It’s time the Government stepped up and recognised that having a home is more important than rich institutions and people making huge profits off the back of the housing crisis. But, they need to know that there is massive public pressure calling on them to act now.

After years of private market failure in building residential accommodation, we must provide for a new model to tackle the housing crisis on lands which are currently in state control. Dublin 8 has been inundated with development applications for hotel and luxury student accommodation which is undermining the cohesiveness of our community. We want a sustainable urban quarter developed on the Player Wills land and this can only be done with Ministerial intervention to ensure that NAMA fulfill their social remit and deliver quality housing in the inner city.

We all need to act for the sake of our only life support system. Involving over 2 million people this will cut around two million tonnes of CO2 in just one year. Unlike a carbon tax, it would be immediately effective and at the same time keep money in peoples pockets and local communities. Over two million drivers in Ireland will become daily aware of their responsibility to future generations. The benefits are many. Safer roads Fewer deaths and catastrophic injuries, Cleaner air, A sensible transition to electric vehicles as they also use more power at higher speed. Easily duplicated worldwide It will very effectively cut imports of fossil fuel therefore keeping money in the national economy. Strategically it will give more leeway to other sectors while they try to cut their emissions. If duplicated worldwide it would involve a billion drivers contributing to the solution. Carbon tax on fuel is neither effective nor just. It unfairly impacts those on lower income while sending the message that if you are wealthy enough it is alright to produce greenhouse gases. As a former cab driver/ bus driver and ambulance driver I have in the past three years kept to 80km/hr driving all over Ireland and in Wales and it is not difficult. Check our website for testimonials from some of the over 1200 people who have taken the pledge to keep to 80km/hr on all roads already.

Food as a subject would be broad and encompass different aspects of food, from cooking to growing, from history to culture. A food subject will promote healthier eating, the local economy and our connection to nature.

Our students and their wellbeing will always be the central focus of any new educational change or reform. And rightly so. But does that mean that our wellbeing as teachers needs to be compromised? Taken advantage of? Or worse, not even considered with regard to the monumental task of creating your own curriculum/schemes/units of learning etc. The extra workload demand put on teachers over the past number of years has been catastrophic and unfortunately there is no end in sight. Once very dedicated, passionate, enthusiastic teachers are now becoming overworked, stressed, burn out and in some cases looking for an alternative career path because the current one in unsustainable and hindering every aspect of our lives. No job or vocation should impact every single aspect of your life to the extent teaching is currently. What we are paid to do is quickly becoming the last thing we actually get to do due to the extra administrative tasks/planning etc. we have to create. Our voices, our professional opinions/comments/suggestions need to be heard. We are the front line of this new educational reform. Yet we have not been sufficiently prepared for this monumental change. Whilst trying to get to grips with the new system, create new plans/schemes/Units of Learning/top notch active learning resources and practice and continue all the other roles and responsibilities we have as teachers. We also need to actively teach this brand new plan that we are desperately still trying to figure out ourselves? Surely this is madness. I matter. You matter. We matter. Please sign so that our voice is heard.

This is important because every student deserves to achive their maximum results based on what they have learned instead of how fast they can write.

Housing injustice is a national emergency in Ireland. We need a sustainable solution to the crisis. The provision of state owned rental housing on a large scale, on a non profit basis, would go a long way toward solving the problem. This would provide secure, affordable, high quality rental housing for anyone who needs it, no matter what your income is. Fair Rent Homes would mean that: - 70,000 households would be provided with a home, at a fair rent, for life - a pool of high quality, Fair Rent Homes would be there, owned by the nation, for future generations, instead of spending billions on rent subsidies to private landlords - pressure would be put on the private rental sector to improve standards and provide fairer rents in order to compete with Fair Rent Homes

According to the latest IPCC report, the next twelve years are crucial for action on climate change. There are four ambitious climate and environmental Bills which have been brought by Opposition Parties to the Dail. If the government truly wants to make Ireland a leader on climate change, it should support the passage of these Bills immediately. These are - The Climate Emergency Measures Bill (Bríd Smith PBP) - The Microgeneration Support Scheme Bill (Sinn Fein) - The Just Transition (Worker and Community Environmental Rights) Bill (Green Party) - The Waste Reduction Bill (Green Party) This is a simple ask. These are all sensible Bills which will move Ireland towards being a cleaner, greener and fairer place to live. We have no time to wait. #ClimateActionNow

Lebanon, along with Turkey and Jordan, has been extraordinary in providing refuge to Syrians fleeing war and persecution in their homeland since 2011. While the numbers and circumstances of how the refugees have been accommodated vary greatly, the willingness of Syria's neighbours to accept proportionately massive numbers of refugees has undoubtedly saved countless thousands of lives. In Lebanon, specifically, with a native population of just 4.4 million, upwards of 1 million Syrians have sought refuge. This, clearly, has created massive challenges and strains on the services and infrastructure of a country which itself is only recovering from years of turmoil and strife but, in general, Syrians have been able to feel relatively safe in Lebanon. Of late however, elements of the Lebanese army have escalated a campaign of intimidation and harassment against Syrians with the putative intention of forcing people to return to Syria. Just last week, on two successive nights, soldiers under the command of Lebanese Army Intelligence Colonel Melhem Hadchiti and 9th Brigade Commander Brigadier General Pierre Abu Assaf carried out raids in around 30 camps around Arsal in freezing temperatures. People were forced out of their tents into the cold with no regard for their welfare or dignity while their tents were ransacked. Many hundreds were detained and suffered torture and abuse. As a country with a long and distinguished military record in Lebanon and the Golan Heights in the form of UN peacekeeping deployments, the Irish Army is uniquely placed to exert its influence with the Lebanese Army. We are urgently but respectfully requesting the Minister for Defence Leo Varadkar to use his influence and good offices with the UN as well as with his counterpart in Lebanon Yaacoub Sarraf to ensure that these unforgivable violations against suffering and defenceless people cease immediately. References: Deutsche Welle: Germany says Syrian deportees could face reprisals: reports https://www.dw.com/en/germany-says-syrian-deportees-could-face-reprisals-reports/a-46367849 Out of Syria: shifting routes and returns: https://www.iss.europa.eu/content/out-syria-shifting-routes-and-returns Union of Relief and Development Associations - Number of Syrian refugees in Lebanon : http://urda.org.lb/en/details.aspx?ID=1426

This week the Government-owned forestry company, Coillte, has destroyed a large section of mature trees in Belleek Woods -- it follows a Coillte felling operation in 2014 that resulted in the death of nesting heron chicks. The woods is too important to the people of Ballina, wildlife and tourism in the town for it to continue as commercial forestry -- commercial felling has gone on too long. It needs to stop now and Belleek Woods needs to be redesignated as a park. Earlier this year Coillte sold Moorehall estate, south of Castlebar, to Mayo County Council. It was reported that the estate will be developed in collaboration with the National Parks and Wildlife Service of the Department of Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht. A similar transfer from Coillte to the council is needed in Ballina. Large scale tree felling needs to stop now. Mayo County Council needs to buy or be given Belleek Woods from Coillte as soon as possable.

In 2011 the average cash Dublin Bus fare for 4-7 stages was €1.60, the lowest fare was €1.15. The NTA recently announced that the new fares would increase to €2.15 and €3. This constitutes an 87.5% increase over this time. Fares on rail and LUAS will also increase by at least 10%. Ireland has one of the lowest subsidies to public transport in Europe. In an effort to cut down on carbon emissions, we should be getting people out of their cars. These increases will only serve to discourage people from using public transport. It's not Fare!!

We live in a culture where sexual assault can be dismissed as a joke, where a woman's choice of underwear can be used as a defence in a rape trial, where women do not feel safe in their own home, their school, workplace or community. Change will come from the ground up - from people speaking out and supporting each other and when our institutions and leaders take action to respond to the demand for change.