Currently there are over 5,000 people on the social housing waiting list, with only 14 houses coming on stream in next 2 years. The council are spending approx 871,599 Euro every 6 months in Galway to house families in hotels and B&B's which is unacceptable long term and is wasteful. Also the cost of 330,000 per social housing unit, which is being discussed in GCC this wk, is outrageous and unsustainable. Approx 50,000 people are in arrears of 2 yrs or more with their mortgage half of whom are at risk of repossession this year. Where will they go ? Too many people sleeping rough on our streets every night and a huge amount of people, incl students, couples, families, travelers and single people, failing to find suitable affordable accommodation in the private sector in Galway city. Something must be done NOW !

Donald Trump has started his presidency threatening to forcibly remove all Palestinians from Gaza and turn it into a holiday resort, he has doubled down in his support for war criminal Netanyahu, and has resumed sending heavy bombs to Israel for them to use against people in Gaza.  He is also causing chaos back in the US:  • He has launched a massive attack on trans rights putting thousands of people in serious danger of their lives. • He has attacked hundreds of thousands of workers, slashing jobs and allowing billionaire Elon Musk to fire entire departments. • He has ordered that people who live and work in the US without specific documentation are to be rounded up and detained in the infamous Guantánamo Bay prison. • He is dismantling regulations on corporations that keep people's food and water safe. • He is ramping up polluting fossil fuel extraction, undoing decades of slow progress. • He is removing all information about trans people, climate change, and public health from government websites. It is unthinkable that any Irish politician would go to the White House this St. Patrick's day to shake Trump's hand and we are calling on you Micheál Martin to boycott the White House this March.

We are looking for government funding to keep this vital. immediate counselling and support service. We support children and adults that have lost someone to suicide or those that struggle with mental health issues

There are a number of reasons to get this through without wasting time: - UCC reported for the period between 2011 and 2013, a total of 27 maternal deaths.Of all these deaths, there were inquests for only three. - It matters very deeply to the families who have already lost a loved one. Some had to fight for 4 years to have an inquest; and they are still fighting this campaign to have the law changed. - It will help other families who in the future may find themselves in this dreadful situation; they would not have this added suffering at a time of intense grief. - It will save women's lives because if reasons are found for a death then changes can be made to prevent the same mistake being made again. We need everyone to sign this petition to the Minister for Justice demanding a guarantee that this legislation will get over the line as quickly as possible to help give all of us greater accountability from our maternity services

Current Garda Vetting Practice is depriving communities all over Ireland of the irreplaceable leadership which can only be delivered by volunteers. It is generally accepted that the well-being of any community can be measured by the number of its volunteers.

In planning since 2012, the Clontarf to City Centre Cycle Route was supposed to provide a fully segregated two-way cycle path between the existing coastal path at Clontarf and the city centre, via Fairview and North Strand. But instead the council has opted for a non-continuous cycle route which mixes cycling with buses, heavy traffic and pedestrians. The solution is to return to a design with a continuous two-way cycle path on the east side of the road along the route. This is the safest, most space efficient, and most attractive option for most people who cycle now and those who will cycle when conditions are improved. Here's the reasoning for a two-way cycle path: (1) Cycling for all ages and abilities Mixing cycling with buses and other motorists on a busy route does not fit with the idea of cycling for “all ages and abilities”: The route must be fully segregated. The City Development Plan states: “With regard to the city centre, in particular, ease of access to persons of all ages and abilities is a significant indicator as to how inclusive Dublin is as a city,” and the National Cycle Policy states: “The bicycle will be the transport mode of choice for all ages” -- we need to stop these from becoming hollow words. (2) Arguments against it don’t make sense The council and their consultants have outlined a number of “issues” as to why the two-way path should not be chosen -- from safety of “cyclists taking chances” crossing away from official crossings to the idea that commuters won’t use the route. These, however, don’t make sense. Similar routes recently built in London prove that the “issues” can be fixed by good design. The council’s arguments on safety are nonsensical -- they rate having a two-way cycle path across the entrances to low-volume side streets as more dangerous than their plan of mixing cyclists with buses at bus stops and with trucks and heavy traffic turning from one major road to another. (3) Connection to the S2S North Even if other connections can be made between the Docklands and the coastal section S2S Dublin Bay route on the northside, the Clontarf to City Centre Cycle Route will be the most direct link between the coastal route and the city centre. It is of the utmost importance that a segregated route is provided to allow people to cycle from the costal section to the city centre and vice versa. (4) Connection to the Liffey Cycle Route and southside The council’s plan is to end the Clontarf to City Centre Cycle Route outside Connolly Station -- this means people cycling to/from the southside and planned Liffey Cycle Route will have to brave the many lanes of traffic around the Customs House and Busáras. A fully segregated two-way path could easily be extended between Connolly Station and the quays, allowing for a safe and attractive connection. Please sign and share A two-way cycle path is the option which will get the best outcomes for safety, transport, health, climate change, and tourism -- please sign and share.

The Oireachtas is asking you for your thoughts on fracking and unconventional extraction of fossil fuels. In October, they unanimously agreed to the principle of introducing legislation that would ban all fracking activities in Ireland. Now they want to know what the public thinks on the matter. There are lots of reasons why fracking is bad news. And mounting global and national peer reviewed and scientific evidence that taking oil and gas out of the ground poses a significant threat to Climate Change, Public Health, Water Quality, and the Natural Environment. The proposed bill would make it illegal to take oil and gas out of the ground from areas in Ireland where it would need to be fracked, such as the shale deposits across Sligo, Leitrim, Roscommon, Donegal, Cavan, Monaghan, Clare, Limerick, Cork and Kerry. Please help us demonstrate that the people of Ireland support a legal ban on fracking activities by signing this petition.

This is very important to my family and I. My mum has Alzheimer's and her condition is progressing fast. My mum would like to stay in her home for as long as she can. I want the scheme to be allowed for Home Care. Most people want to stay in their own homes. Like the saying home is were the heart is. We need to allow the elderly their dignity and if they want to stay at home they should be allowed to.

The billions of euro debt that were transferred to Irish citizens was and is a travesty due to inept administration. No one has been held accountable and the media in Ireland is stonewalling and obstructing Jonathan Sugarman's obligation to inform the Irish people.

The HSE is selling off a substantial former hospital with 46 acres in Enniscorthy, Co.Wexford for a knockdown price -right in the middle of a housing crisis. It is unbelievable that one part of the public service is effectively giving away state property assets which could be used to assist in alleviating the housing emergency by donating it to the local authority / Dept of Environment for housing. The aim of this campaign is twofold: 1. Withdraw the property from sale with immediate effect 2. For the Dept of Environment to take control of the asset and to investigate the best use of the property for housing use. http://www.irishtimes.com/business/commercial-property/hse-puts-st-senan-s-psychiatric-hospital-on-market-at-780-000-1.2930239

Myself and a number of other residents have been told that we will be evicted from our homes in the Strand apartments in Limerick because the vulture fund who bought our homes want to sell them on for a massive profit. Over 90,000 homes in Ireland are owned by Vulture Funds, which makes many of us vulnerable to evictions and homelessness. Can you stand with us in our fight to stay in our homes and for the right to safe, affordable and secure housing? We also call on Minister Coveney to amend the Residential Tenancies Act to abolish sale of a property as a ground for terminating a tenancy.

Dear Mr. O' Sullivan, We the undersigned are asking that the Irish Times publish an apology for printing an article containing racist, transphobic and misogynistic slurs in an uncritical manner. It is abbhorent that an article would be published by a media outlet about a fascist movement without using the word fascist to describe that movement. Instead, the editorial team uncritically accepted and presented the language of the so called 'alt-right'. Thus far, instead of an apology for this failure in media responsibility, the editor of the opinion section, John MacManus, has attempted to justify his position by making a false comparison between fascism and the movement for reproductive rights in Ireland. This is unacceptable and shows a deep misunderstanding of the issue at hand and what the responsibilities of the media are in this instance. We are at a watershed moment when fascism is rising across Europe and the USA and the media has a responsibility to report this in an accurate and critical manner. Fascism thrives on stereotyping and scapegoating vulnerable groups in society. By publishing this piece the Irish Times is feeding into the normalisation of intolerance. We sign this petition to send a clear message to you and the editorial staff of the Irish Times. We do not want this paper to be a platform for fascism. We do not want people from vulnerable groups to be hurt by slurs against their personhood.We want you to apologise so as to make it clear that you agree that we do not want to see such failures in editorial responsibility becoming commonplace in the Irish media. Regards,