An Taoiseach is our representative abroad. When he accepts prejudice, racism and bigotry, it shames the people of our country. We feel that such an alliance is not good for our country's reputation and undermines our relationship with other countries. Trump is a despicable human being. A point must be reached where falling at the foot of a powerful man, at the expense of our values and morals and international reputation is not acceptable! "'Shame'rock for Trump: Not in our Name"

Eirgrid has an important job to ensure our energy needs are met. However this can not be at any cost. The only issue of placing lines underground for Eirgrid is an increase in cost. Surely protecting our beautiful country is worth the increase in cost. It is also important to protect important landmarks, such as the Hill of Tara, which is seeking UNESCO status. It is time to start looking to the future and build the Interconnector and other national projects underground where they will be safe from storms, and keep our country beautiful for the next generations (and tourists).

72% of sampled Irish drinking water is contaminated by microplastics [1]. Fish that we eat have been shown to have consumed plastics [2]. We are eating and drinking tiny fragments of plastic - this has become a human health issue of massive proportions. The Government promised to ban microplastics within a year in 2016, but we are still waiting. [3] Countries all over the world are taking action, and we can too. Richard Bruton, it's time to take decisive action and ban all products containing microplastics! We're asking Richard Bruton to follow the lead of other countries across Europe and put in place a ban on the manufacture and sale of plastic microbeads in this country. They do not biodegrade and persist for a very long time in the environment,[1] https://www.independent.ie/irish-news/our-drinking-water-is-widely-contaminated-with-tiny-bits-of-plastic-36104664.html [2] https://theconversation.com/bait-and-switch-anchovies-eat-plastic-because-it-smells-like-prey-81607 [3] http://www.thejournal.ie/readme/micro-beads-there-will-be-more-waste-plastic-in-the-ocean-than-fish-by-2050-3667684-Oct2017/

Ireland is the EU’s top producer of plastic waste. In 2015, we produced 61kg of plastic per inhabitant (http://jrnl.ie/3786393). Despite what you might think, takeaway cups are neither recyclable nor compostable. This means that approximately 200 million takeaway cups are dumped in landfill or incinerated in Ireland each year (https://consciouscup.ie). Cork City Council just banned single use non-recyclable cups, and council workers are being encouraged to use reusable cups (https://yaycork.ie/2018/01/10/cork-city-council-banned-disposable-coffee-cups/).

We are drowning in plastic and every year we dump millions of non recyclable cups every year. Cork City Council just banned non recyclable cups - why can't Cork County Council!

Due to the new National Children's Hospital, the congestion is only going to get worse. It is incumbent on DCC to provide accessible residential parking and implement deterrents for non residents.

Janet is under severe stress not knowing where she will be sleeping next. At her age she should have a secure home where she can have her pets and concentrate on getting better.

2 million are going to landfill week and there are cups every where on the site paths and in our parks.

The situation in direct provision is cruel, and people are stuck there for up to 7 years. Sign and share our petition here: https://my.uplift.ie/petitions/end-direct-provision-avoca What's wrong with the food it provides at direct provision sites? Lack of nutritional food, chips almost every second day, a menu change every fortnight, little to no access to fresh fruit, no access to self-cater or ethnic foods. This will be one of the biggest shame's on the Irish state since the Magdelene Laundries. Aramark is a US owned company which provides the catering for 3 direct provision centers. It's big, and it doesn't care about small protests against its own name. Aramark bought out Avoca during the summer from an Irish family, and it's quickly becoming one of their most important assets. This will be highly impactful two days before Christmas. It's Avoca's busiest shopping period, and we intend to highlight Avoca and Aramark's ties to direct provision. Sign and share our petition here: https://my.uplift.ie/petitions/end-direct-provision-avoca Let's make some music, and cause a bit of a jam this Christmas. More information here: https://www.irishtimes.com/news/lives-in-limbo

Currently Carlow Women's Aid are a frontline service for women and children experiencing violence and domestic abuse. The staff are a lifeline in Carlow and have helped to obtain 254 court orders and attended 388 court sittings in 2016 alone. SAFE Ireland provided a snapshot of one day in Ireland in 2015 - 505 women and 269 children sought support from a domestic violence service.112 women and 147 children were accommodated in a refuge. 18 women couldn't be accommodated in a refuge (SAFE Ireland, 2015). This huge lack of essential support services results in: Unmet requests for refuge everyday; Accommodation problems and homelessness; Staying in abusive relationships; Increasing likelihood returning to violent and abusive homes; Fear of reporting the abuse due to the lack of emergency accommodation available; This failure of affects women and children living with violence and abuse in their homes - people who are silenced and among some of the most vulnerable in the population.

If the incentives are directed towards the large energy utility companies including the ESB, Board Gas, Coilte, Board Na Mona etc and large private companies funded by venture capitalists they will build large scale solar parks mainly in the South and South East of Ireland. This would be good news for Ireland for efforts to meet our 2020 C02 obligations and a renewable future. But there will be no benefits for the majority of the population of Ireland. We will continue to pay the second highest electricity prices in the EU. A grant and a feed in tariff and possibly a generation tariff for the installation of Solar PV on houses, farm buildings and all types of commercial buildings could reduce the annual electricity bills by up to 50% and contribute towards a large reduction on Ireland's dependency on imported fuel bill of €6 billion per year.

Currently, pets such as dogs and cats are restricted from travelling on buses and taxis unless they are contained. This can be difficult in emergency situations, with regard to taxis requiring the pet to be 'contained' regardless of the welfare of the animal. I have experienced this recently and find it appalling. This is a serious issue which needs to be amended. This only exists in Ireland. In the UK pet are allowed to travel freely and are not forced into containers that could harm their wellbeing. If it works there, then it can work here! Please, if you agree that pets shouldn't have to be needlessly contained on buses and taxis, can you sign and share this petition to show The Taoiseach where you stand?