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.  

Endometriosis is not a rare condition — yet in Ireland, people are still waiting years, often decades, for diagnosis and access to specialist care. This delay has real and lasting consequences. It means: • disease progression that could have been prevented • repeated surgeries and avoidable complications • loss of fertility and long-term health impacts • financial strain from private care and travel • emotional trauma from not being believed or properly treated Despite the publication of a national framework, the reality on the ground has not changed fast enough.  Patients are still facing barriers at every stage — from GP referral to specialist care. This is not just a healthcare issue.  It is an issue of patient safety, equality, and accountability. Why should others join this campaign? Because this could affect anyone. Endometriosis impacts 1 in 10 people assigned female at birth, meaning: • your sister • your daughter • your friend • your colleague may already be living with it — diagnosed or not. Joining this campaign is about: • Standing up for timely, safe, and appropriate healthcare • Demanding accountability for systemic failures • Ensuring future patients do not have to endure years of unnecessary suffering • Supporting a healthcare system that treats people with dignity, respect, and informed consent This is also about those who don’t yet have the voice, capacity, or support to speak out. No one should have to lose years of their life waiting to be believed. No one should have to fight this hard for basic healthcare. Join us. Sign the petition. Be part of the change.

Athenry is a growing community and the demand for reliable, early-morning public transport is clear.  Existing servcies are under enormous strain. Trains are often overcrowded to dangerous levels. Athenry desperately needs more services, not cuts. Funding these essential services will allow more people to use public transport and reduce reliance on cars, in line with the Government's environmental goals. At a time of global fuel crisis, public transport must be accessible, affordable and a reliable alternative for commuters. We will not accept Athenry's transport needs being ignored and neglected by Government and the relevant transport authorities. We demand that funding is provided for these essential services.

PMDD is a serious and often misunderstood condition that can be devastating for those living with it, affecting mental health, relationships, education, work and overall quality of life.  It is commonly estimated to affect around 3–8% of people with a menstrual cycle, yet awareness and understanding remain far too low.  Research has also found extremely high levels of distress among people with PMDD:  • Approximately 1 in 3 women with PMDD have attempted suicide • Approximately 50% have self-harmed. Too many people are left without answers, misdiagnosed, or made to feel that what they are experiencing is normal when it is not. Better education, clinical awareness and clear treatment pathways would mean earlier recognition, faster support and less needless suffering. 

The ongoing crisis in the Middle East has demonstrated that the objective of affordable, secure and decarbonised energy cannot be met through importation of fossil fuels which are carbon intensive and subject to rapid price shocks. Climate change and its consequences are and will continue to have profound effects on human health and the wellbeing of future generations. In confronting the fact that 29% of Irish households are in energy poverty, we must ensure that in moving to a net-zero Ireland we adhere to the principles of a Just Transition, and must reach those furthest behind first. Energy crises disproportionately impact the most marginalised, including one parent families, carers, disabled people, and older people, and are driven by an energy system that is too reliant on expensive imported fossil fuels. The Government has been backtracking on climate action in recent months; Government Ministers have suggested in the media that they won't meet our legally binding climate targets, and several pieces of legislation undermining the Climate Act have been published, including one that proposes to build an LNG terminal in Ireland, which will lock us into importing unreliable and dirty fossil fuels.

We the undersigned are calling on all members of the  Dail to support the upcoming motion of no confidence against the current Irish Government.  Every crisis that the people on the island of Ireland have faced over the last few years has been exasperated by the lack of meaningful action taken by this government.  From their lack of response and real support for people during the ongoing fuel and energy crisis to their deliberate efforts at ensuring the housing crisis worsens and health services are underfunded.  Publicly owned properties left laying empty while many families struggle to find a home, mental health and general health services stretched to capacity, children left without assessments of needs or additional needs classes, the list goes on.  All the while this government has been happy to hand over large tax breaks to massive corporations, to fall in line with arms manufacturers to try and dismantle our neutrality and to cut energy prices for enormous data centres while the rest of us are left with massive bills.  Please sign this petition expressing your support for the motion of no confidence and let us know why you support it below! 

The people of the community of Straide fundraised for, and provided labour for, the construction of the Straide Davitt Community Hall. The local community group, the Straide Community Development Group, on behalf of the community via fundraising  & with the help of government funding organisations, invested almost €300,000 in the refurbishment of the building and upgrading of services. They now find themselves stymied by their Landlord, the Michael Davitt National Memorial Company CLG, who are unwilling to extend the existing lease unaltered so that the community can avail of a €50,000 CLÁR grant. It is time for the community to reclaim their community centre.