• Help Temple Bar Food Market
    Temple Bar Food Market was set up 21 years ago by a group of growers and producers with a vision to bring Irish, artisan, local and high quality produce to a city centre location. These traders have committed to the market and seen it go from strength to strength over the years, with the support of customers old and new. With the dissolution of Temple Bar Cultural Trust, TBFM is now being run by Dublin City Council. Therefor Meeting House Square has gone from being private property to a public site, which requires all traders to acquire a casual trading licence to trade. Our current bye-laws were introduced by Dublin City Council on March 4th 2013. These bye-laws are now being reviewed by public consultation. Below are some of the new terms and conditions of trading. These T+Cs apply to all casual trading licences in the city - from bric a brac, to flowers, hawkers and food markets. Temple Bar Food Market is also subject to these, and clearly one size does not fit all! We are asking our customers to sign this petition in solidarity with traders to have our amendments considered and taken on board before these new bye-laws come into effect. They may seem like small insignificant details, but they have a huge impact on the running of small businesses and the food market as a whole. WHAT YOU CAN DO! Act now to help the market — sign the petition. We will include this act of support in our submission. Copy and paste our amendments below and send them as a submission with regards specifically to TBFM to [email protected] All this helps to make it clear we want the integrity of the market maintained under the hands of Dublin City Council! Deadline for submission: before 17.00 on Thursday 29th March, 2018 NEW TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF TRADING 1 "VACANT PITCHES Designated area trading pitch allocation policy Vacant pitches will be offered on a first come first served basis, except in the case of new areas which will be allocated by lottery." A first come first serve basis will not work for TBFM, nor a lottery system. We need a quality control measure whereby applicants need to show their high food standards. We also have a quota for hot food which is full, and so only grocery and produce based stalls should be considered until a hot food stall leaves. There has been an exception made for producers who are selling their own produce alongside a hot food offering - as this hot food offering helps to promote the product. i.e Broughgammon Butchers. Specific areas we are missing and would be welcome are: fishmonger, loose leaf tea, fermented goods 2 "PITCHES Pitch numbers according to DCC: 23" We have 22 pitches currently occupied - we have two pitches free. Therefore, the total number of pitches is 24. 4 "PRESENCE OF LICENCE HOLDER/STAFF A licence holder may nominate a maximum of two agents to assist in the operation of a designated trading stall under the following terms and conditions: (maximum now included) There may only be a maximum of two people operating the stall at any one time and each of them must be trading within one metre of the stall. (maximum now included) The licence holder must be present at all times where practicable. It is acceptable that the licence holder be absent during holiday periods or due to illness but this absence must be advised to the Casual Trading Section as soon as practically possible. Phone: 01-2222165 E-mail: [email protected]. A medical certificate is required for prolonged period of absence." Traders at TBFM would often have more than two staff members, or have rotating staff lists. It would be impractical to restrict a stall to two specific staff members or ‘agents.’ We would ask that this particular term be waived for the market. It is also impractical for the licence holder to be present at all times - with or without the excuse of illness. Many licence holders would be responsible for other markets on the same day, deliveries etc, and therefore leave their stall in the capable hands of staff. 5 "WASTE MANAGEMENT The removal of waste generated at each trading stall is the responsibility of the trader. Under the Waste Management Act 1996 traders have two options to dispose of their waste: Arrange for a private waste disposal company to do it. The trader can arrange to dispose of their waste in an alternative proper manner. Both options must comply with the Waste Management Act 1996 and relevant EU regulations/directives. Traders are reminded that when they are disposing of their waste and either fail to do so or do it in a way which infringes the Waste Management Act 1996 they are liable to be prosecuted by the local authority. Traders are also reminded of their responsibilities under the Protection of the Environment Act, 2003 and the Litter Pollution Act 1997." Currently TBFM waste disposal is organized by the management company employed by DCC. This includes public waste i.e. created by customers purchasing food at the market. This does not include personal waste, which traders already dispose of themselves. The traders would like to know who will be responsible for this public waste. The traders also wish to know if a management company will be kept in place after the introduction of the bye-laws - as much of the smooth running of the market relies on this. 6 "TRADING HOURS Saturdays Only : 7a.m.-9.45.a.m. for set up Trading hours 10 a.m.-4.30 pm. Pack up 4.30 p.m. -6.30 p.m." We would like our trading times changed to: Saturdays Only : 7a.m.-9a.m. for set up Trading hours 9 a.m.-5.00 p.m. Pack up 5.00 p.m.- 6.30 p.m. 7 "UNAUTHORISED ADS/BANNERS Attaching commercial advertisements or unauthorised banners or material to a stall is prohibited. (New)" Some traders at TBFM would use their stall as a notice board for outside events, workshops and other food related activities, both for themselves and to support others in the food industry.
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    Created by Liadain Kaminska Ní Bhraonáin
  • No Mass Harvesting of Seaweed on Coastline from Mayo to Clare
    The government is supposed to reach a decision in April 2018 on whether or not to grant a license for the right to mechanically harvest seaweed to a private Canadian company. The sale was complicated by a legality. The ownership of the right to harvest seaweed is currently under question. Traditionally local people, owned the rights to harvest seaweed and harvested it in a sustainable way. Mechanically harvesting seaweed is not environmentally sustainable and will have a serious impact on the ecology of the sea. Harvesting rights to seaweed belong to the people and should not be allowed to be sold off by the State for private profit. Seaweed is now a highly lucrative resource which should be harvested in a sustainable way for the benefit of the people of Ireland living now and for future generations.
    3,137 of 4,000 Signatures
    Created by Noeleen Moran
  • We demand our Right2Water Referendum.
    We want the people's voice to be heard respecting water and sanitation services in Ireland, and a referendum be held. Across the globe ordinary people have undergone tremendous hardship and suffering when water services are privatised. Water is a human right and must never be under the control of 'for profit' companies. Publicly owned, funded and managed water and sanitation services, free at the point of use, is the only way to guarantee access for all.
    774 of 800 Signatures
    Created by Noreen Murphy
  • Help stop the Bayer- Monsanto merger
    It would be an altogether too powerful body and they would have a complete monopoly on pesticides, fertilizers, seeds etc. Monsanto is a producer of genetically modified crops. A merger between these too would spell disaster for farming and farming produce in Ireland.
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    Created by Rosemary Ryan
  • Justice for Fyffes Workers in Costa Rica and Honduras!
    Food workers and trade unions in the food export sector of Honduras and Costa Rica continue to be subjected to unsafe working conditions and not having their legal rights fulfilled. The estimated 25,000 people employed in the melon export sector in Honduras, of which 70% are women, regularly work 12-14 hour days, 7 days a week. The International Labour Rights Forum (2012) reports that 85% of workers earn less than the minimum wage [1]. Fyffes has been at the centre of several shocking scandals involving trade union violations and abuse of workers in Honduras and Costa Rica. A report by the US Department of Labor (2015) [2] detailed a litany of exploitative practices, ongoing labour code violations and ill-treatment of workers by the Fyffes subsidiary SurAgro in Honduras, including: That the company failed to pay the minimum wage, the 13th and 14th month bonuses, the seventh day bonus, and overtime; Failed to provide personal protective equipment and potable water; imposed a 300 HNL (US $14.40) penalty for missing a day of work (even with permission from a supervisor) in addition to that day’s salary; Threatened workers with dismissal for speaking with the Honduran Secretariat of Labor and Social Security (STSS) The general union in the United Kingdom, GMB, has called the actions of SurAgro one of the worst cases they have recorded, having documented “a shocking litany of abuse and exploitation on the part of Fyffes subsidiaries in Honduras” [3] and commented that “Fyffes... have no respect for domestic or international law governing workers’ rights and must be brought to book” [4]. In January 2016, workers at the Fyffes subsidiary became the first workers in the melon export sector to unionise and a local branch of the agriculture trade union STAS was formed. The following day, four trade union leaders were locked up in an office and threatened by the Chief of Security until they signed a document renouncing their union membership [5]. In an equally sinister occurrence, it was reported by the International Trade Union Confederation that on 13 April 2017, the trade unionist Moisés Sánchez (General Secretary of STAS’s sub-branch at Fyffes’ subsidiary in Honduras) was kidnapped, beaten and threatened with death if he continued his trade union work [6].  In May 2017 Fyffes was suspended from the Ethical Trading Initiative [ETI], an alliance of companies, trade unions and NGOs that promotes respect for workers' rights around the globe, finding that “the actions and approach taken by SurAgro [the Fyffes-owned Honduran melon plantation at the centre of the allegations] … contravene the open approach to legitimate trade union activities that ETI would expect within the supply chain to an ETI member” [7]. Despite the sale of Fyffes to the Japanese Sumitomo Corporation in early 2017, the Irish business news website Fora reported in June 2017 that David McCann and the “senior management team” based at the Fyffes head office in Dublin were handling the negotiations between the complainants, ETI and Fyffes [8]. Therefore, the Latin America Solidarity Centre is joining with other trade unions, NGOs and international Civil Society Organisations and demanding this actions from Fyffes.
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    Created by Thais Mantovani
  • Petition to persuade Bernie Sanders to give public speech in Dublin on June 4th/5th
    Bernie is giving a speech on June 4th which sold out after 1 minute. There are thousands of people who are willing to pay to hear him speak, to hear a voice for the people. Someone who stands up for the environment, all people and the planet as a whole. My hope is that hearing Bernie speak could spark the revolution that is needed in Ireland so we can transform our country and go back to the values it was founded on.
    221 of 300 Signatures
    Created by Cormac Nugent
  • Stop Ticket Touts
    Music festivals and events should be accessible to everyone in a fair way - but just this morning - tickets for the sold out electric picnic were put online by ticket touts for extortionate prices. This needs to be stopped so that touts can't unfairly profit off people like this.
    23 of 100 Signatures
    Created by Yvonne Heery Picture
  • Michael D for the White House
    Enda will not stand up to Trump. He will embarrass the nation. Michael D Higgins on the other hand will eloquently represent us and honor our human values.
    7 of 100 Signatures
    Created by Paudie Quirke
  • Shamrock for Trump: Not in my name
    Because sometimes taking a stand is more important than gaining a short-term benefit.
    39,082 of 40,000 Signatures
    Created by Cornelius Traas
  • Reinstate the 98 sacked workers in the Philippines by C&F Tooling
    We are calling on Galway based multinational C&F Group to reinstate 98 workers sacked in the Philippines for joining a trade union. On May 26, 2016, the workers, many with 3 to 12 years service, registered their Trade Union with the Department of Labor and Employment and the very next day, on May 27, the company abruptly offered a redundancy programme. The Union obtained its Certificate of Registration on May 30, 2016 and on June 6 filed for representation rights for the workers for collective bargaining purposes. On the very same day, management at the company said they were subjecting 98 workers to "retrenchment," or laying-off, of which more than 63 are union officers or union members. Three days after the lay-offs, the company replaced the sacked workers with 55 new agency staff on top of the 50 agency workers already employed in the plant. Since the workers were dismissed, they have been on strike outside the factory. It is the first ever industrial action in the economic zone in the Philippines and has been in place for more than 8 weeks now. Speaking on behalf of the workers, Esmereldo Ison said, “What has happened to us is very disappointing. Many of us have worked for this company for several years and we have been sacked for trying to avail of our international human rights.” He explained that the workers have filed for illegal dismissal cases but that process could take up to 10 years. “We need our jobs so we can feed our families. We cannot wait three or four years for this to reach the courts. We want to be reinstated immediately.” Mandate Trade Union General Secretary John Douglas, speaking on behalf of four trade unions in Ireland including Unite, the Communications Workers’ Union and OPATSI, said the actions of management at C&F are deplorable. “This is a clear case of union-busting and it’s embarrassing that it’s an Irish firm with Irish management involved in this type of exploitation.” He added, “The Managing Director of C&F, John Flaherty, needs to do the right thing and ensure these workers are reinstated immediately and compensated for any losses they have incurred due to the illegal and discriminatory behaviour of his management team in the Philippines.” C & F Manufacturing Phils. Corporation is an Irish-owned subsidiary of C & F Tooling Ltd. of Galway, Ireland. They have operations in Ireland, Germany, Czech Republic, USA and the Philippines. According to the company website, C&F Group had a turnover in excess of $100m in 2007 and the company supplies components to multinational corporations including IBM, EMC, APC, Ingersoll Rand, Glen Dimplex, Sanyo and Hitachi Koki. The unionised workers are demanding that the company: 1. Reinstate unconditionally all the 98 workers summarily and discriminately terminated. 2. Recognize and respect the rights of the workers to organise and to collectively bargain; 3. Respect the right of the workers for a one-day rest in a week and stop the inhumane practice of continuous and excessive long hours of work. 4. Investigate and impose disciplinary action on managers Paul Hynes and Damian Gavin for their attitude towards the Filipino workers. 5. Lastly, for management to make corrective actions to address the violations of the Electronic Industry Citizenship Coalition (EICC) Code of Conduct. NOTE: C&F Group’s code of ethics include: “FREEDOM OF ASSOCIATION In conformance with local law, participants shall respect the right of all workers to form and join trade unions of their own choosing, to bargain collectively and to engage in peaceful assembly as well as respect the right of workers to refrain from such activities. Workers and/or their representatives shall be able to openly communicate and share ideas and concerns with management regarding working conditions and management practices without fear of discrimination, reprisal, intimidation or harassment.
    615 of 800 Signatures
    Created by Dave Gibney
  • Declare Wicklow a TTIP and CETA Free Zone
    Our local businesses, environment and democracy are under threat from a trade deal currently being negotiated between the EU Commission and the USA. The deal is called TTIP and could outlaw local authorities’ support of local businesses, allow multinational corporations to sue us if councils deny fracking permits and open up services like water, health and education to privatisation. What’s up for grabs are the rules and regulations that force corporations to abide by standards that protect our health, our rights, our jobs, services and the environment. These regulations for example stop corporations releasing chemicals and products into the market before they are proven to be safe. They also make sure workers get their rights and that local communities are protected from environmental disasters. But if TTIP goes ahead corporations will get to have a say on policies that govern our daily lives - before we or even politicians get to see them. And if they don’t like the rules they will be able to sue governments when they make changes or bring in new policies that could potentially affect their profits. Right now in Canada a fracking company Lone Pine Resources Inc., is suing the government for its decision to not allow fracking in Quebec. They are able to do this because of an ISDS clause in another trade deal. In Egypt the government was sued by water company Veolia for attempting to bring in a minimum wage. Germany is being sued by Swedish energy company Vatenfall for €4.7 billion because of Germany's decision to phase out nuclear power. TTIP also removes barriers to US companies who want to sell their products in Europe. Right now the sale of US beef in Europe is very limited. Hormone injected beef is banned outright. Hundreds of councils across Europe have already said they don’t want TTIP. Because of people power politicians are waking up to the threat TTIP poses and to the fact that people aren’t going to stand aside and let our democracy and rights be sold off. In addition to that a similar Trade agreement named CETA if the TTPIP fails will deliver a similar agreement between the EU and Canada, with similar legal provisions thus providing a backdoor for the same restrictive legal provisions to be implemented: CETA summary: http://www.ase.tufts.edu/gdae/Pubs/wp/16-03CETA_ES.pdf
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    Created by Darren Morrison
  • Make Cavan A TTIP Free Zone
    Our local businesses, environment and democracy are under threat from a trade deal currently being negotiated between the EU Commission and the USA. The deal is called TTIP and could outlaw local authorities’ support of local businesses, allow multinational corporations to sue us if councils deny fracking permits and open up services like water, health and education to privatisation. What’s up for grabs are the rules and regulations that force corporations to abide by standards that protect our health, our rights, our jobs, services and the environment. These regulations for example stop corporations releasing chemicals and products into the market before they are proven to be safe. They also make sure workers get their rights and that local communities are protected from environmental disasters. But if TTIP goes ahead corporations will get to have a say on policies that govern our daily lives - before we or even politicians get to see them. And if they don’t like the rules they will be able to sue governments when they make changes or bring in new policies that could potentially affect their profits. Right now in Canada a fracking company Lone Pine Resources Inc., is suing the government for its decision to not allow fracking in Quebec. They are able to do this because of an ISDS clause in another trade deal. In Egypt the government was sued by water company Veolia for attempting to bring in a minimum wage. Germany is being sued by Swedish energy company Vatenfall for €4.7 billion because of Germany's decision to phase out nuclear power. TTIP also removes barriers to US companies who want to sell their products in Europe. Right now the sale of US beef in Europe is very limited. Hormone injected beef is banned outright. Hundreds of councils across Europe have already said they don’t want TTIP. Because of people power politicians are waking up to the threat TTIP poses and to the fact that people aren’t going to stand aside and let our democracy and rights be sold off.
    53 of 100 Signatures
    Created by Noreen Porter