We believe women should retain meaningful choice in how they receive care during pregnancy and birth, and that maternity care options should be enhanced, not restricted, by healthcare reforms. We fully support and strongly endorse major investment in the public maternity care system, and we want to see it developed to the highest possible standard, with meaningful choice across care pathways, including consultant-led care, midwifery-led care, and community-based care. However, this must be achieved by strengthening and expanding services, not by removing existing options, particularly where no equivalent alternatives are in place. Thousands of pregnant women choose private maternity care for a range of personal reasons. For many, the key reason is the guarantee of continuity of care: having a chosen consultant oversee their journey from the first antenatal appointment through to delivery and postnatal follow-up. This pathway is deeply significant because it provides: • Tailored, personalised care: Women with specific physical or emotional needs, including those with past traumatic experiences, require care that reflects and responds to their circumstances. • Trust and peace of mind: Being attended by a familiar consultant who understands your history provides reassurance during a highly personal life event. Not every woman chooses this option. But every woman should have the right to. Yet under current Sláintecare reforms, access to the private maternity care pathway is being phased out. Maternity care is disproportionately affected by Sláintecare policy, and women are the only group directly impacted in this way. Unlike other areas of healthcare, where private and public options exist side by side, maternity care in Ireland operates within the public hospital system, as there are no private maternity hospitals. Removing private care from public hospitals removes access to the private maternity care pathway entirely. This creates a clear structural inequity: choice is being reduced in a female-only area of healthcare, while private options remain available in other medical specialties. We call on the Government to maintain access to the private maternity care pathway within the maternity care system by refraining from removing private maternity care access within public maternity hospitals.

The removal of the Triple Lock will almost certainly result our forces being compelled to partake in illegal wars -- wars which in the past have always resulted in the killing and maiming of innocent civilians. The gravity of this cannot be understated. The threat of a life-time boycott of the private commercial interests of TDs who become complicit in this egregious abandonment of the Triple Lock is warranted. This petition is a declaration of intent of people to boycott the private business interests - now and in the future - of any TD who ultimately acts to remove the Triple Lock. If enough signatures are obtained the declaration will be emailed to all TDs in advance of any vote on the removal of the Triple Lock. In doing so, this will clarify for all the depth and breadth of opposition to this planned removal. Even if the number of signatures is a small proportion of the population as a whole, it would serve as an indication of the strength of public opinion. A list of current business interests (directorships, significant shareholdings, contracts) of TDs who act to remove of the Triple Lock will be maintained for reference. This list can be maintained up-to-date and promoted in future. "It Is Difficult to Get a Man [sic] to Understand Something When His Salary Depends Upon His Not Understanding It." - Upton SinclairWe can help them understand more clearly

German Shepherd dogs are known for their fantastic abilities as service dogs. They combine intelligence, trainability, physical capability and very strong bonds with their handlers. They are the most loyal dog breed. They have physical strenght to provide balance support, pulling wheelchairs, opening doors, retrieving dropped objects. German Shepherds has proved themselves as guide dogs for people with visual impairments, as medical alert and psychiatric service dogs.They are confident under pressure. Yes, they require proper training but so as any other service dog. On a personal note....Kurtin,beautiful, loyal and absolutely outstanding non official  (unfortunately and very unfairly) therapy dog has been by my special needs son's side for nearly 12 years. 

Just last year JCD Developments got extended planning permission to expand the Data Centre site in Little Island. This comes at a time of record high electricity bills, which are now some of the highest in Europe. As well as this, as of 2025, 22% of the Irish Electrical grids output goes straight to Data Centres. We need to stop prioritising the economic interests of big tech companies over the right of Irish workers to affordable electricity, clean water and a sustainable future for their children.  So join us as we take the fight to the tech oligarchic's and put an end to their profiteering in Cork.

We, the  Student nurses , call on the Irish Government to introduce payment for all mandatory clinical placement hours completed by student nurses and midwives, as the prices of apprenticeship rise and we work hard and don’t feel rewarded. Student nurses regularly work full 13-hour shifts, often three days per week, while balancing academic requirements and rising living costs. Many students must work additional jobs to pay rent, bills, transport costs and other essential expenses, as Susi don’t cover the summer times the student nurses must work in. The current system places significant financial and personal strain on nursing students and may discourage people from entering or remaining in the profession. We call on the Government to: • Introduce fair payment for all mandatory clinical placement hours. • Review financial supports available to nursing and midwifery students. • Ensure no student is forced into financial hardship while completing compulsory healthcare training. • Support recruitment and retention of future nurses by removing unnecessary financial barriers.

These benches are crucial amenities in a public park.   Older people, people with disabilities, people with chronic fatigue, parents, carers, walkers and visitors all need places to stop and rest. A bench is the difference between being able to use the park and not being able to go there at all for some people in our communities. Removing benches will not solve anti-social behaviour. It will only make South Park less accessible for the people who use it properly every day. We should not punish the whole community for the behaviour of a few. South Park should be safe, welcoming and usable for everyone. Keeping the benches is part of that. More info on current plans: https://www.connachttribune.ie/news/galway-officials-say-removing-south-park-benches-wont-stop-disorder-8668002

The Minister for Education has confirmed that there is no Department requirement for students to own a laptop and that schools should ensure no child is disadvantaged due to lack of access to technology. However, many families are being asked to spend hundreds of euro on specific devices, sometimes through single-supplier arrangements and third party financial institutions. The Department has also acknowledged concerns about the financial burden these schemes can place on families. As digital technology becomes increasingly important in education, national protections are needed to ensure affordability, choice and equal access for all students.

We live in an age where anxiety and depression affects so many people, we’re all trying to cut down on screen time , become more active , interact with people and embrace the healing properties of nature.Our little sauna enabled groups,  both young and old,to do just that.  A grant was received in conjunction with the Dept. Of Marine to set up the sauna and without as much as a meeting they have  now rejected its seasonal license to use the pier. Not only did it promote wellbeing and tourism but it was a beacon of light and a sanctuary to so many… Please sign our petition and help us to save our sauna 🙏🙏🙏

Even people with limited mobility need to be able to get around!

We, the undersigned citizens of Ireland, call for an immediate pause on the forced removal of private and semi-private care pathways within public maternity hospitals. While we fully support the long-term goal of a universally funded, single-tier public health system, the current execution of Sláintecare reforms creates a deeply unjust double standard that uniquely targets women when they are at their most vulnerable. In the Irish healthcare system, an individual requiring orthopedic surgery, cardiac care, or general medical treatment retains the freedom to choose private care and access it via dedicated private hospital infrastructure. However, maternity care is fundamentally different. There are no standalone private maternity hospitals in Ireland. Every expectant mother, regardless of her choices or medical needs, must use the same 19 public maternity units. By banning consultants on new contracts from treating private patients within these shared public units, the Government is systematically dismantling the only pathway women have to guarantee continuity of consultant-led care. For many, this choice is not a luxury; it is a vital clinical safety net used to navigate severe past birth trauma, high-risk medical conditions, or a heartbreaking history of miscarriage. To strip this choice away before the public system is actually resourced, staffed, and capable of delivering guaranteed continuity of care to all women is a premature structural shift. A patient in labor cannot defer care, shop around, or walk out if the system is failing; they are entirely vulnerable to the infrastructure available on the day. Restricting choices in a female-only healthcare sector, while leaving options intact for general and male-dominated medical specialties, represents a profound inequity.

Join the petition to show the FAI and government that the fans do not want this game to go ahead. No to a change of venue. No to forcing players to play a game they don't want to play. No to sportswashing. No to bending for genocidal murderers.  Spread the word. Share, like and follow. 

Calling all friends and families of Scoil Chualann, please sign the petition to request an appeal to Department of Education decision to reduce the number of permanent full time teachers in Scoil Chualann for Academic Year 2026- 2027. Scoil Chualann has been at the heart of education in Bray for generations building a proud tradition of academic excellence and cultural excellence. Scoil Chualann is a co-educational, all-Irish primary school (Gaelscoil) situated on Vevay Road in Bray, County Wicklow. Established in 1977 it is dedicated to providing Irish-medium education while nurturing Irish culture and heritage. A major milestone in its history occurred in the 1980s when a dedicated, permanent 8 classroom purpose built facility was opened to it's pupils.  For the academic year 2026 & 2027, parents have been informed following the release of Dept of Education Circular 0025/2026 there will multi grade class for Rang 3 & Rang 4 with proposed class size of 36 pupils. This proposal has naturally raised many concerns for parents of children currently enrolled, which we outlined below: 1.  A multi grade class of 36 children is 57% higher ratio than the recommended national ratio of 23 : 1 pupils to teacher ratio for primary school.  2. This local issue also highlights a national issue. According to the Department of Education, more than 43,000 Irish primary school pupils were in classes of 30 or more last year, while the average primary school class size remains at 22.5 pupils, which so happens to be the highest in the EU. Despite repeated commitments to reduce class sizes, many schools continue to operate overcrowded classrooms that place enormous pressure on children, teachers, and parents.  3. Gaelscoileanna operate through full immersion in Irish. Pupils are taught through Irish across all subjects, often with varying levels of fluency. Learning through Irish requires: additional classroom interaction,  engagement and reinforcement to ensure children can fully access the curriculum confidently through the Irish language. Introducing new concepts, encouraging participation through Irish, supporting language development maintaining immersive classroom environments 4. Protect the long-term sustainability, accessibility and growth of Irish-medium education across Ireland and align staffing policy with the State’s commitments to strengthening the Irish language. (Action Plan for 2026-2028 launched in support of the National Plan for Irish Language Public Services 2024-2030) 5. It is about recognising that equal numerical formulas do not always create equal educational outcomes. If Ireland truly values the Irish language, then our schools must be properly supported to deliver it. 6. If the Department of Education genuinely wants to support and grow the Irish language, then our education system must actively support the schools and communities doing that work every day.Children learning through Irish should be encouraged and properly supported, not expected to succeed within increasingly stretched classroom environments that fail to recognise the additional educational demands involved.