People lives are being put at risk with no 24/7 service available within the golden 90 minutes. We should not be forced to pass a fully equipped Cath Lab in Waterford to be sent in an ambulance to Cork or Dublin?

Inadequate advertising took place for the issue of this licence. No public consultation meetings were held to inform the residents of Bantry Bay of this proposed mechanical harvest by a company from Tralee. No regard is being shown to the pristine marine environment in Bantry Bay which is home to many species protected by Irish, European and International legislation i.e. White Tailed Eagles, Otters, Choughs to name but a few. An Environmental Impact Assessment is not required for this licence! An extensive Environmental Impact Assessment should be done before any mechanical harvesting of native kelp is allowed in any Irish coastal waters. No regard has been shown for the people who rely on tourism and marine activities such as fishing in the bay to make a living. The Kelp forest slows the wave action approaching the land, so removal of this kelp forest may lead to more coastal erosion along the Bantry Bay coast.

English Language teachers generally lack basic workers’ rights such as sick and holiday pay, pay scales, payment for training/professional development, permanent contracts/ contracts of indefinite duration (regardless of length of service), maternity/paternity pay, and access to pensions. The Unite ELT branch committee have requested a meeting with minister Richard Bruton which has been refused. We are asking you to support our campaign calling on the minister to meet with representatives of English Language Teachers to discuss regulations governing basic working conditions for teachers.

Galway City Council is planning to evict 10 families from Cúl Trá halting site in Lower Salthill, Galway leaving them homeless and with no alternative culturally appropriate accommodation.[1] This eviction would make over 42 people homeless including 22 children aged between 4 months and 10 years, some with medical conditions such as cystic fibrosis. The families were issued a notice to vacate by June 5th and Galway City Council has said it will consider court action if the ten families do not leave the site. Galway City Council has been well aware of overcrowding on Cúl Trá site for over a decade and yet no alternative halting site accommodation has been developed.[2] The Cúl Trá site was built 21 years ago to accommodate 6 families. No new halting site has been built in the city since. The 10 families that were served notices to vacate are the children of the 6 original families and have spent their whole lives living on the site. The families are part of the Salthill community with children attending local schools. One resident said that the children are the “heart and soul” of the community. If families are evicted they will be forced to leave their community and live on the side of the road without basic amenities. Kathleen Ward, one of the residents said; “The site is a fire and safety issue but isn’t it a fire and safety issue to put us out on the side of the road? We have nowhere to go”.[3] Galway City Council has proposed 3 pieces of land for temporary halting sites to address the Traveller accommodation crisis. Areas identified for the proposed sites are Ballymoneen Road, Headford Road and Westside. However, at a public council meeting, some local councillors have objected to these proposed halting sites. We are calling on Brendan McGrath to stop the Cúl Trá evictions and to use his executive powers to develop the proposed halting sites in Galway city. Notes 1. Galway City Council has a legal obligation to provide culturally appropriate accommodation under the Housing (Traveller Accommodation) Act 1998. 2. The need for additional halting sites to provide accommodation for the families at risk of eviction has been included in successive Traveller Accommodation Programmes however no new halting site has been built. 3. In 2016, in the wake of the Carrickmines tragedy, a fire safety audit of Traveller specific accommodation was conducted by The National Directorate for Fire and Emergency Management and a report was compiled with recommendations to address fire safety issues. This report recommended that measures to address fire safety should not be used to address overcrowding or other broader site management issues.

Micháel Martin is calling for the bigger parties on the Dáil to be given more speaking time than smaller parties. This is undemocratic and unfairly targets parties with less TD's, and those they represent.

Secretaries employed under the DES 1978/79 scheme enjoy Civil Service salaries and terms of employment while secretaries employed after this time are paid through a grant given to individual schools where their salary, terms etc. are decided by the Board of Managements. In spite of all School Secretaries performing similar duties there is a vast discrepancy between pay and terms. Perhaps most importantly, secretaries paid directly by their schools have absolutely no pension to look forward to (even after 20 years plus loyal service) while those employed by the Dept. can look forward to a full Civil Service pension. The result of this arrangement is extremely unjust and we are asking to have it rectified with all School Secretaries being treated as Civil Servants and receiving remuneration and pension rights in line with their years of service.

The misuse of the mental health act as a means to deny women and young girls the medical care they need is not acceptable. It's time for real choice, it's time for a referendum on the eighth amendment that offers real choice to the Irish public.

DUP MPs with extremist views on abortion must not be allowed to threaten an area of healthcare that one in three women will need in their lifetime. They must not be allowed to block the progress women deserve. It’s 50 years since the Abortion Act was passed and it needs to be extended not rowed back on

In 2014 Sara Morris, spokeswoman for the National Transport Authority, advised of the allocation of €50,000 for the provision of additional bike parking to Galway City Council. Three years later, on the first day of National Bike Week 2017, Galway City is still massively lacking in the provision of bicycle parking with no evidence of where that money was spent. To date, there are still less than 200 bicycle parking stands in Galway City. With a population of just under 80,000 people this is clearly an inadequate number of bicycle parking spaces for Ireland’s forth biggest city. Bicycle parking is an issue that affects all members of our community here in Galway; from blocking pedestrian and disability access on our streets and footpaths to contributing to an increased number of cars on our roads. The lack of bicycle parking is a something that is driving commuters into their cars unnecessarily. Congestion in the city centre is at an all time high with Galwegians spending more time sitting in traffic than drivers than any other city in Ireland. An increased reliance on cars for transportation is not only adding to the levels of pollution in the city but is also negatively impacting the health, safety and wellbeing of our citizens. Galway City Council themselves acknowledge, through their Park’n’Stride Campaign, that an increased reliance on bicycles as a form of transport would not only alleviate traffic congestion but would also improve the physical and mental health of the population by incorporating exercise into everyday activities such as commuting. On this year, 2017, that Galway holds the European Green Leaf designation and in the lead up to Galway 2020 when Galway will see an increase in tourism, An Mheitheal Rothar is calling on the above mentioned individuals to not just make a commitment, but to immediately take action to increase in bicycle parking for the city and the appointment of an new Cycling Officer within Galway City Council. If you would like to support this campaign please sign the petition and follow us on social media for more information. You can also share the petition using #bikeparkinggalway We would also encourage you to express your concerns to: • Thomas Connell - Galway City Council Director of Services for Transportation, Recreation and Amenity, Corporate Services ([email protected]); • Hugh Creegan - National Transport Authority Director of Transport Investment and Taxi Regulation, Deputy Chief Executive ([email protected]) ; • Cllr. John Walsh ([email protected] )- Chairman, GCC Transport Strategic Policy Committee; • Cllr. Noel Larkin – Mayor ([email protected]), GCC Transport Strategic Policy Committee. As part of Bike Week 2017, An Mheitheal Rothar also took to the streets to speak with some of Galway's cycling community about their thoughts on cycling in the city. Watch our video here: https://youtu.be/sBxkyiRxYv8

Specialist armed Garda units have been directed to beef up security in several Irish cities from this evening. (Sunday 4th June 2017) Members of the Garda Armed Support Unit (ASU) have been dispatched to the cities of Dublin, Cork, Limerick, Galway and Kilkenny, beginning their duties at 7pm this evening. While the threat of a terrorist attack in Ireland is currently deemed to be possible but unlikely, the directive comes as a proactive and preventative measure in the wake of the past fortnight’s attacks on Manchester and London. The Taoiseach should be reminded that Ireland is renowned around the world for it's neutrality, friendliness and respect for the views and beliefs of others. An unarmed police service is something the Irish people are proud of. Therefore, we call on the Taoiseach to show leadership and not bow down to these cowardly acts by bringing more weapons of war onto the streets of Ireland.

Commission to Inquire into Child Abuse Committee recommends that the State party: (a) Indicate how it proposes to implement all the recommendations of the Commission to Inquire into Child Abuse and indicate the time frame for doing so; (b) Institute prompt, independent and thorough investigations into all cases of abuse as found by the report and, if appropriate, prosecute and punish perpetrators; (c) Ensure that all victims of abuse obtain redress and have an enforceable right to compensation, including the means for as full rehabilitation as possible. Call to action : please show your support by commenting via change.org also uplift.ie and sharing this cause via social media Thank you to you and your supporters X p.s. no abusive language

Our Elderly motorists present with their own problems of frailty and mobility concerns, not to mention fear. In general, medical eligibility for Disabled Blue Badge Holders excludes age as a factor, leaving Elderly people exposed. Providing designated parking bays at key locations in and around City &Town centres encourages greater equality, independence and community participation for our Elderly Community.