David Nesengani came to Ireland with his wife Fortunate after receiving death threats in South Africa in 2016. Their family home was burned down for standing with other African nationals who were attacked in South Africa. The International Protection Appeals Tribunal in the Department of Justice and Equality has previously granted refugee status to South Africans in David's situation as recently as last year. But there is lack of consistency in the decisions made by the tribunal as they seem to depend on which tribunal member you get since they all reach different conclusions when empirical evidence remains the same. All this undermines the principle of non-refoulement as the couple stands to be deported to a country that has been found by several members of the appeals tribunal to be unsafe for people who are in the same position as David and Fortunate. Fortunate and her husband have spent years in Direct Provision before being served with a deportation order. That is cruel considering that David and Fortunate will not get the years lost in Direct Provision back. David is currently doing his second year of the BA - Applied Social Studies in Social Care at the Athlone Institute of Technology. The couple has been doing voluntary work in Athlone since their right to work is restricted. Let David and Fortunate stay!!!

The committee inviting Lynda Rose to speak was prominent in the campaign for Section 28 which outlawed teaching about gay relationships in the 1980s. This narrative against inclusive sex education discriminates against the LGBT community who are already statistically more likely to experience discrimination and poor mental health.

Staff increments are being withheld and denied. All staff have accrued salary arrears because the HSE, who currently pay our salary, are refusing to pay it correctly. We were never informed in March 2017 that we would essentially have our pay frozen, which is what we've been subjected to. We do not know if we will ever see this money come back to us. No one is telling us anything. We have not been able to access PRSI benefits, despite our PRSI contributions being taken from our salary every paycheck like the rest of the country who are in full-time and part-time employment. We know this, because we have been told by dentists and opticians that we are not eligible. Where is this money going - because it certainly doesn't seem to be making it's way to Revenue. Not only this, but it is also affecting staff by way of them being asked to pay local property tax twice. Staff can't access the Assist to Buy scheme because their Revenue taxes aren't in order. Staff have husbands and partners who are self-employed - this affects them, too. And God forbid we were to go out on long term sick leave in the morning - would we be entitled to illness benefit? Some staff are long-standing members of a voluntary pension scheme set up within the service many years ago. When the Sister's of Charity withdrew in March 2017 these contributions continued to be taken out of staff wages, but ceased being handed over to the company that was managing the pension scheme. Staff were not told this had happened until over a year later. As a result, the pension lapsed, and now our staff who are nearing retirement age are facing a real, tangible worry. Where is their pension? We don't know where the money is going, because it certainly isn't being paid into a pension scheme anymore. Staff can't access their money, even if they wanted to opt out of the scheme. Their money is being ring-fenced and is inaccessible. Our residents continue to receive a very high standard of care and staff continue to fulfill their duty of care to the residents, but where is the duty of care that is owed to us as employees? The Sisters of Charity are saying the HSE are our employers and thus legally responsible, the HSE is saying it's St Vincent's Centre the company, but St Vincent's Centre the company does not exist anymore, as it de-registered in 2017. As staff, we feel disrespected - and disrespect in uneven power dynamic is bullying. We keep hearing that mediation is ongoing between the Sisters of Charity and the HSE, and that everything will be 'sorted out' soon, but the promise of an apple tomorrow is not going to feed us today. We are tired, and exhausted from all this. We just want someone to listen to us. To help us fix this. We are at our wits end and we just cannot take it any longer - the vast financial implications are too much for us to bear anymore. It is sickening that it is taking three years. We will not wait anymore.

Three Wise Men Three Pakistani men who have given their all to be part of Irish society are at imminent risk of deportation to Pakistan, where life for them will be dangerous to their health and wellbeing. The three won the hearts of their Longford neighbours, when they volunteered as the Three Wise Men for the Christmas pageant in 2017, even though two are Muslim. Vicky, one of the three, who was working locally as a nurse in a retirement home was forced to return to Pakistan in 2018, despite a petition of over 6000 signatures and the two remaining men, having exhausted all appeals await their fate after 4 years enduring the Direct Provision system in Ireland. Malik has had several exhibitions of his paintings in Longford and elsewhere and Abdul’s photography has documented cultural events in Longford, Dublin and Kerry. They have both performed in several shows around the country with Catherine Young Dance. Their hospitality and sense of community has been a gift to everyone who has come to know them. They are cherished by their local community and the arts community in Ireland but are about to be forced to leave. Can you sign this letter to the minister for Justice asking for compassionate leave to remain for the two remaining men?

Climate change is the biggest threat we face. But rather than acting on it, BP is trying to make clean up it's image by sponsoring art exhibitions here in Belfast, while it continues to make huge profits.

In order to prevent a similar scenario in Ireland I would like to ask everybody to sign a petition to the Irish Government as well as the HSE to cancel a mass event coming up soon St. Partick's Day . Italy cancels Venice Carnival amid coronavirus crisis. https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.dw.com/en/italy-cancels-venice-carnival-amid-coronavirus-crisis-third-person-dies/a-52488725

The crisis of plastic pollution is reaching a tipping point with plastic pollution set to double by 2030. We need to take drastic action to reduce the amount of plastic in our environment. Individuals are making efforts to reduce their own consumption of plastics. Now it’s time for businesses to show a willingness to tackle this problem. Back in May 2019 Cllr Madeline Johansson got a motion passed in South Dublin County Council on our behalf calling on SDCC to implement an environmental rating system for local businesses, similar to a hygiene rating system. Unfortunatley there has been no action by SDCC to date. Please sign our petition to pressure on SDCC to act and implement an environmental rating system for businesses so that we can try to combat plastic pollution.

We have 21 species of Bumblebee and 77 Solitary Bee species in Ireland and one-third of our bee species are at risk of extinction. One in three spoonfuls of our food is pollinated by bees; in a world without bees and other natural pollinators, we won't have enough food to feed the world.

Northern Ireland is home to many rare and endangered species of bee. It supports the largest population in the UK of Northern Colletes, a priority conservation species. Yet, conservation charity Buglife NI says that 21 species are at risk of extinction unless action is taken.

TO HELP CLIMATE CHANGE AND STOP ILLEGAL DUMPING

Over the last 4 years 222 homeless people died on our streets. The Government and all local authorities have a duty of care to the most vulnerable people in our society the homeless. At present Meath County Council only provide assistance if homelessness is caused by fire or flood. Or is due to an adverse weather event. Or at Christmas time. The service in place is not fit for purpose at any time, but its an absolute disgrace that this is all Meath County Council can offer during a housing emergency. Please sign share and like this petition with all your family and friends and help me ensure that the next homeless death, No 223 does not happen on the streets of Co Meath.

Democracy is the lynch pin of Irish society and by refusing to allow duly elected candidates to take their seats, the outgoing government is denying the people their vote. Regardless of your politics or which party you support, the very right to vote for the candidate of our choosing is being taken away by the outgoing government and this is not acceptable.