To Sarah McTernan We call on you not to perform in the 2019 Eurovision Song Contest in Israel. It is a great honour and testament to your talent to be selected to represent Ireland, yet we must ask you to listen to the call from Palestinian artists, journalists and civil society organisations for people of conscience to refuse to take part in the Eurovision Song Contest in Israel due to that state’s oppression of the Palestinian people. We support that call, as do thousands of people in Ireland and internationally, and are respectfully asking that you decline to take part in this year’s Eurovision. While Israel - a state which has repeatedly been accused of war crimes by the United Nations and human rights organisations, and openly boasts of how it uses art and culture to whitewash its crimes - continues its oppression of the Palestinian people, no artist of conscience should participate in this ‘culturewashing’ event. Performing at the Eurovision in Israel is a deeply political act; you will be expected to sing for 500 members of the Israeli military who have had seats reserved by the state. We sincerely hope that you will not countenance performing for a military which just last week was found by a UN Commission of Inquiry to likely have committed war crimes and crimes against humanity by killing deliberately targeting and killing civilians, including children, medics, journalists and disabled people in its attacks on unarmed Palestinian protesters in Gaza. These attacks are ongoing on a daily basis, and it should be unconscionable for any artist representing Ireland to be entertaining members of this military just a few miles down the road. Ireland has a proud tradition of standing with the oppressed and against injustice and we sincerely hope you will take this opportunity to stand on the right side of history by refraining from crossing the Palestinian picket line. It would be a principled stand for freedom, justice, equality and a show of solidarity and empathy with the oppressed.

Limerick City is nationally recognised as a priority area in the mental health crisis. We know the interventions that need to be taken, and are not willing to stand by anymore and listen to empty promises from politicians. Depression is the largest cause of disability among those aged 10-24, and suicide is now one of the leading causes of death among young people in Europe. Depression is an important predisposing factor for suicide among adolescents, and this age group have high rates of suicide in Ireland. • There were 425 deaths by suicide recorded in Ireland in 2015 (latest figures) • Limerick has twice the national average rate of suicide. • Limerick City also has high rates of self-harm among adolescents. A particular period of life which can see depression emerge is adolescence. The fact that there are huge changes, both socially and mentally taking place leaves young people more vulnerable and susceptible to mental illness. Mental health issues which begin during adolescense can persist into adulthood. Over half of adults report their mental health illnesses stemming from the ages of 12-18 years. Schools are in a unique position to promote mental health and emotional well being, to provide a health promoting environment and to identify young people experiencing emotional distress. The roll out of evidence based mental health awareness programmes in Irish schools should be undertaken as a matter of priority in order to develop mental health literacy, promote positive mental health and prevent suicide in this vulnerable group (World Health Organisation) One school based intervention, Youth Aware of Mental Health (YAM), which was a brief, universal mental health programme that was delivered in the classroom over a 4 week period was associated with a significantly lower number of subsequent suicide attempts and suicidal ideation. Its aim was to improve mental health literacy and coping skills of young people, to raise awareness of risk and protective factors associated with suicide and to enhance young people’s knowledge about mental health issues such as depression and anxiety. It included role-play sessions, interactive lectures and workshops SEYLE, an extensive European study recently undertaken, found that a universal school-based public health intervention, such as YAM can prevent one suicide attempt for every 167 students targetted, along with a wide range of other benefits, and recommends such a programme in every school. (WHO) In one of its leading actions, Connecting for Life Midwest, under the national strategy for suicide prevention says it aims to ‘target approaches to reduce suicidal behaviour and improve mental well being among priority groups.’ The Limerick Local Economic and community Plan 2016-2021, under the action area, Health and well-being, states that it aims to ‘Promote population health and well-being and conditions in local communities to support positive mental and physical health.’ Our young people can't wait anymore! As a start, this preventative measure must be implemented in all Limerick City schools. Thank you for signing the petition and please share.

At a time when other countries are progressively acting to restrict the harmful effects of slot machines, we believe the adoption of this act would be a regressive step, increasing the potential for gambling addiction in Donegal. In short, this is a short-sighted money grab by a handful of business people at the expense of the wider Inishowen and Letterkenny communities. Gambling addiction is the most hidden and corrosive addiction and also the hardest to treat. Counsellors from White Oaks and Gamblers Anonymous who are at the coal face of this issue have spoken out, urging councillors to refrain from adopting this motion. It is shocking that councillors would consider adopting this act without hearing from them. At a minimum, they should have equal time to present their expertise and concerns to the Inishowen and Letterkenny Municipal Councils. The business people operating these gaming establishments HAVE been asked to address the Municipal District Councils and have lobbied them to legalise these casinos. They claim 129 jobs are at risk in Inishowen following Revenue seizing slot machines because their establishments were not compliant with the current laws. Let’s be clear here, this is a red herring. These gaming establishments currently operate as private members’ clubs which allows them to bypass the current laws, but those laws do restrict the size of the payouts these machines can make. These establishments are already very lucrative for the owners, but this attempt to allow them to increase the size of the payouts is an attempt to make them even more so. Allowing these establishments to increase the size of the payouts will give them leave to prey on the most vulnerable, with increased payouts acting as a lure to draw more & more people into further debt. Slot machine play is one of the most harmful forms of gambling in the world. Much of the focus around gambling problems is aimed at the individual gambler, but it is also important to look at ways that the games themselves contribute to gambling problems. High speed of play and features that promote false beliefs comprise some of the more problematic elements associated with slot machines. Slot machine players may find it helpful to be aware of those features that may make slot machine play more risky. Irish people lose more money per head on gambling than anywhere else in Europe, with an estimated 40,000 Irish people already in the grip of this addiction. Slot machines are huge revenue generators, and many of their features are designed to keep players in their seats in order to maximise revenue for the operator. Some of the machines’ features, however, may lead people to believe they have a better chance of winning than they actually do. Most players don’t realise that the reels on slot machines are weighted so that low-paying symbols come up much more often than jackpot symbols. Unbalanced reels are created when one reel contains fewer jackpot symbols than the other reels. This makes it more likely that players will see two jackpot symbols but less likely they will see three. This creates a type of ‘near miss. When players watch the reels spinning, it looks as if all symbols have an equal chance of coming up, but this is not the case. Players would have no way of knowing that one of the reels is lacking in jackpot symbols and could believe they have a better chance of winning than they really do. Slot machines are quite simply an operation in deceit. We urge councillors not to bow to the pressure of a handful of business people at the expense of the many. Listen to the experts and ask addiction counsellors dealing with the victims of this predatory business to have equal time to give their presentations and act in the interests of the health and wellbeing of the residents of Inishowen and Letterkenny. Sinéad Stewart, Inishowen Cathal Mac Fhloinn, Letterkenny

In recent years our town and its surrounding areas have expanded greatly due to increased housing development, while this is welcomed we also need a significant update of Garda presence. This is something that we as a community feel should be built on alongside our development and instead it has gone the opposite direction. we hope that with this petition, we can increase the presence of Garda in our area and reduce the anti-social behaviour. We also would like to see our station be opened more often for tasks such as forms being completed etc.

Philomena The co-founder of Midwives for Choice and its main driver, and a passionate advocate and campaigner for Repeal, Philomena is a midwife of long experience and a truly remarkable woman - quite definitely 'one of a kind'. Diagnosed with ovarian cancer some time ago, very sadly the cancer has returned and she has been given a terminal diagnosis - I believe the diagnosis is of a matter of weeks. In 2014 she was suspended from her post as a midwife by the HSE on foot of an alleged incident. Philomena was completely exonerated by several separate reports on the matter, all of which concluded that her midwifery practice was 'exemplary'. She was reinstated by the HSE but could not resume her post. The HSE offered to 'settle' with her in the legal case which ensued, but at that time (2015) Philomena did not wish to settle (out of court), and continued her case for damages, to health and wellbeing, among other isues. Out of a 'deep craving for justice', and because 'the truth has never been revealed' Philomena is now seeking to have the issue of settlement to be raised again most urgently.

The community of Stillorgan have been ignored for far too long. This pool is a vital part of our community. It is important for... OUR Physical and Mental Health The health and safety and activity of our Children Teens and Adults Swimming Lessons for our local school children Teaching our Adults how to SWIM Teaching the Swimmers how to SAVE LIVES Training Olympic and Special Olympic Swimmers, Training our Championship Swimmers and world record holders. Our Deep water and Scuba Divers. Our Water Polo teams Our Fitness and Rehabilitation Non Impact exercise for those unable for high impact exercise. Long distance lane swimming. Aqua Aerobics Swimming for fitness and pleasure. Local community social gatherings Local Jobs and so much more Glenalbyn was more than just a fun space to splash about in. It provided VITAL services for our community and beyond. With the closure of the LeisurePlex complex Stillorgan has now very limited fitness or leisure facilities for young people. Glenalbyn club itself prides itself on encouraging biking to the club and leaving the car at home... so the argument for the pool infringing on limited car parking spaces it nonsensical. Ignoring the wishes of the Stillorgan has gone on for far too long. All our elected council representatives voted on MONDAY THE 11TH OF FEBRUARY 2019 to keep ring-fenced funding and put motions forward calling to rebuild our facility urgently and yet still no progress has been made despite the many promises made to the community. We are calling on DLRCOCO and all other stakeholders to honour their commitments to the people of Stillorgan and beyond, who they serve, and reinstate the funds and begin the redevelopment of our pool immediately. The community also deserve answers on progress surrounding our pool. We have ALL waited long enough.

Despite having served the community as a CE Supervisor for over 25 years, my sister and many 100's like her, have been denied pension rights, as laid down by the labour court recommendation of 2008. CE programmes have helped thousands of people who were long-term unemployed, or were disadvantaged, to get back to work by getting part-time and temporary work within the local community. The work that has been done has been vital, both from the communities' perspective and from the employees' perspective. CE Supervisors were, and still are, a vital part of each community and the trojan work carried out by each supervisor must be treated equally and fairly in comparison to all other state employees and therefore should be given access to occupational pension schemes.

Here are three fundamental problems with the Public Services Card: • The card may be illegal under European law. • The card targets economically vulnerable people, such as those in receipt of social welfare, pension, child benefit or State grants. • It has cost an estimated €60 million to roll out, with savings of only €2.5million in welfare fraud, according to the Department of Social Welfare. Here are some more problems: • It collects and stores more data than necessary for the Government’s purpose of “streamlining services”. There is no independent body overseeing the use, sharing, storage and security of this data. As always with mass storage of data, there is a high risk of a security breach. • The Data Protection Commissioner has investigated the card’s legality. • The government has said it is not collecting extremely sensitive biometric data, yet the card does require a photo which is subject to analysis by an arithmetic template. • It contradicts the State’s position on privacy at the EU. The Minister for Foreign Affairs is looking for an opt-out of proposed EU ID card biometrics, yet the Department of Social Protection is insisting on PSC biometrics. • Both the state and the Data Protection Commissioner have refused to publicise information regarding the ongoing investigation. The Department of Social Protection flat-out refused to provide an interim report via our freedom of information request to them. Similarly, the Data Protection Officer will not share any of their reports on the matter - only ‘high level findings’. But it’s necessary in order to prevent welfare cheats, isn’t it? • Welfare fraud is far less common than the State would like you to believe. White-collar crime robs the taxpayer of much more every year. • There are better, less invasive ways to achieve this aim. • It doesn’t appear the card is saving the state money in this regard. (See above: fundamental problems). In summary, the Public Services Card is an infringement on your right to privacy and it has to be stopped!!

People from the West and South Offaly area have to travel 45 minutes to Tullamore for access to a doctor outside of office hours. The MIDOC service offered out of hours doctors in Birr up to last year, when the service was suddenly withdrawn without warning or explanation.

St Mary's & St Gerard's NS Enniskerry is a small school serving 220 students. The closest suitable secondary schools to St Mary's & St Gerard's NS are Presentation College, Bray; Loreto Secondary School, Bray; Woodbrook College, Bray; and St Gerard's School. Success in obtaining a place in 1st Year in a local secondary school is proving most difficult for some students. This issue arises due to the following: (i) For some secondary schools St Mary's & St Gerard's students are not allocated a place due to that secondary school favouring other national schools as feeder schools (ii) For other secondary schools St Mary's & St Gerard's students are not allocated a place due to the secondary schools operating a lottery system with some St Mary's & St Gerard's students being allocated a place too far down the waiting list. It is our belief that the right of our children to appropriate local secondary school education is being compromised due to the fact that St Mary's & St Gerard's is not a designated feeder school. Please sign this Petition to notify the school’s Board of Management and the Department of Education about our concerns.

Adults who came to Ireland as children should not be forced to pay the same amount for citizenship as someone who chose to come to the country as an adult and has lived in the country of Ireland for 5 years. There are currently people living abroad that have never and will never step foot on Irish soil that are more entitled to Irish citizenship because they have parents or grandparents who are Irish. These adults were raised in Irish culture and identify culturally as Irish. Many speak or have some level of the Irish language, went to Irish primary and secondary schools, attended Irish colleges, play Irish sports such as hurling and Gaelic football with their local communities, vote in local Irish elections, are members of Irish political parties, currently have employment in Ireland and are paying taxes in Ireland. They are as much a part of Ireland and Irish society as a child born in the country. They should not be expected to pay such exorbitant fees for a piece of paper that tells them they are officially an Irish citizen when it is clear that they are already Irish. No-one should be rejected or taken advantage of by the country they call their home so I ask for your support to help adults who were raised in Ireland to be given the citizenship they deserve.

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!