The Phoenix Park is a destination - not a shortcut! The past weeks have shown just how important the park is - and how much better it is without heavy car traffic. It's calmer, quieter, safer and cleaner. Fewer cars have meant more people. We want to see an end to motorised through traffic. This would still allow motor access to park facilities and institutions, but would end the use of the park as a road to get from one side to the other. This could be achieved easily with bollards or rule changes, while ensuring that people can still access the park - regardless of age or ability. It's time to make the park for the people who want to use it - not just those looking for a shortcut! This measure could be trialled throughout to the end of summer, at least until schools reopen. This petition is supported by Dublin Green Party representatives including (among others!) Neasa Hourigan TD, Cllr. Darcy Lonergan, Cllr. Janet Horner, Cllr. Michael Pidgeon, Cllr. Claire Byrne, Cllr. Hazel Chu, Cllr. Donna Cooney, Cllr. Lawrence Hemmings, Cllr. Carolyn Moore, Cllr. Caroline Conroy, Ciarán Cuffe MEP Patrick Costello TD

Secure bicycle lockers for cyclists...

These smaller branches are a key part of the local economy in towns like Monasterevin and Kilcullen. They are particularly important to older people who are not equipped to follow the trend that the banks are pushing towards online banking. The presence of a bank in small towns is a key reason why small businesses choose to locate there. They are also an important consideration when people choose to move to rural areas.

These recent weeks of the COVID-19 period have shown us what life could be like. Cars no longer dominate our streets and roads. Children and adults alike are cycling and walking - without fearing for their personal safety. Young boys and girls are venturing onto roads where they have never cycled before. This will not continue unless something changes. Streets are for people. Properly designed segregated cycle ways, and adequate footpaths all will allow space for social distancing. But one day COVID-19 will be gone. The cars will remain - we must make space for people. We want Wexford County Council to revisit their 2013 draft Cycling Network Plan, and we want Wexford County Council to reallocate road space to walking and cycling in Wexford. Research published by Sports Ireland on the 30th April 2020 shows an additional 500,000 regular walkers, 450,000 runners and 220,000 cyclists. These numbers show a huge increase in people using public space to move around and exercise. See links to WexBUG for more info

Limerick Cycling Campaign, the Limerick Cycle Bus and the Irish Pedestrian Network are launching the #WeNeedSpace campaign calling on Limerick Council to provide safe, usable space across the city for people to shop, exercise and commute by walking and cycling during the current crisis. Research published by Sports Ireland on the 30th April shows an additional 500,000 regular walkers, 450,000 runners and 220,000 cyclists. These numbers show a huge increase in people using public space to move around and exercise. This positive cultural change in how we use our streets should be further encouraged by making more space for people to get out and stay healthy during these difficult times. It’s very difficult for young families in the city to get fresh air and exercise while trips to parks and beaches are off-limits. We need to facilitate safe segregated cycle routes in the city to encourage family and more cautious cyclists to come out and get some exercise. A circular segregated cycle would open up the city to young people to get their exercise in a safe way. These temporary actions in response to the current emergency, would be strategic in creating a positive cultural change to make our towns and cities more liveable and contributing to a much needed boost in footfall required to aid the economic recovery when we move beyond the current crisis. Please support this campaign by signing and sharing on social media using the hashtag #WeNeedSpace and read our letter to the Council on the Limerick Cycling website.

Eir claim to have 5MB download speed. For the most part we are lucky to get a maximum of 3MB. We are paying full price for broadband eventhough, in many households, the broadband is intermittent and drops. This makes skype/zoom/WhatsApp calls near impossible. It makes working from home near impossible. We are a remote and isolated community and especially during a pandemic we are increasingly reliant on quality broadband. Please resolve

The extraction, transport, refining and use of petroleum and petrol cause damage to people, air, water, land, animals and plants. Gasoline engine exhaust pollutes the air, causing asthma, heart and lung disease, cancer, dementia and thousands of premature deaths each year. Vehicle exhaust affects children, disadvantaged communities and communities of color most, with disproportionate impacts on health, finances and quality of life. How will it help reduce pollution? Emissions of nitrogen oxides (Nox) - which come from car exhausts - regularly exceed safe levels in many cities. Diesel vehicles produce the overwhelming majority of roadside Nox gases. So removing petrol and diesel vehicles from the roads should help bring air quality within the guidelines set out by the World Health Organization (WHO). Air pollution has been a concern for decades. But the issue gained renewed urgency when the UK government lost court cases over its plans to reduce nitrogen-dioxide levels.

While the emissions of conventional cars are terrible for the environment and human health, electric vehicles are anything but clean – their production requires an enormous input of energy and raw materials. About 1,800 kilograms of metals and other materials are used in a mid-range electric car such as the Chevrolet Bolt, which marketed in Europe as the Vauxhall/Opel Ampera-e. The European automotive industry imports almost 100% of these materials – and a significant share of them come from mines in tropical countries and rainforest areas. Lithium-ion batteries, the heart of electric vehicles, are no exception here. The Chevrolet Volt battery pack, for example, weighs 440 kg, which is 10,000 times the weight of a smartphone battery (44 gr). Besides lithium, manganese and graphite, they contain about 10 kg of cobalt and 30 kg of nickel. In the case of nickel mining, Indonesia and the Philippines are at the forefront of global production. Two-thirds of the world's cobalt comes from the Democratic Republic of Congo. Cobalt, copper and nickel are mined along an 800-kilometer belt in the rainforest in the south of the country – under catastrophic working conditions, at starvation wages, and by tens of thousands of child laborers. In the case of iron for steelmaking, Brazil is a leading supplier of the automotive industry. The country is also in first place for copper, followed by Peru and Chile. The mines of international corporations are thus eating into the rainforests to satisfy the resource hunger of the manufacturers of “clean” electric vehicles. Simply clogging the roads with millions of EVs is not the answer to our present problems. Tell the EU that we need a fundamental rethink of policies related to raw materials and transport to put them on an environmentally friendly foundation.

Dublin City Council must make Raheny crossroads safe for pedestrians. The Council must remove the filtering lane for cars turning left at Raheny Church. This lane is lethally dangerous as cars routinely ignore the green man. It is only a matter of time before there is a tragedy. The filtering lane serves no function for pedestrians other than to needlessly add another set of traffic lights to their journey. Removing the filtering lane means pedestrians will no longer have to cross the road in two stages, stopping on the traffic island. The traffic island is nobody's destination so why do pedestrians have to wait there? Cars need only one green light to proceed so why do pedestrians have to get two green men to cross the road fully? There is no filtering lane or traffic island at any other corner of the crossroads and vehicles are perfectly capable of turning left at each of those corners. Why should it be any different at the corner at Raheny Church? It is time we started to prioritise sustainable transport. This is something Dublin City Council says it is committed to. It is time for the Council to live up to its fine words.

The short version: Land in the East Wall and Booterstown areas of Dublin is reserved for a hypothetical Eastern Bypass motorway (one with extremely negative environmental consequences). Dublin City Council want to rezone the East Wall land for housing. The Booterstown corridor could be used as a public transport corridor instead. But the Eastern Bypass' status in national planning documents means both of those critical needs are being blocked. We want the government and relevant authorities to change this by admitting that the Eastern Bypass is a permanently dead project, removing it from planning, and allowing the land to be used for something worthwhile. Long version: Dublin's Eastern Bypass was always a massive environmental issue — it is planned to be built across Sandymount Strand to provide an extension of the M50 motorway, for very limited benefit. The construction of this motorway is now also likely illegal under Irish government climate objectives and obligations, just as the 3rd Heathrow runway in the UK was recently declared to be illegal. Ireland is already likely to face fines because of our failure to reduce emissions, and the expansion of car usage is absolutely at odds with that target. The reserved space for the Eastern Bypass is also now blocking the construction of housing in Dublin city by preventing rezoning, as outlined in the Irish Times: https://www.irishtimes.com/news/social-affairs/housing-plan-in-dublin-halted-to-facilitate-eastern-bypass-1.4189623 The Eastern Bypass is extremely unlikely to ever be built — the environmental consequences of the proposed road alone massively outweigh the very minor benefits it might bring to car drivers. It has been kicked around for 50 years with truly minimal progress. It is so politically, fiscally, environmentally, and socially toxic that it almost 100% guarantees no government will ever even try to build it. So why are we continuing to retain it in our plans and therefore stop the reserved land being freed up? That reserved land is, at this point, merely blocking other types of useful development to facilitate a dead project. Most outrageously, the reserved land is also preventing the construction of homes in a housing crisis (as seen in the Irish Times article linked above). Most of the reserved land on the Sandyford to Booterstown alignment would be absolutely ideal for use in constructing a high-quality rapid bus corridor (connecting the Luas and the DART), or providing the space for a Luas spur that could serve countless new homes and the students of UCD. The Irish government, Dublin City Council, and Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council must immediately work to remove this outdated, unwanted project from their plans, and allow the land to be reused.

We now have less than 10 years to reverse the climate emergency. The solutions to climate change are good for all our other issues with * cleaner air * warmer homes * smaller energy bills *better public transport * localised economies * organic food * biodiverse gardens * rich wildlife areas * seas teaming with fish and other marine animals * a more equal society. Let Ireland lead the world on this.

Due the shortage of secondary school places in Gorey