Ben and Bernie have provided invaluable support to asylum seekers in Direct Provision over the years, particularly those in emergency Direct Provision centres without adequate material supports. They have been collecting donated items from members of the public and distributing them to asylum seekers. Ben and Bernie are longtime Movement of Asylum Seekers in Ireland supporters. They have stood with us and now it is time for everyone to stand with them. Benjamin Akhile received a deportation order on the 16th March 2020. He has been residing in Ireland for 14 years. Seven of those years he has been in a relationship with Bernie D'Arcy. During his time in Ireland Ben has completed many courses right up to Fetac 6 and told to apply for university next. His chosen profession was journalism and he has a degree in Mass communication. To be deported means that he would be sent back to a country where he has neither family or friends left. But he has the support and love of his partner Bernie and a wide circle of friends here in Ireland. As he suffers from diabetes 2, hypertension and high blood pressure Ben needs adequate access to medical care equivalent to the access here in Ireland. If deported back to Sierra Leone at 54 he will suffer greatly. He has enriched lives here in Ireland through his daily life and he's has been enriched. Revoke the deportation order Minister Helen McEntee

With the Coronavirus, Covid-19 pandemic worsening, Vacant Homes should be requisitioned NOW for people who are Homeless, hostels, hubs, hotels, rough sleepers and Direct Provision where social distancing and self-isolation is practically impossible and where the rates of transmission will be higher. There are over 40,000 apartments and houses Vacant in Dublin alone, e.g. thousands of short-term lets (Airbnb, etc.) should be requisitioned immediately. There should be serious measures introduced NOW to put people first and safeguard everyone in our society. Please sign and share.

Covid-19 shows us all who the real key workers are in our society. As they continue to work to treat the sick, support the vulnerable and keep the country going, they must be provided with the equipment tha will keep them safe and stop the virus spreading.

In the very near future, thousands of private renters across Northern Ireland will face huge reductions in their income and be unable to pay their rent. Being evicted during the Covid-19 crisis will mean being unable to stay safe and healthy, and not spread the virus. The government has announced "mortgage holidays" for landlords and home-owners and Cities in the US including New York, Los Angeles and San Francisco have already taken action to stop evictions. Now it's time to give renters in Northern Ireland the protections they need to keep their homes during the coronavirus crisis.

The COVID-19 crisis has come to us almost by surprise, it has spread around the world in a way that has made us take drastic measures to stop it. Socially, occupationally and psychologically it is having repercussions on the entire population. We have had to defer our plans, stop our social life. In most, we have had to stop working. Closed companies, people who have lost their jobs or are on layoff and requiring financial aid from the State since they have lost their wages, unemployed people who are not able to find employment at the moment, self-employed workers who have seen their income decrease to more than 50%... Still, spending life continues its normal course. People continue to buy food and other household utilities, we continue to pay our bills. Visits the doctors, medication payments have increased ... Circumstances that are making the daily life a struggle. Being in isolation, locked up at home, is part of the precaution to be infected. But more important, it is a means of preventing the virus from spreading further and causing further social harm. Then, being in solidary with the rest of the community. This circumstance will be translated into higher holdhouses bills, added to less income, more social needs, increase of the poverty. Day by day it will get worse and worse. I ask to the electrical and gas companies to put themselves in the shoes of their customers. (I am writing to you now) I ask you, as a person to person, to be empathic with the circumstances. We all are responsible for the welfare of the rest. We all can make it work.

This is a major challenge to the health well being of all our communities. It is crucial to stop the spread of the infection. It is recognizing the right of all to health and life.

Because of restrictions which are required to save lives, during this emergency, many businesses and employees will face unprecedented strain on their finances, with businesses forced to shut and employees suddenly laid off. The proposed moratorium is aimed at preventing the health emergency becoming a long term economic emergency and adding to the homeless crisis. The key is that it needs to be not just a moratorium on payment, but a moratorium on the rent and interest being incurred. Otherwise at the end of the moratorium landlords/banks could come looking for, say, 3 months arrears resulting in a spate of people getting evicted and businesses closing down. It is recognised that this proposal interferes with property rights, but is proportionate to the unprecedented situation and to the restrictions being placed on people and the use of their property, so would be constitutional. This is an extreme measure, but a necessary one.

A decision has been made to rename Anglesea Street Terence McSwiney Street. This should not be allowed to happen. My family lived on Anglesea Street for over a century. Are previous dwellers of Anglesea Street, like the Burkes, the Cuthberts, the Murphys, the Heaphys, the Connollys, the Carberys, the Hayes, the Bowes, the O'Neills, the Leahys, to have their history obliterated due to an omission by the Council to mark McSwiney's name in some other way during the past 100 years. Reserve the name of Terence McSwiney for another street and do not rob our families and neighbours of our past.

There is an element of the Irish population that doesn’t seem to understand the consequences of social distancing during a time when Covid 19 is infecting more people and we have yet to develop a vaccine

The Coronavirus is beyond politics. Now is the time for all who live on this island, to stand together to face this common threat. An emergency plan must be put in place to protect us all, and prioritising those most at risk such as care home residents, asylum seekers, older people, and the homeless.

A toxic combination of being cut off from family and friends, shut refuges, financial hardship, loss of work, closed schools and community services means women experiencing violence are in great danger because of Covid19. The Courts are barely open and even though they say they'll continue to hear emergency domestic violence cases, it's clear that it victims won't be able to get emergency barring orders because all other services they need - from childcare, support workers, transport, legal advice will be either non-existent or too hard to access. Its not clear what will happen if we are ordered to go into full lockdown. Women and children experiencing violence will effectively be locked in with violent partners - and no support system. The Istanbul Convention to which Ireland is a signatory requires for special measures to be taken to prevent and protect women from gender-based violence. 22 other European Countries that are signatories to the Istanbul Convention have already granted special powers to police to make Emergency Barring Orders Regions that have already seen large numbers of Covid-19 cases such as China and have taken measures to reduce the spread by confining people to their homes have reported significant increases in incidents of domestic violence. The time to act is now. About Sisi Sisi is a collective of survivors of intimate abuse in Ireland. It formed in Aug 2018 as an action group and voice for women. This is a unique survivor led platform in Ireland, and is a highly innovative way to bring lived survivor experience to inform state institutions and policies. Our vision is an Ireland where women are free from violence, including sexual abuse and coercive control. Our mission is to support women survivors of violence, including domestic abuse and coercive control, to be leaders, and to grow and develop utilizing their lived experiences and by taking collective action in the pursuit of freedom, equality and structural change.

This is a vital and very practical measure that will help so many people and is achievable if you get behind it in the real interests of social solidarity. Please get this sharing and signing and we'll get the Government to act immediately.