Ireland will sell off 25% of a bank that has cost the taxpayer tens of billions of euro for something in the region of €3 Billion, and we won’t be able to give the people of Ireland any dividend from the cash raised from the sale. For months, the case has been made by trade unions, political parties and civic society groups for changes to the Stability and Growth Pact in order to allow for greater investment in public infrastructure. Unfortunately, our Government has so far utterly failed to push this idea at a European level. The result is that none of the proceeds from any sale of AIB can be invested into building houses, hospitals or schools. The Dáil has voted to delay the sale of AIB shares - the Government must now listen.

It was revealed in April that the Chechen government was detaining, torturing and even killing gay and bisexual men. Lithuania has become one of the first countries to give refuge to men fleeing Chechnya because of their sexuality. Now its time for Ireland to step up and offer permanent residency to LGBT people fleeing Chechnya.

One day in 1948 Billy Fox, grandfather of U.S. Army whistleblower Chelsea Manning bid farewell to Rathmines Dublin and set off seeking work abroad. He settled in Haverfordwest, South Wales. On May 17th Billy’s granddaughter Chelsea Manning will be released from Fort Leavenworth high-security prison, having spent almost a quarter of her life in jail. Following former US President Barack Obama’s pardon, twenty-nine-year-old Chelsea will walk free having served seven years of the 35-year sentence imposed on her for telling the world the truth about US Army activities in Iraq, Afghanistan and elsewhere. Nothing would be more fitting than for Dublin City Council to celebrate truth and moral courage by granting the Freedom of the City to Chelsea Manning. Her Welsh/Irish mother Susan, as well as her aunts and uncles, have been to Dublin several times, and Dublin musicians, performers and supporters have been to South Wales to express solidarity with the relatives of a true hero. It is a golden opportunity to celebrate the diversity of Dublin’s global diaspora, and to honour a very special granddaughter of Dublin City in an age when the role of the whistleblower is more crucial than ever. .......... On Saturday May 20th members of the Manning family will participate in the 30th annual Afri famine walk in Doolough, Co. Mayo. On Sunday from 5.30pm-8.30pm they will be guests of honour at the Celebrating Resistance event at the Teacher’s Club in Dublin.

Deliveroo operates on a commission based mobile app which runs on zero hours contract. Drivers are paid much less than minimum wage (on average €8.50 an hour) and rely solely on there being enough drops/deliveries available. They are not covered by insurance, must pay €200 for equipment and also extra running costs such as ringing customers /paying for mobile data from their own earnings. Drivers are not covered by employment laws or insurance . We need to send a message loud and clear to management that workers keep the business coming in and deserve to be treated with dignity and respect. Please sign this petition.

Drones are an invasion of privacy. They can also be useful to potential criminals. Therefore on two counts it is wise to ensure that all "fly-overs" are regulated.

Queen's is now a leading UK university - but for all the wrong reasons. Figures from the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) show that in 2017 - QUB's female professors earn an average of almost almost 15% less than their male colleagues - an average gap totalling £11,798. To put this into some perspective - this is the highest pay gap among the 24 leading UK universities, known as the Russell Group. It's entirely unacceptable that in 2017 a leading publicly funded university pays men 15% more than women for the same job. Join with Uplift today and sign our petition to demand the Vice-Chancellor and Senate of Queen's University take meaningful action today to address and reverse this shameful pay gap.

Ballon Village is located on the busy N80 which services traffic between Rosslare and Dublin/Waterford via the M9, as well as traffic driving to and from Carlow town. Resultant traffic includes a substantial volume of HGVs. Ballon also has a number of local industries with large motor fleets and agricultural vehicles. A significant Health and Safety issue now exists within this growing village and our greatest concern is the lack of safety at the school crossing at all times of the day. It is a concern which has come into increasing focus for the Ballon National School Parents Association following a number of near-miss incidents at the crossing during school hours, as drivers frequently pass through even when the Warden is in place. The current speed limit of 50km/h is routinely not observed and vehicles frequently fail to stop for the School Warden, putting the Warden's life and our children's lives at serious risk. Proposed Solutions: 1. As visibility of the School Warden and the Crossing is exceptionally poor, we propose that the Crossing is raised and traffic lights are added to assist the existing School Warden. 2. Interactive radar speed signs which indicate the speed of the vehicles to be placed on all access routes to the village. 3. Reduce speed limit to 30km/h for the school zone, identified with LED lighting signage to identify this new 30km zone. 4. Signage to alert to the presence of a pedestrian crossing. 5. Speed bumps at both approaches to the village on the N80 and also on the Fenagh road approach. 6. A maintenance plan for the upkeep of signage, road markings and lights.

It prohibits the “publishing or uttering [of] matter that is grossly abusive or insulting in relation to matters sacred by any religion, thereby intentionally causing outrage among a substantial number of adherents of that religion”. Fundamentalist organisations have cited Ireland’s law as best practice and has even proposed the adoption of its precise wording to limit human rights on freedom of conscience. Now Stephen Fry is being investigated under this terrible law. Now its time to scrap it. http://www.thejournal.ie/stephen-fry-complaint-of-blasphemy-3376318-May2017/?utm_source=facebook_short

Returned containers are then reused or recycled. A bit like the plastic bag levy, this system is proven to be very effective, recovering up to 95% of containers. Imagine the difference that would make to our coasts, countryside, towns & cities! Germany, Denmark, Netherlands have had successful deposit refund systems in place for years. The UK have just announced they are introducing a deposit scheme. Ireland is drowning in litter and we KNOW deposit refund systems work - with recovery rates of up to 95%. Luckily for us many other countries are already doing this, we won't need to reinvent the wheel, we just need to start taking some positive action!

There is a growing consensus amongst Irish people that the separation of church and state is necessary. The government have ignored calls for the scrapping of the Dáil prayer and are about to go a step further and force TD's to stand during the prayer. If they fail to do so, they risk being punished. Please help to show Enda Kenny and his government that this is not what the people of Ireland want. This new requirement is forcing our representatives to stand for a prayer that may be against their beliefs. This would not be required in any other workplace and so we ask that it is not introduced in government buildings.

This is important for all of us to have adequate time to cross. We must think of people who have walking disabilities, use a walker, are on crutches and wheelchairs, and our elderly who need more time than 4-6 seconds to cross.

Bernie is giving a speech on June 4th which sold out after 1 minute. There are thousands of people who are willing to pay to hear him speak, to hear a voice for the people. Someone who stands up for the environment, all people and the planet as a whole. My hope is that hearing Bernie speak could spark the revolution that is needed in Ireland so we can transform our country and go back to the values it was founded on.