We call on Kilkenny County Council to declare a climate emergency and mobilise every section of the local authority and related organisations to respond to the crisis through a radical shift in policy that will lead towards greater community resilience and sustainability. We are in the midst of a climate emergency. The world is nowhere near meeting the internationally agreed goal to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees. Emissions need to be reduced to net-zero by 2030 or we face tipping the earth into runaway climate change and leaving our children a broken planet. By declaring a Climate Emergency the council can take the lead in developing a local climate emergency plan and engage with all sectors of society in establishing a roadmap for a rapid, equitable and just transition to a fossil free future.

YOU ARE CONCERNED ABOUT THE SOCIAL & ECONOMIC FABRIC OF THE TULLAMORE TOWN & COUNTY - The ARTS CENTRE will be based in a pre-existing retail unit – bringing vibrancy, social & economic prosperity into Tullamore & County - Attract people/increase footfall into the town; Will increase vacancy rates on retail units; Will put money into the pocket of retailers. - The ARTS CENTRE creates Social cohesion providing opportunities to bring people/communities together - The Arts Centre shows that Tullamore & county is investing in itself – a focal point for cultural tourism, the experience economy, supporting local retailers, employment, etc WE NEED TO CATCH UP WITH & COMPETE WITH OTHER MIDLAND TOWNS & COUNTIES - Do we want our county town, Tullamore to drop down the ranks to the 6th, 7th, etc town in the midlands? - No, we want it to be the No. 1 town in the midlands! - How can we complete? The ARTS CENTRE & its programme will be a unique opportunity for Tullamore; innovative; forward thinking, etc. NOW IS THE TIME TO MAKE THIS HAPPEN - Now is the time, to invest and commit to Tullamore town & county - Show us now that you, our representatives are going to support this town to move forward & prosper - Don’t miss this opportunity and the €2million already ringfenced that is due to expire at end of 2020 - Approx €200K already fundraised by the community HOPE & BELIEF IN TULLAMORE & COUNTY - We are doing this to provide hope for our young people, older people, vulnerable people, for our retailers, for culture, social & economic development - A symbol of Hope for Tullamore & County– create a buzz, bring life back into the town & county - A BELIEF in & reason for people to stay in Tullamore & County; to return, to attract new people.... Sign this Petition, giving your thoughts on the matter, for this to be submitted to the Offaly County Council.

Ireland has changed, we are a more inclusive, equal and progressive society and sex education in Irish schools must reflect this. Young people we work with have said that sex education is not fit for purpose, does not reflect the variety of identities and sexual orientation of people today, putting the health and safety of young people at risk. Recommendations by the Oireachtas Committee on Relationships and Sexual Health, and the NCCA Review of the RSE, echo what our young people say.

This is a vital service for parents and children in the community. Pressure needs to be put on Dublin City Council and the Department of Children and Youth Affairs to come up with a solution to sustain this creche

Senator Ged Nash, alongside Labour colleagues, have backed a Seanad proposed Bill, ensuring employees are given the right to receive customer provided tips. A Bill that would give workers in restaurants and hotels the right to keep their tips is going through the Seanad. I know from my own work representing students just how much hospitality workers depend on tips to supplement their meagre hourly rates of pay. Too often, tips intended for hardworking staff end up in someone else’s pocket and with no legal course of action available to them. Most bar and restaurant owners and managers play fair when it comes to distributing the tips to staff. It is only the bad bosses who have anything to fear from these new proposals. Labour, USI and the trade union movement support this Bill from Senator Paul Gavan, but Fine Gael want to vote it down. The message is simple - workers must have a right to keep their tips. Read Senator Ged Nash's statement on the matter here: https://www.labour.ie/news/2019/02/20/labour-backs-bill-ensuring-employees-rights-to-cus/

We have a decade left to avert a complete climate breakdown yet our emissions are still rising. To change this we need to first recognise and verbalise our current predicament: we are in a climate emergency. In itself, it is a small, symbolic step - but declaring a climate emergency is an effective way to engage the public sector, business and society in stepping up action to the level needed.

Arklow Sinn Féin representative John Kelly and John Brady TD have started a campaign for the construction of a slip road on and off the M11 to the Vale Road in Arklow. Wicklow County Council needs to commission a feasibility study to allow for a funding application to be made to the Department of Transport and Transport Infrastructure Ireland. Arklow is a fantastic town with massive amounts of potential that needs to be unlocked. Hopefully An Bord Pleanála will be making a decision on the new sewage treatment plant very soon, this will go a long way to unlocking the potential Arklow has, however traffic in the town is still a major problem and it needs to be addressed to ensure that the towns potential can be fully unlocked. Key to addressing the traffic problem would be the construction of a new slip road on and off the N11 to the Vale Road. Currently people travelling to Woodenbridge or Aughrim have to come through Arklow. This is unnecessarily bringing cars into the town and adding to the congestion and lengthy unnecessary journeys for them. It’s really unbelievable that this slip road wasn’t constructed in the 1990’s when the Arklow Bypass was being constructed. There are also a considerable number of new houses under construction on the Vale Road, this will also add to the traffic problem, the most logical thing to address the issue is to construct the new slip road to take cars out of Arklow. This was one of the main proposals in Deputy John Brady’s Unlocking Arklow’s Potential document which he published last year. When the Unlocking Arklow’s Potential document was published the Minister for Transport was contacted and was asked about funding for the construction of the slip road. The Minister informed us that no application for funding has been forthcoming from the local authority for the project and that a feasibility study should first be carried out. For South Wicklow to develop this slip road is critical and we are calling for it to be prioritised. We will continue to push this project as we see it as key to unlocking Arklow’s potential.

Given the grave challenges posed by climate change it's time to embrace more sustainable - and less stressful- approaches to travel than flying. Emissions from flying within Europe increased by 26% in the last five years and Ryanair has gained the dubious distinction of being in the top 10 of European carbon polluters.(1) The industry needs to be regulated and taxed more effectively (1) but all of us also need to fly much much less if we are to have any hope of limiting global warming. Similar to those who support the Swedish campaign Flygfritt 2019 this campaign is asking you to pledge to stop or at least reduce air travel. By signing you are pledging to take meaningful action to reduce or ideally stop your air travel, by for example: - using alternative travel options such as sea/rail for work and personal travel - taking one trip of longer duration rather than multiple short breaks/visits - eliminating all but the most necessary work travel (e.g. using online technology for meetings and conferences) My name is Karen Smith and I teach and research in the area of childhood equality. If we are to deliver any kind of justice to the children of today, let alone the children of tomorrow, we need to drastically reduce emissions, without delay. The window of opportunity is small and I hope that as many of you as possible will take this pledge (1) https://www.transportenvironment.org/news/airline-emissions-growth-out-control

The post office is at the heart of our town and is part of the social and commercial fabric of Liberty Square. it is easily accessible for people of all ages but particularly for those with mobility issues. It is also extremely convenient for people using public transport. The proposed re-location to a vulture fund owned shopping centre is completely contrary to Government policy to protect town centres and will decimate Liberty Square.

As parents to 2 terminally ill boys, Cathal (4) and Ciaran (3) we do not want any other parents to suffer our pain unnecessarily. We want our boys to be amongst the last born in Ireland with a disease that could have been treated at birth. Our sons have a rare condition Metachromatic Leukodystrophy (MLD) with a life expectancy of 5 yrs. Through a trial gene therapy treatment program in Milan, Italy, we were able to treat Ciaran who is now 2 years post therapy and doing well. For Cathal however there was no chance of treatment be cause once the condition had been diagnosed it was to late. Through our experience in Italy we learnt of their program to expand their newborn screening program from 4 diseases to 40 in 1 year. This has been a huge success and will save so many lives and so much suffering that we must follow their lead and protect our children here in Ireland. The Italian government has presented this information to the EU parliament and their ministry of health and the charity organisations who drove this change have openly offer their assistance to us to copy their model in this expansion. I have written to every politician in Ireland and shared this information and the relevant contacts with our HSE. But I have been advised from the people who made it happen in Italy that public will and pressure on the government are the best ways to effect change. All the studies and validations for all 40 diseases they now screen for are available to use, along with the financial cases for each disease. Making this change will also save millions of euro! 1 in 1500 births in Ireland will have 1 of these detectable and treatable conditions. 1 baby every 8 days. We have watched our son Cathal grow to be a beautiful 2 year old boy with no problems and then slowly fade over the last 3 yrs. He is fully paralyzed now and close to the end. We cannot bear the burden of knowing there will be other parents like us unless their is an immediate action taken on this. Please take the time to sign this petition and to share it with everyone and anyone you can. There is a wonderful opportunity to make a huge change here in Ireland, saving the lives of children and the suffering of so many families. https://www.facebook.com/themartinfamilytrust

Last year's removal of Maser's repeal the 8th mural brought censorship of the arts to the forefront of our minds once again. The register of prohibited books is practically obsolete, but until the Censorship of Publications Act is also obsolete, the threat of censorship hangs over artists in Ireland. Minister, repeal the act and liberate the arts from the threat of censorship once and for all!

This development would destroy our beautiful and unspoilt beach which is a valuable public amenity for the entire area. It is completely unsuitable for this location and presents a danger to all those who use the beach and the sea, threatens protected flora and fauna and will ruin the peaceful enjoyment of our beach for everyone.