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Diamond Park may be officially closed, but every day more than 40 children still gather there because it is the only accessible play space in the area. Families have nowhere else to bring their children, and the current condition of the park is unsafe, damaged, and neglected. The broken equipment, weak fencing, and lack of security mean children are playing in an environment that is not fit for purpose. At night, the park is regularly trespassed and vandalised because the fencing is too weak to protect it. This leads to even more damage and makes the space even less safe for children the next day. The community is stuck in a cycle where the park is closed, but still heavily used, and yet no improvements are being made. Rebuilding Diamond Park, installing stronger fencing, and restoring it to a safe standard would immediately benefit dozens of children and families who rely on it daily. A safe, well‑maintained playground is essential for children’s development, physical activity, and social connection. The community deserves a safe place for children to play, and this petition asks Dublin City Council to take action now.

Gorey Hill School was officially opened at the beginning of 2025 in the same grounds as Gaelscoil Moshíológ. This was supposed to be a temporary location until a new purpose built school is built on a green field site. The department has now decided the current shared site to be the permanent home of Gorey Hill and plans to build modular buildings and car parks covering the majority of Gaelscoil’s green space. This is in direct contradiction to the department’s National Strategy on Education for Sustainable Development which supports schools in creating sustainable learning environments and developing “healthy ecosystems, biodiversity and conservation - essential for humanity’s continued security”. Our objection is based on: 1. Massive impact of loss of greenspace to our students, especially those with special needs. 2. Firm belief that Gorey Hill deserves the green field, purpose build school they were promised. 3. Likely loss of Naíonra, breakfast and afterschool service which are now essential to the growth of the school and the families who utilise the service each day. 4. Unsustainable overcrowding of the of the area, putting pressure on utilities and causing health and safety issues regarding access and evacuation routes. We wish to make it very clear that we are not opposed to Gorey Hill School or to the children and families who attend it. We fully recognise the importance of appropriate long-term provision for children with additional needs, and we acknowledge the dedication of their families. It is also important to note that the Gaelscoil itself supports children with additional needs, and this must be properly considered in all planning decisions. However, we do not believe the current proposal represents a sustainable or workable solution for either school.  It appears the Department is forcing two minority educational experiences to squeeze onto a single site, which if it goes ahead, will become very built up. Both schools will lack green space and the opportunity to grow and expand.

According to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), between 1,300 to 1,700 premature deaths occur in Ireland each year because of poor air quality. The EPA states that the main sources of this pollution are solid fuel burning and traffic emissions. It also notes links to cardiovascular disease, respiratory disease, dementia, type 2 diabetes, and neonatal mortality. For comparison, the HSE states that approximately 5,200 deaths each year occur as result of smoking. While smoking remains a major public health threat, air pollution is also causing a very significant death toll and chronic illness burden. Yet tobacco products carry clear health warnings, while fuels that create harmful pollution often do not. We therefore submit that all petrol, oil, diesel, coal, peat, wood fuels, and other solid fuels sold in Ireland should be required to carry prominent health warnings, similar in principle to tobacco warnings. These warnings should clearly state that burning these fuels contributes to: • Premature death • Heart disease • Stroke • Asthma and lung disease • Cancer risk from polluted air • Dementia risk • Harm to babies and children • Climate damage and extreme weather risks Consumers deserve clear information about the health consequences of products they purchase and use. Public warning labels would help raise awareness, encourage cleaner alternatives, and support national public health and climate goals. They would also help us find a clearer path towards gaining energy independence by encouraging reduced fuel use and greater support for clean, home-grown renewables such as solar and wind. Ireland has shown leadership before with tobacco control. We now need similar honesty and courage regarding polluting fuels. We ask both Government and Opposition parties to support legislation requiring health warnings on these products. Yours faithfully,

Ireland opened its doors to Ukranian families fleeing war. Now, Fianna Fáil Minister Jim O'Callaghan wants to turf them all out on the street. The war in Ukraine is still raging on. Those who have come to Ireland to seek safety still cannot go back. By removing the emergency accommodation for these families, Jim O'Callaghan is guaranteeing the homelessness rates in Ireland will sky-rocket. This is cruel and cold and will cost the taxpayer far more in the problems it will generate.

The Road R741 from Crosstown to Castlebridge has become unsafe and unfit for its purpose. Over the years there have been fatalities and recently many near misses with pedestrians. Elderly people, parents with children and disabled people using mobility scooters are forced directly onto the road where public footpaths end abruptly and verges are unsafe. The roads unsuitable resurfacing and of infrastructure and drainage has meant the verge is now at a sharp angle, and houses are in dips - causing flooding with damages over €30,000. This applies to a stretch of road just 1.2 miles long where cycle lanes and public footpaths end in crosstown and begin again in Castlebridge - how are pedestrians and cyclists supposed to travel safely without these measures? 

Across Ireland, people with disabilities are still being shut out of buildings and services that are open and working for everyone else. They are told “we can’t afford it,” “the building is too old,” or “we can’t let you upstairs.” But the real problem is not just bricks and mortar. It is a legal and policy system that still allows too many businesses and public bodies to delay, deflect, and do too little. Ireland has equality and human-rights obligations in this area, including under the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. As a lifelong wheelchair user for over 30 years, I have witnessed firsthand the discriminatory practices of both businesses and government bodies when it comes to making the built environment wheelchair accessible. Despite Ireland’s domestic and European equality and accessibility obligations, these bodies still exploit loopholes in the law — particularly phrases like “nominal cost” and “as far as practicable” — to sidestep real action. The result is persistent accessibility barriers that have a profound negative impact on people with disabilities, denying equal access to public spaces, workplaces, and essential services. Accessibility is not a special request. It is part of the equality and human-rights standards Ireland already claims to uphold. Yet in practice, the law still leaves major gaps. In employment, there is a stronger reasonable-accommodation / disproportionate-burden framework. In goods and services, providers can still rely on the “nominal cost” limit in the Equal Status Acts. And on the public side, the Disability Act still uses the phrase “as far as practicable” for public buildings, which has too often allowed delay instead of delivery. The system is also too fragmented. Most equality complaints go through the Workplace Relations Commission, but licensed-premises and registered-club cases follow a different route. That means the burden still falls too often on people with disabilities themselves to fight exclusion one complaint at a time. And this issue is not only about customers or service users. Inaccessible buildings can also lock people with disabilities out of recruitment, work, training, and career progression. Employers already have legal duties in this area, including around adapting premises, but access should not depend on luck, goodwill, or the willingness of one person to fight alone. That is not good enough. We are calling on the Irish Government and local authorities to close the loopholes and treat accessibility as a non-negotiable standard in every business, public service, workplace, and public-facing building. We are asking for: 1. Close the loopholes in both private and public access law Amend the Equal Status Acts so that access cannot be avoided by relying on “nominal cost” where meaningful accommodation is reasonably achievable. Amend the public-buildings regime so that “as far as practicable” can no longer function as a blanket excuse for delay. 2. Make access a condition of public funding, public investment, and public approval Any publicly funded refurbishment, retrofit, or new build should have to meet strong accessibility standards as a condition of approval and funding. Public bodies should be required to publish time-bound accessibility plans for their buildings and services. 3. End segregation disguised as accommodation Sending a person with disabilities to a separate room, separate entrance, or separate service point while everyone else uses the main service is not equal access. If a business or public service is open to the public, it must be open in practice to people with disabilities too. 4. Cover workplaces as well as public-facing premises Accessibility reform must apply not only to customers and service users, but also to workers, job applicants, trainees, and volunteers. No one should be excluded from employment because a building has not been made accessible. 5. Stop landlords from being the next excuse Where a business or service provider wants to make access improvements, landlords and property owners should not be allowed to block reasonable accessibility works and then leave tenants to carry the blame. 6. Shift the burden from individuals to the system Introduce routine accessibility audits, public reporting, a public register of inaccessible State buildings, funded retrofit deadlines, and real accountability, so access does not depend on isolated complaints after the damage is already done. Accessibility is not charity. It is not a luxury. If a building or service can operate for the public, it should be able to operate for people with disabilities too. Sign if you believe accessibility should be the law in practice, not just the promise on paper.

The travesty that no one thought could happen has indeed happened. The iconic St. Stephen's Green Shopping Centre has been earmarked for redevelopment, replacing what is a remarkable structure with another beige brick characterless building. St. Stephen’s Green Shopping Centre opened in 1988, transforming a historic site in central Dublin into a modern retail hub. The building itself incorporates elements of the original Victorian-era architecture, preserving Dublin’s heritage while adapting it for contemporary use. Over the years, the centre has evolved to meet changing retail trends, becoming a key destination for shopping and dining in the city. Its location next to St Stephen’s Green park ties it closely to Dublin’s cultural and social life, making it more than just a shopping centre but a part of the city’s historic fabric. Closing and redeveloping the iconic building would be absurd.  In addition, there should be an immediate independent investigation of the planning committee who approved this destruction to assure the public there has been no corruption during the approval process.

The Aghavannagh Mountain holding is a c.1,527ac upland estate in the heart of the Wicklow Mountains, with 1,518 acres extending in one unbroken block from the village of Aghavannagh to the summit of Lugnaquilla. At 925 metres, it is the highest mountain in Leinster and the highest peak in Ireland outside of Kerry. It is close to the Wicklow Way, Ireland's oldest and most celebrated long-distance walking trail. The land contains extensive priority habitats under EU law, upland heather moorland and blanket bog.

The reason for this request is to protect our children, parents and guardians, from the traffic on the main road, R610. As the school is situated on a steep hill with no access for a school bus or coach, the children and teachers have to walk down to the main road and gather behind the Grass Island to catch a bus or coach, or to walk to the playground or the tennis courts in the village. Why should the county councillors care?                                                      Because the proposed plan to change the road layout has not been proven to be an improvement but will be a serious threat to Road Safety for parents and school children. The Grass Island has been and remains a safe solution for the traffic needs of the school and village.  The implementation of the Active Travel Greenways Improvements cannot threaten the daily life of our school children or their parents.

Smoking remains the leading cause of preventable death in Ireland, killing over 4,500 people every year. A generational smoking ban—stopping the sale of tobacco to anyone born after a certain year—will protect our children and future generations from the harms of addiction, disease, and early death. Countries like New Zealand showed that this approach works, reducing smoking rates and saving lives. This ban is not about punishing current smokers, but about creating a healthier future. It will save billions in healthcare costs, reduce the burden on our hospitals, and ensure that no young person ever starts a deadly habit. Ireland has always been a leader in public health, and we were one of the first to ban smoking indoors, let’s make history again by becoming the next country to say no to tobacco for good.

As a public facility, Mullingar Swimming Pool has a responsibility to remain inclusive and accessible to all members of the community.  In a country surrounded by water, the ability to swim is an essential life skill, and access to effective learning pathways must be protected.  We respectfully call on Westmeath County Council to:  • Review and reconsider the decision to ban private swimming lesson • Acknowledge and address the current shortfall in available classes and access within existing programmes • Engage with pool users, parents, instructors, and adult learners before implementing major policy changes • Explore balanced alternatives, such as designated times that allow private instruction to continue alongside public use We believe there is a fair and practical solution that supports safety, inclusion, and access for everyone.