Because domestic violence is'the great taboo' We men have to speak out loud and clear to say it is wrong. It's always wrong and can never be condoned or justified. It's past time we hear men speaking. Come on men...stand together with our women.

Our addiction to oil-based plastic is destroying the natural world and has become an existential threat to many species, including our own. Every day, around 8 million pieces of plastic drift into the world's oceans. There, they are often fatally ingested by marine animals, including sea turtles, whales, seals and seabirds. Around 100,000 marine animals and a million seabirds die annually from plastic pollution. Many of these species are now facing extinction due to human activity. Musgrave Group and Dunnes Stores, Ireland's two largest domestic retailers, can make a small but significant contribution to changing this narrative by refusing to use plastic packaging for their "own brand" food products. We call on them to do so for the long-term benefit of our communities, the natural environment and future generations.

Our addiction to oil-based plastic is destroying the natural world and has become an existential threat to many species, including our own. Every day, around 8 million pieces of plastic drift into the world's oceans. There, they are often fatally ingested by marine animals, including sea turtles, whales, seals and seabirds. Around 100,000 marine animals and a million seabirds die annually from plastic pollution. Many of these species are now facing extinction due to human activity. Musgrave Group and Dunnes Stores, Ireland's two largest domestic retailers, can make a small but significant contribution to changing this narrative by refusing to use plastic packaging for their "own brand" food products. We call on them to do so for the long-term benefit of our communities, the natural environment and future generations.

There are two species of seals in Irish waters, the grey and the harbour seal but in recent years Artic visitors such as bearded, walrus and most recently a hooded seal have arrived on our shores. We have many things to learn about how seals use our coastline and these species are protected under the Wildlife Act, 1976 and its amendments and the EU Habitats Directive as they are important indicators of ecosystem health. Indeed the recent sightings of such northerly species have been a cause for concern and it is of interest that we monitor such important indicator species in a time when the planet faces climate crises and is undergoing the 6th Mass Extinction. Read more here: https://www.orcireland.ie/call-to-cull-seals-in-irish-waters and here: http://www.ecoevoblog.com/2019/03/05/seal-cull/

Currently Northern Ireland is the only part of the UK which has NOT outlawed hunting with dogs. 61% of people think it has already been banned. Hunting with dogs was banned in Scotland through the Protection of Wild Mammals (Scotland) Act in 2002 and in England and Wales in 2005 under the Hunting Act. People here feel strongly about this issue. In 2016 an Ipsos MORI poll commissioned by the League against Cruel Sports said fewer than one in five people supported fox hunting remaining legal.

Many of us in Ireland have extended family or good friends living in Australia. Cousins, aunts, uncles, colleagues, former school-friends, online pals - we all almost certainly have people there we care about. To the best of my knowledge air quality is around 200 times worse than what is considered a major health hazard and the equivalent of smoking around 40 cigarettes in their capital city. Thankfully, for now, the direct death toll is low; if we are proactive in helping and inspiring others to act we can make a real difference. It's not to late yet but time is of the essence. They need someone to step up for them. When we look at other English speaking countries like the UK and US it is quite obvious that, for all their size and influence, they aren't in a position to lead on this. It can be tempting to shirk away from our duty to our fellow man and worry about only our island and maybe our allies on mainland Europe in such complicated times, but please remember that their population contains among it descendants of our own ancestors who were sent there because of the famine (for they stole Trevelyan's Corn so our younger ancestors might see the morn), and a native people who suffered in turn from how our desperate ancestors were used by the British Empire to steal their land from them. They are not a people we can turn our back on in their moment of crisis, because as small as we are we have the power to get the ball rolling. Once we do it can create monumentum that will encourage our allies to follow suit, and put pressure on larger governments to do the same. To be blunt: We can act, and we should act, so we must act. It is the right thing to do.

The traffic lights at Raheny village are anti-pedestrian and punish people who travel on foot - particularly older people, young children and people with disabilities. This must change immediately.

It is the most important thing in life it would reduce all of the issues across the bored if we are are going to fight for mental health we should start with the younger generations we need to give them tools to help others and help themselves it is fundamental to have something in our shcools at a young age

Mental health is something that I feel is very important. More and more people are dying of suicide each year. Depression and Anxiety keep rising in society. We need to step up and be heroes for all of those who are struggling. We need to have a better mental health system going on.

"However small the chance might be of striking lucky, the chance was always there." - Roald Dahl. We have promised to cherish the children of this nation equally. Every child deserves the chance to read and thrive.

We're in a plastic waste crisis and the policy of not allowing drinks to be bought using keep cups is nonsense https://www.irishtimes.com/life-and-style/food-and-drink/irish-rail-ban-on-reusable-cups-angers-passengers-1.4114752

It has been a devastating year for environmentalists and ocean advocates all over the world as Japan withdrew from the International Whaling Commission (IWC) on July 1st 2019 and re-commenced commercial whaling for the first time in over 30 years. For many years Japanese whalers hunted whales in Japanese and Antarctic waters under the guide if "scientific whaling", now although not fishing in protected waters of the deep southern ocean, they have began commercial hunting of whales in Japanese waters. In 2019, Japanese whalers killer 232 whales , including 187 Byrde's whales, 25 sei whales, and 11 minke whales. Despite global out-cry and a dwindling demand for whale meat consumption in the country, the Japanese government have now passed a law to fund commercial whale hunts and to promote the consumption of whale meat in schools, despite the meat being highly toxic and dangerous for human health. Read more: https://www.orcireland.ie/japanese-whalers-kill-223-whales-completing-their-first-hunt-in-over-three-decades Read more: https://www.orcireland.ie/japanese-government-to-fund-more-whale-hunts The slaughter of protected species like minke, Bryde's and sei whales are brutal and horrific, as whales are harpooned, sometimes with explosives. On contact with the animal, the harpoon spread open to prevent the whale from escaping and death is slow and excruciatingly painful. Whale populations around the world are facing a multitude of human impacts from plastic pollution to overfishing and entailments, the last thing the world's marine biodiversity needs is further over exploitation and abuse. Please SIGN our Petition to urge Japans Prime Minister, Shinzo Abe to STOP JAPAN COMMERCIAL WHALING to protect cetacean species in Japanese waters instead of slaughtering them for profit and boycott Japanese goods and services until they END WHALING. Please sign to urge Japans Ambassador Mitsuru Kitano to urge Japanese officials to END COMMERCIAL WHALE HUNTS in a bid to tackle the world's biodiversity loss crises! Join us for a protest outside the Embassy of Japan in Ireland, Dublin on February 13th to celebrate World Whale Day 2020.