Due to the new National Children's Hospital, the congestion is only going to get worse. It is incumbent on DCC to provide accessible residential parking and implement deterrents for non residents.

If the incentives are directed towards the large energy utility companies including the ESB, Board Gas, Coilte, Board Na Mona etc and large private companies funded by venture capitalists they will build large scale solar parks mainly in the South and South East of Ireland. This would be good news for Ireland for efforts to meet our 2020 C02 obligations and a renewable future. But there will be no benefits for the majority of the population of Ireland. We will continue to pay the second highest electricity prices in the EU. A grant and a feed in tariff and possibly a generation tariff for the installation of Solar PV on houses, farm buildings and all types of commercial buildings could reduce the annual electricity bills by up to 50% and contribute towards a large reduction on Ireland's dependency on imported fuel bill of €6 billion per year.

Anong many reasons why the residents object are: - The present traffic problem is not due to the roundabout itself, but the backed-up traffic towards town on the Headford Road. - Redesigning the junction does not address this issue at all - €1.2million will be spent - Additional lanes added to four arms of the junction, yet the capacity increase wil be only 15% - Public (and private) green space will be taken - Mature trees felled - Compulsory Purchase will take years to complete - Commercial interests in the area damaged - All local residents will be hugely inconvenienced and in the case of those in the immediate vicinity totally isolated - There will be nine sets of lights in the short stretch from Ballinfoile church to the Courthouse.

Past decades DST has become more of a hindrance than help as the way we work has changed with ubiquity of electric lighting, not to mention the Internet. The benefits it may have brought a century ago are no longer relevant. Although it is quite common elsewhere in the world, Poland is the first EU country to start doing away with the DST nonsense (starting 2018). Let's follow this example and help the rest of EU out of DST. Good (and hilarious!) commentary on DST by Last Week Tonight: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=br0NW9ufUUw The number of people impacted by DST all at once leads to some surprising associations, including a spike in heart attacks, increased numbers of work injuries, automobile accidents, suicides, and more in the days following. Sources: [ http://philadelphia.cbslocal.com/2013/03/09/daylight-saving-time-could-have-an-impact-on-your-health/ ] [ http://psycnet.apa.org/journals/apl/94/5/1305/ ] [ http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0001457503000150 ] [ http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1479-8425.2007.00331.x/abstract ] The psychological impact is not everything. The banking, transportation, people working nights are all adversely impacted. It can stop right now.

Road Safety Traffic Flow Detrimental Effect on Local Businesses Overall Look to Local Village

Over 3,000 children are homeless today in Ireland and the numbers are growing. These children are placed into whatever homeless accommodation is available without consideration for their schooling. Their schools are often great distances from their accommodation resulting in costly and time- consuming travel for them and their parents. There is very limited support for them to reach school. Services should be provided for all homeless children who have to travel significant distances to school.

These chemical based weedkillers are highly carcinogenic and linked to a variety of potentially fatal diseases. Monsanto's Roundup weedkiller, Pathclear, Gallup, Pistol, Weedol and Mossgo are to name but a few of the weedkillers currently on the market that contain the cancer causing chemical glyphosate which is lethal to all living organisms. Ireland has the second highest level of glyphosate in our surface water in the EU and the third highest death rate of cancer in Europe. To ensure a safer, cleaner living environment for our current and future generations we want a complete ban of glyphosate weedkiller. We are extremely concerned that our Agricultural sector/farmers are bombarded with misinformation and pressure from government bodies that are directly lobbied by toxic chemical companies. 1. https://www.irishtimes.com/news/environment/farmers-weapons-of-mass-destruction-carry-cancer-fears-1.3148492 2. http://greennews.ie/why-is-ireland-diluting-legislation-on-banning-hormone-changing-chemicals/ 3. https://www.euractiv.com/section/agriculture-food/news/france-tables-eu-wide-non-agricultural-pesticide-ban/

This kind of privatisation has been tried in many cities across Europe and beyond and it always results in sub-standard services or higher prices for those whose transport needs lie on unprofitable routes. As an economist I implore Ms. Graham to rethink this plan. Improve Dublin Bus instead.

The current proposal is to close the R128 from Kilbush Lane to Palmer Road from 4th September to 24th November. This results in cancellation of the 33 bus service through Rush to Skerries and instead implementation of a shuttle bus service, the details of which are unclear. This affects all people relying on public transport to work, to get kids to schools and will cause massive disruption and inconvenience. The only other access road will be via Palmer Road which is unlit and already in an appalling state and not capable of supporting the levels of through traffic this road closure will cause.

These chemical based weedkillers are highly carcinogenic and linked to a variety of potentially fatal diseases. Monsanto's Roundup weedkiller, Pathclear, Gallup, Pistol, Weedol and Mossgo are to name but a few of the weedkillers currently on the market that contain the cancer causing chemical glyphosate which are lethal to all living organisms. Ireland has the second highest level of glyphosate in our surface water in the EU and the third highest death rate of cancer in Europe. To ensure a safer, cleaner living environment for our current and future generations we want a complete ban of glyphosate weedkiller. We are extremely concerned that our Agricultural sector/farmers are bombarded with misinformation and pressure from government bodies that are directly lobbied by toxic chemical companies. http://greennews.ie/why-is-ireland-diluting-legislation-on-banning-hormone-changing-chemicals/ https://www.euractiv.com/section/agriculture-food/news/france-tables-eu-wide-non-agricultural-pesticide-ban/

Petition Update December 2020: In mid-December, we are going to deliver this petition and letters signed by both civil society groups from across the globe and members of the Houses of the Oireachtas urging Minister Eamon Ryan to support the granting of a money message from the Government so the Climate Emergency Bill can progress to committee stage as soon as possible. Petition Update September 2020: Not Here Not Anywhere has been campaigning to ban offshore drilling since 2017, and in that time we have seen progress and changes in government policy. In the 2020 Programme for Government agreed by Fianna Fail, Fine Gael, and Greens stated the following on oil and gas drilling "End the issue of new licenses for the exploration and extraction of gas, on the same basis as the recent decision concerning oil exploration and extraction" [1]. Now that Eamon Ryan is the Minister for Climate Action, he has the power to legislate and ban offshore oil and gas drilling outright. Recently, we submitted a Parliamentary question to find out when the legislation when going to be enacted. We got the below response from Minister Ryan "While there is no requirement for legislative underpinning, I and my Department will evaluate whether any further actions would be useful in terms of providing maximum clarity." [2]. We disagree with the Minister’s assessment, if the current government falls with no legislation passed it could lead to future licenses been issued under a new administration. Also, if legislation was passed it would be a major victory for the climate movement both in Ireland and globally and we would be joining other countries around the world which have shown this climate leadership [3]. We need to shed our climate laggard status, legislate to ban offshore oil and gas drilling, and KEEP IT IN THE GROUND. Original petition: On 11th July, just one week after onshore fracking was banned in Ireland, Minister of Communications, Climate Action and Environment, Denis Naughten, granted consent to oil & gas drilling by Providence Resources PLC in the Porcupine Basin off our south-west coast [4]. They expect to find 5 billion barrels of oil [5]. In an Orwellian twist, a “Department of Climate Action” has allowed for the burning of 5 billion barrels of oil when international climate experts state that 80% of the known fossil fuels have to stay in the ground if we want to avoid going over the safe 2 degrees limit of global warming [6]. Any investment in fossil fuel industry and infrastructure will result in what is known as “carbon lock-in”, taking us on a one-way unstoppable trip to dangerous levels of global warming that threaten global health and eco-systems [7]. Oil and gas exploration is also deadly for Ireland’s unique dolphin, whale and porpoise population [8] and plankton, the basis of the marine ecosystem [9]. Yet, Minister Naughten has refused to confirm if drilling will stop if a threat to the population is found [10]. We call on Minister Naughten to retract the Providence Resources permit immediately. Furthermore, we call on the Minister to follow the lead of France [11] and ban all new oil and gas exploration in Irish waters. We need to halt all dead investments in the fossil fuel industry and prepare a just transition to an economy that can provide workers with real, sustainable long-term jobs that can provide for their families and their future [12]. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ [1]https://www.greenparty.ie/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/2020-06-15-ProgrammeforGovernment_Corrected-Final-Version.pdf [2]https://www.oireachtas.ie/en/debates/question/2020-09-15/162/#pq_162 [3]https://www.looptt.com/content/new-zealand-next-list-ban-offshore-drilling [4] http://www.independent.ie/business/world/providence-resources-commences-drilling-off-the-southwest-coast-of-ireland-35921724.html [5] http://www.proactiveinvestors.co.uk/companies/amp/news/180745 [6] http://www.carbontracker.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/Unburnable-Carbon-Full-rev2-1.pdf [7]http://priceofoil.org/2016/09/22/the-skys-limit-report/ [8] http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/energy/2014/02/140228-atlantic-seismic-whales-mammals/ [9] https://www.theverge.com/2017/6/23/15861932/offshore-drilling-airgun-seismic-surveys-zooplankton-death-oceans [10] https://www.kildarestreet.com/debates/?id=2017-02-07a.382 [11]http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/france-ban-new-oil-gas-exploration-stop-granting-licences-macron-hulot-renewable-energy-drive-a7806161.html [12] http://www.impact.ie/climate-change-workers-communities-must-protected-just-transition-carbon-free-economy-says-impact/

In 2014 Sara Morris, spokeswoman for the National Transport Authority, advised of the allocation of €50,000 for the provision of additional bike parking to Galway City Council. Three years later, on the first day of National Bike Week 2017, Galway City is still massively lacking in the provision of bicycle parking with no evidence of where that money was spent. To date, there are still less than 200 bicycle parking stands in Galway City. With a population of just under 80,000 people this is clearly an inadequate number of bicycle parking spaces for Ireland’s forth biggest city. Bicycle parking is an issue that affects all members of our community here in Galway; from blocking pedestrian and disability access on our streets and footpaths to contributing to an increased number of cars on our roads. The lack of bicycle parking is a something that is driving commuters into their cars unnecessarily. Congestion in the city centre is at an all time high with Galwegians spending more time sitting in traffic than drivers than any other city in Ireland. An increased reliance on cars for transportation is not only adding to the levels of pollution in the city but is also negatively impacting the health, safety and wellbeing of our citizens. Galway City Council themselves acknowledge, through their Park’n’Stride Campaign, that an increased reliance on bicycles as a form of transport would not only alleviate traffic congestion but would also improve the physical and mental health of the population by incorporating exercise into everyday activities such as commuting. On this year, 2017, that Galway holds the European Green Leaf designation and in the lead up to Galway 2020 when Galway will see an increase in tourism, An Mheitheal Rothar is calling on the above mentioned individuals to not just make a commitment, but to immediately take action to increase in bicycle parking for the city and the appointment of an new Cycling Officer within Galway City Council. If you would like to support this campaign please sign the petition and follow us on social media for more information. You can also share the petition using #bikeparkinggalway We would also encourage you to express your concerns to: • Thomas Connell - Galway City Council Director of Services for Transportation, Recreation and Amenity, Corporate Services ([email protected]); • Hugh Creegan - National Transport Authority Director of Transport Investment and Taxi Regulation, Deputy Chief Executive ([email protected]) ; • Cllr. John Walsh ([email protected] )- Chairman, GCC Transport Strategic Policy Committee; • Cllr. Noel Larkin – Mayor ([email protected]), GCC Transport Strategic Policy Committee. As part of Bike Week 2017, An Mheitheal Rothar also took to the streets to speak with some of Galway's cycling community about their thoughts on cycling in the city. Watch our video here: https://youtu.be/sBxkyiRxYv8