*This description is extracted from a broader counter-statement endorsed by multiple societies against an email sent by Maynooth University, which can be read here https://publuu.com/flip-book/392331/889456 * I am a student/staff of Maynooth University and you do not have my support in your statement regarding the Israeli Apartheid of Palestine. It is disgraceful to email the community 3 days after the International Court of Justice's decision that there was a plausible case for Israel to answer and ordering it to take action to "prevent genocide". The fact of the matter is that choosing neutrality instead of taking a stance against Israel's ethnic cleansing of the Palestinian people is enabling a continued violation of human rights. Your statement was released within the minute following your call for submissions regarding Social Justice Week. It is deeply hypocritical to discuss the concept of peace but choose not to actively support the ceasefire in your position of influence. I compare your actions to Maynooth University's statement condemning the invasion of Ukraine only one day after Russian launched their military campaign. Thus, your statement is a clear demonstration of Maynooth University's endorsement of the current atrocities being committed by the Israeli government. over 750,000 Palestinians were expelled and over 6,000 Palestinians were killed as part of an ethnic cleansing decades before the 7th of October . To be pro-Palestinian is not ‘anti-Semitic’ but critical of Israel’s state-sponsored terrorism in pursuit of a Jewish homeland in the Middle East. Indeed, such claim is an effort to silence teachings about the Palestine cause. This is not an equal-sided conflict but an anti-colonial war which an Irish university should viscerally understand the impact of. Since the 7th of October, all universities in Gaza have been annihilated and the Israeli-occupied West Bank is being illegally struck by drones. Moreover, since the 7th of October, over 25,000 Palestinian people have been murdered by Israel; thousand-year-old native olive trees of Bethlehem have been uprooted; and over 1.5 million Palestinians have been displaced across the Gaza strip. In other words, the number of students and staff currently attending Maynooth has been killed twice. Do not misunderstand, I am appalled by the 7th of October attack. Yet, I also acknowledge that Hamas was financially supported by the Israeli military and politicians for years and mere months prior to the 7th of October to destabilise Palestinian democracy. The Israeli government has been creating propaganda targeting the Western audience to dismiss decades of the Palestinian genocide as a 'right to defend itself’ . Vice-President, your EDI office and the executives have failed to showcase the critical analysis about global humanitarian issues that this academic institution aims to foster in our students and Staff. Although your email claimed to portray the university as neutral, this is far from the truth due to the continuation of the university’s connection with companies profiting from this genocide, such as Starbucks and Intel, with the latter just recently donating a grant of €150,000 to the building of a new robotics lab on campus. Intel operates four development and production sites in Israel, including a manufacturing plant 42km from the Gaza strip. Amid the genocide, Intel announced its plan to expand the Kiryat gat plant, with Netanahu saying it was the largest investment ever in Israel, and the Israeli Finance minister stating “This investment, at a time when Israel wages war against utter wickedness, a war in which good must defeat evil, is an investment in the right and righteous values that spell progress for humanity,”. The university must divest from Israeli-affiliated companies, boycott products supporting Israel and pressure the Irish government to demand an internationally-enforced ceasefire now. As Desmond Tutu famously said ‘If you are neutral in situations of injustice have chosen the side of the oppressor’.

The Grant Thornton Report on the Post Office Network stated that the withdrawal of a post office from an area has a significant impact on the remaining businesses due to the impact on local footfall. In light of the fact that a taskforce has been assigned to Tipperary town to assist it in developing employment and educational opportunities, developing its infrastructure, tackling dereliction, and putting unused buildings to use, any efforts to take the post office out of the town centre would be in stark contrast to what Tipperary town needs. Tipperary town also has demographics that mean more people depend on services like those currently provided by An Post, and therefore need easily accessible services. Anything but a town centre location cannot be accepted, and the people of Tipperary town need assurances that its post office will remain in the town centre.

The annual White House visit is enormously symbolic. For Irish Politicians to boycott the Biden Administration, it could weaken America's continuing support for Israel. It would also send ripples across the world and further highlight the plight of the Palestinian people on a global stage. It sends a signal that Ireland and the vast majority of the people in this country, says no to this genocide, opposes what is happening and opposes US support for it. It's important that the government and all politicians say they will not be going to shake hands with Joe Biden and other members of the US administration. Exact Wording of the motions to be proposed on Monday 12th - 1) Carlow Council agrees apartheid Israel is engaged in a genocide in Gaza. Tens of thousands of Palestinians have been killed, including over 10,000 children. Many more have been seriously injured and traumatised, almost 2 million people are displaced and face a catastrophic humanitarian crisis with famine conditions. Carlow Council commends the mass movement that has erupted across Ireland against the violence in recent months. 2) Carlow Council notes that Israel's murderous campaign of collective punishment is highly dependent on the military, financial and political support of Joe Biden and the US government in particular. This council also notes the Biden Administration has opposed calls for a humanitarian ceasefire, and that Biden has personally bypassed Congress to transfer arms to Israel during the genocidal war that will cause widespread death and suffering in Gaza. Therefore this council will write to the Irish Taoiseach and all political parties, calling on them not to attend St Patrick’s Day celebrations in the White House, nor to meet with President Joe Biden or any representative of his administration as part of the St Patrick’s Day events. Accordingly, members of this Council expected to travel to the U.S. will instead invite Irish-American associations with links to Carlow to travel to Carlow to celebrate St. Patrick's Day.

The hospice is a local charity that provides specialist palliative care for more than 350 babies, children, and their families each year. It's the only facility of it's kind in Northern Ireland. Extremely sick children and their families depend on the Hospice. This funding must be restored immediately. Dáithí uses the hospice four or times a year and we would be lost without it. The Northern Ireland Children's Hospice is such a magical place and I like to say to people that 'the hospice and the people who work there make the impossible possible'."

All children can learn. All children have a right to an education and we need to stand up for some of the most vulnerable children in our community who are being denied an education.

I remember a time when you could get cheap chicken fillet rolls or sausage rolls for just 2 euros. Those were the days. Now, prices have skyrocketed to an unbearable level - four rolls for 3 euros, or even worse, five for 3.99 at Centra. It's a heartbreak every single time. This isn't just about nostalgia; it's about affordability and accessibility to food that many people in Ireland rely on daily. The price increase has outpaced inflation rates and wage growth in our country, making these staple foods less affordable for average Irish citizens. According to Eurostat data from 2020, food prices in Ireland are already among the highest in Europe – approximately 20% above the EU average (source: Eurostat). This price hike on chicken fillet and sausage rolls only exacerbates this issue further. We call upon local businesses and national chains alike to reconsider their pricing strategies. We understand that businesses need to make profits but not at the expense of everyday consumers who depend on these products as part of their regular diet. Please sign this petition if you believe that everyone should have access to affordable food staples like chicken fillet and sausage rolls in Ireland

Our Post Office has been established for decades, which is part of the social, economic and cultural heritage of Roscommon Town. It is a landmark building in our town centre, which creates footfall, vitality and viability at this location. The use of the Post Office is part of the Cultural Heritage of the town and therefore must be protected under Planning legislation.

Producing over 6% of Ireland’s GDP, the location of nine out of 10 world leaders in tech and 50% of the world’s leading banks Dublin Docklands is a strategic asset for the nation. Many businesses, having invested so heavily in the area, are now losing confidence in the authorities ability to manage Docklands growing crime rate. Docklands is Ireland’s most successful urban regeneration. There are 60,000 people working in the area. This figure represents a 20% larger workforce than Limerick city and suburbs combined. Limerick has three Garda stations with a fourth on the way. Yet despite all this, Docklands remains without a dedicated Garda Station. We believe that having a local police station would significantly improve response times and deter potential criminals. It would also provide us with a tangible point of contact for reporting concerns or information about criminal activity. The Minister holds the power to change this situation. We are calling on her to allocate funds specifically for the establishment of a new Garda station in Dublin Docklands. This investment will not only help curb crime rates but also help secure an important strategic asset for the country. Please join us in urging the Dáil to fund this much-needed resource for our neighbourhoods’ safety and well-being. Sign this petition today!

Melted Parents have 4 campaign demands. 1) Immediate financial support for families to support for childcare costs - preventing skilled workers leaving the workforce, supporting families living in poverty, and boosting the economy. 2) Parent representation through decision-making process on policies made on childcare. 3) Long term childcare sector reform with children at the centre that works for families and providers.

It is a vital social good. Iconic building in the middle of town. Key service for hundreds of people every week. It will see a dilution of services and job losses.

More than 25,000 people, including over 10,000 children, have been killed in Gaza since October. Joe Biden cannot be allowed to celebrate the peace on the island of Ireland while continuing to fund Benjamin Netanyahu's slaughter in Palestine. By not attending the St. Patrick's Day celebrations, Michelle O'Neill will show the cost of this support, and send a strong message in favour of a ceasefire.

Bus Connects has been granted permission by An Bord Pleanala to remove the bus stops at Danieli Road (1219) and Killester Avenue (1220). These are proposed to be replaced by a single bus stop outside Artane Cottages Lower, on a narrow footpath with no room for a bus shelter. This means there will be no bus stop with shelter or seats on Malahide Road southbound between Artane Roundabout and Maypark (near Donneycarney church), a distance of almost 1km. The local community is losing two well-used bus stops with full amenities situated on wide footpaths. Instead, all bus passengers who would otherwise use those two stops will be forced to wait on a narrow footpath directly outside the doors and windows of the houses at Artane Cottages Lower, with no shelter or amenities. This will affect every passenger using the bus service along this whole stretch of the Malahide Road. The biggest impact will be on older passengers, passengers with disabilities and those travelling with children. The distances to bus services for residents from Killester Park / Craigford Drive and St. Brigid’s / Danieli Road will increase significantly. The severe impact on all bus passengers in the area and on the residents of Artane Cottages Lower has been explained many times to Bus Connects in public consultations and formal objections to their proposals, but no changes have been made or instructed to them by An Bord Pleanala. At this stage, the only option to prevent this proposal from being implemented in the Bus Connects scheme is to put pressure on the NTA and the Bus Connects project managers and engineers to revise the detail design for the stops between Artane Roundabout and Maypark in the next stage of the works. Help us to lobby Bus Connects to revise the design. Please sign the petition AND email them at [email protected] to tell them to save our bus stops.