irish Sign Language (ISL) is the first and/or preferred language of Deaf community, of at least 5,000 Deaf people. As English is a second language for most of these Deaf people, there is significant difficulty in the workplace in terms of access. We regularly experience the effects of restricted access to supports, services and opportunities in the workplace including interviews. In Ireland, those majority of Deaf people, who are currently working have been in low-paid and low-status jobs with little hope of promotion. They tend to stay in their workplace for the long-term, rather than change jobs and achieve their career dream like their hearing peers. Work and paid employment serve to develop a sense of belonging with positive mental health benefits and identification with the wider community. However, Deaf people in Ireland continue to face barriers in employment and experience higher rates of poverty, social exclusion and under-employment. Deaf people get adequate supports in the education system but not in the workplace. The gap needs filling. It's been filled and resolutely proven to work abroad. In Ireland, employers are obliged to provide reasonable accommodation as long as it doesn't impose a disproportionate burden on the employer. Currently, there are some financial supports such as the Job Interview Interpreter Grant which pays for interpreters at interview and induction period. There is the Workplace Equipment/Adaptation Grant which only covers equipment and not interpreting costs. There is also the Wage Subsidy Scheme which pays approximately €10,000 towards salary costs of a disabled person who can prove they have a lower productivity level than their peers. A pool of funding is available however deaf employees cannot access this pool of funding to meet the costs needed for interpreting due to systematic barriers. The Reasonable Accommodation Fund by the Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection needs a major overhaul to allow talented deaf employees to avail of this. With funding like the Access To Work Scheme, Deaf people can simply thrive here in Ireland where they can contribute and enhance their role through Irish Sign Language interpreting on a daily basis like their hearing peers. This can lead to job promotions and achieving their career dreams. This applies to people with disabilities generally, they can thrive as well with adequate supports. We always tell our children to follow their dreams and that they can achieve anything they put their minds to. Right now in Ireland, all epsecially young Deaf people don’t always have the opportunity to pursue their dream jobs - not because they’re not able to do them - but because they might not be accessible. Let’s change that now. Thank you Joanne Chester email: [email protected] Supported by: Irish Deaf Youth Association Irish Deaf Society National Deaf Women of Ireland

Because it is disrespectful, depressing and completely wrong. It is not the answer and the only people who would ever have to live like this are those who can't currently afford the ridiculous rent levels. Stop pushing people out of Dublin & think about the kind of cities and communities we want - not what developers want.

This year, Irish leaders will meet with GB and NI politicians to discuss power-sharing objectives for NI. We want our human rights to be at the top of their list. We ask the Government of Ireland to bring bodily autonomy to the table during their talks with the UK government, and to be a voice for their citizens resident in NI. Women in Northern Ireland are unrepresented. We are Irish citizens, living without the protection of the Irish government, and with no functioning government of our own to petition. We have fewer rights than our peers across the border. Currently, a woman or pregnant person in NI can face life imprisonment for procuring an abortion in their own jurisdiction. The result of this is that pregnant people are compelled to travel at cost for abortions, ensuring that our human rights are accessible on a socially and economically divisive basis. Women and pregnant people in the Republic of Ireland have been given the bodily autonomy we all deserve. Their efforts to obtain this basic human right were actively supported by the many NI women resident in the Republic, and by those resident in the North. We are owed the support of the Irish people and of the Irish government. It is reprehensible that we are still denied the fundamental human rights now ostensibly protected by the two governments who claim us as citizens or subjects. We insist upon our right to make choices about our bodies, and about our reproductive health without threat or fear of recrimination. We demand that our justice system not be commandeered to condemn women exercising their human right to bodily autonomy.

This school provides so much more than just education and care for its 21 students, it gives those children a sense of independence and belonging. it’s also a growing school with an increase in students due next September

Under the Loco Parentis rule, parents of disabled children are restricted from leaving their own home while a respite nurse is in the home to provide in-home respite. An adult must remain in the home. This is not respite. Parents who are caring 24/7 for their medically fragile children must be able to recharge, run errands, go to medical appointments, spend time away with their other children, and much more. The siblings of the disabled children must also be able to have the most normal social life outside of the home as possible. For this to happen, parents must be able to leave the home with these siblings during in-home nursing respite hours. This rule is particularly discriminatory against lone parent carers who don't have a partner to be the adult to remain in the home as the Loco Parentis. Of all carers, lone parent carers are typically under the most amount of stress - physically and emotionally - and as such, being able to leave the home, even just once a week for 5 hours, is desperately needed. Ultimately, the best care possible for the disabled child is what is at risk if the parent carer is unable to maintain their own physical and emotional well-being. The other children in the family, and family unit as a whole, are also at risk of harmful, irreparable dysfunction if essentially trapped in their home due to such an inhumane, unjust, policy as is Loco Parentis. This rule, implemented by the HSE, is clearly a violation of human rights and the rights of children.

Everyone and every young professional should be able to afford a roof over their head, a house or apartment, not a shoebox room and communal dining and washing facilities. They now want to cage us as they milk us.

Ireland has changed, we are a more inclusive, equal and progressive society and sex education in Irish schools must reflect this. Young people we work with have said that sex education is not fit for purpose, does not reflect the variety of identities and sexual orientation of people today, putting the health and safety of young people at risk. Recommendations by the Oireachtas Committee on Relationships and Sexual Health, and the NCCA Review of the RSE, echo what our young people say.

This is a vital service for parents and children in the community. Pressure needs to be put on Dublin City Council and the Department of Children and Youth Affairs to come up with a solution to sustain this creche

Senator Ged Nash, alongside Labour colleagues, have backed a Seanad proposed Bill, ensuring employees are given the right to receive customer provided tips. A Bill that would give workers in restaurants and hotels the right to keep their tips is going through the Seanad. I know from my own work representing students just how much hospitality workers depend on tips to supplement their meagre hourly rates of pay. Too often, tips intended for hardworking staff end up in someone else’s pocket and with no legal course of action available to them. Most bar and restaurant owners and managers play fair when it comes to distributing the tips to staff. It is only the bad bosses who have anything to fear from these new proposals. Labour, USI and the trade union movement support this Bill from Senator Paul Gavan, but Fine Gael want to vote it down. The message is simple - workers must have a right to keep their tips. Read Senator Ged Nash's statement on the matter here: https://www.labour.ie/news/2019/02/20/labour-backs-bill-ensuring-employees-rights-to-cus/