Plastic is taking over our world. It's everywhere. Supermarkets cover everything in plastic, including fresh fruit and veg. 160,000 plastic bags are used globally every second! 5 trillion plastic bags are produced yearly. Side by side, they can encircle the world 7 times. The Great Pacific Garbage Patch, which is a floating landfill of garbage in the Pacific twice the size of Texas, is mostly composed of plastic. We want to reduce the use of plastic in the world, to protect the environment and particularly marine life.

The Government’s Strategic Communications Unit is a highly expensive PR Unit, paid for by the taxpayer for the benefit of the Taoiseach and Fine Gael. It is a slap in the face to the Irish taxpayer and it is not acceptable. We call on the Taoiseach to bin the spin - disband the Strategic Communications Unit immediately

“Climate change is real! Every country on Earth must come together now to do whatever we can now to protect the future of our planet. The Paris Agreement on Climate change is a good deal for Planet Earth, including the USA. Please sign this petition to President Trump and share it.” Nevan Corcoran (aged11) This petition was started by Nevan Corcoran, an 11-year-old boy from Lusk, Co Dublin, Ireland, worried that America is planning to pull out of The Paris Agreement on climate change. Dermot Higgins, who was Nevan's teacher, is nearly finished a massive cycle around the world to highlight climate change and plans to deliver the petition to The White House.

This new cost rental housing model would be a self-financing approach to housing, involving State provision of housing which would be made available for rent to a mixture of households on medium or high incomes as well as those on the social housing waiting list. It’s a model that caters for all. The current system is not working, the housing crisis is crippling the lives of individuals, families and communities. In 2017 local authority data show that 100,000 people are on waiting lists for social housing in Ireland. Already successfully rolled out in Denmark and Switzerland, this housing model is guaranteed and permanent. It provides security of tenure and will put an end to people living hostage to rapidly increasing private rental rates, to unsustainable mortgages, and to the risk of debt, eviction and homelessness. Public land should be used for public good, not for profit. Almost 6.1 billion of public money has been paid out in rent supplement to private landlords in the last 17 years, alternatively that could have built well over 30,000 homes.

The government is supposed to reach a decision in April 2018 on whether or not to grant a license for the right to mechanically harvest seaweed to a private Canadian company. The sale was complicated by a legality. The ownership of the right to harvest seaweed is currently under question. Traditionally local people, owned the rights to harvest seaweed and harvested it in a sustainable way. Mechanically harvesting seaweed is not environmentally sustainable and will have a serious impact on the ecology of the sea. Harvesting rights to seaweed belong to the people and should not be allowed to be sold off by the State for private profit. Seaweed is now a highly lucrative resource which should be harvested in a sustainable way for the benefit of the people of Ireland living now and for future generations.

Health care staff are so important in all of our lives. They care for us and go beyond the call of duty so often. It is not their fault that the storm is causing such disruption. Telling them that they have to take unpaid leave or eat into their holidays is down right unjust and deeply uncaring.

Tax income is how our public services - hospitals, schools, roads are run from the income we raise in taxes. Paying tax is an important part of being a proud member of society. The Netherlands are changing the loopholes that allowed you to avail of cheap tax for many years .- so now its time to support your country and pay your fair share in Ireland

An baol ar an dhaoine; is é Bisphenol A (BPA) cean de na ceimicí atá in úsáid chun an plaisteach a dhéanamh crua agus soiléir. tá sé cruthaithe go bhfuil Bisphenol contúirteach do shláinte an duine. Tá sé ceangailte go láidir le go leor fadhbanna sláinte ar nós cineálacha áirithe ailse. An baol ar ainmhithe; Níl bairr na mbuidéal plaisteacha in-athchúrsáilte faoi láthair, agus mar atá déanta le málaí plaisteacha, is minic go mbíonn siad ag bun na farraige, agus i mbolgaí speiceas ainmhithe éagsúla ar cheap gur bia a bhí iontú. An baol ar an timpealacht; Tá sé níos deacra buidéil phlaisteacha a athchúrsáil ná mar a cheapann tú. Maidir leis an líon ollmhór buidéil phlaisteacha a caitear amach ar fud an domhain, ní athchúrsáiltear an chuid is mó dó mar nach féidir ach cineálacha áirithe de bhuidéil phlaisteacha a athchúrsáil. bíonn an chuid is mó dena buidéil fágtha ar líonta talún, ag ligint ceimiceáin contúirteacha isteach sa talamh.

A crisis is looming in the Naas area, in terms of families securing second level places. Unless this school is rapidly progressed, that looming crisis will become a reality. Naas & its environs are in dire need of the ASD classes that are part of the plans for this school. The school is currently at Stage 2B of the building process & has been awaiting Department of Education & Skills (DES) sanction to move to Stage 3 since November 2017. If sanction is given immediately, the earliest time construction can start, following the tender process, is January 2019. The construction phase will take a minimum of eighteen months so the earliest possible time that this school will be completed will be August 2020. As you are aware, Naas Community College (NCC) is currently located in a shared building with Naas Community National School. NCC will have circa 400 students in 2018/2019 academic year & circa 520 in the 2019/2020 academic year. This will mean that the Craddockstown building will be far in excess of its capacity during 2019/2020. The site will not be able to sustain the 2 schools during the 2020/2021 academic year. It is essential that the construction of NCC is completed by August 2020, and for that to have any chance of happening, DES sanction to move to Stage 3 must be granted by the end of February 2018.

The population of Lusk and also it's surrounding area's is growing at a rapid pace and therefore it is imperative to facilitate this growth. A swimming pool would not only bring some much needed investment and also ease the pressure of unemployment but also facilitate the area for our children to enjoy. The Lusk Sports Hub 2020 is a fantastic new project that will bring a multiple of new sporting facilities to the area with the exception of a hugely required swimming pool. In addition, the erection of the Lusk Sports Hub, Lusk will become the epicentre of sporting facilities for the surrounding areas and therefore a swimming pool is a necessity and not just a requirement. Swimming is not only a life saving technique that everyone should be taught from a young age, but it is also an incredibly fun and enjoyable experience for the old and young, whether it’s for ones mental health, fitness, leisure or play everyone can enjoy the benefits of a swimming pool. Kind regards, LSP.

We as humans have a responsibility to ensure that animals do not have to endure unnecessary pain. Lobsters can be held in storage tanks with their claws bound for up to a year before being purchased by the end consumer only to be boiled alive in scalding water. It can take up to 3 minutes for a lobster/crab to die in this most horrific way. There is plenty of scientific evidence now available to support the fact that lobsters feel pain and there is absolutely no need for them to die in such a horrifying and inhumane way. Let us put a stop to this forever.

Proposals to tackle issues and dangers associated with horses on public roads have all been based on a top down approach, with the most recent seeking to castigate and blame the Traveller community for horse-related issues to do with animal cruelty and accidents on the road. While law enforcement is an essential part of any response in all these cases, real progress can only be based on inclusive consultation and on respect for each other's culture.