It is understood the first dose of Astra Zeneca is just 30% effective against the Delta variant. With the rising incidence of the highly transmissible Delta variant in Ireland, this means that the elderly and most vulnerable that have only had one dose of Astra Zeneca are now LESS protected than the rest of the population. Studies have found that immunization with AstraZeneca and Pfizer COVID-19 vaccines safe and well-tolerated. Canada, Finland, France, China, Spain, Sweden, Bahrain and the UAE among others are already using a mixed Covid-19 vaccine strategy. Mixing vaccines is not a new idea (it has been used successfully with HIV and Ebola). Research shows that mixing vaccines can elicit a stronger/longer-lasting response than a single vaccine regimen. Having a flexible immunisation program would also allow Ireland to be nimble in the face of possible global supply constraints.

72 precious lives were lost in the fire at Grenfell Tower in London in 2017. Combustible materials contributed to the fire that night. But Kingspan, the Irish company who manufactured some of the Grenfell cladding, is trying to prevent the same dangerous materials being banned in Northern Ireland, like it has been in England and Wales. Public safety must come before big business

The 300 million PLWRD around the world and their families face common challenges in all aspects of their daily lives. As a population with increasing vulnerabilities, they are disproportionally affected by stigma, discrimination and social marginalization, within their social environment and in society at large. The paucity of knowledge and expertise on rare diseases and the lack of awareness of the challenges faced by PLWRD mean that they are psychologically, socially, culturally and economically vulnerable. b) There are a number of synergies between the rare disease community’s needs and goals, and those of the UN 2030 Agenda and its Sustainable Development Goals1 ,

#Letuswork! Who are we? We are the people who make your special days memorable. We are the piano player in the corner, the band in your local bar and the singer who brought solemn grace to your loved one’s funeral. We are the band who will forever feature in your wedding day memories, and the two piece act that learned and played those special songs for your parent’s wedding anniversary. We are the people who entertain you on New Year’s Eve in the bar down the road and the trad players lauded by Bord Fáilte to woo tourists. And we are sinking. We are not the ticketed events industry- we are Ordinary Working Musicians. We ask you the public for your solidarity to highlight our plight. It is estimated that more than 850,000 performances were lost in 2020. Please show us your support by signing our petition or by joining one of our nationwide protests on June 23rd. We need our government to allow us to work and to support us until the time comes when we can earn our living again and to include musicians over 66 years who paid their taxes prior to the pandemic. We need subsidies for licenced premises so that they can afford to employ us. Collectively we make up the largest part of the entertainment sector, yet we are persistently overlooked. We’re tired of talking. We want to sing.

1. We understand that Non-EU/EEA PhD students conducting research in Ireland can access the hosting agreement scheme but on condition that they have an employment contract as captured in the first Hosting Agreement FAQ on the Euraxess website here: https://www.euraxess.ie/ireland/fast-track-work-permit-non-eu-rd-hosting-agreement-scheme/i-wish-research-university it states: 'Can I have a Hosting Agreement if I am a PhD student in Ireland? Yes, providing you have an employment contract with your university or research-active organisation in Ireland. Contact the Hosting Agreement office of EURAXESS Ireland by emailing ***@iua.ie for more information.' 2. It is typical that many Non-EU/EEA PhD students are supporting Irish research projects without employment contracts because most universities do not employ PhD students but hire them on scholarship contracts which disqualifies them from accessing the hosting agreement. This is an affordable way of hiring early stage researchers to conduct research while not considering the impact it has on their immigration status in Ireland and to their dependants. (Only those who get employment contracts qualify to apply for the hosting agreement) 3. Denying access to Non-EU/EEA PhD students on research scholarship contracts while giving those on employment contracts brings about inequality among Non-EU/EEA Early Stage Researchers in Ireland. 4. Lack of access to the hosting agreement to most Non-EU/EEA PhD students means that their time in Ireland is not reckonable & creates potential red tapes to access employment in the future. Those on hosting agreement can apply for stamp 4 VISA after 21 months and their time is reckonable while those who do not have are on stamp 2 VISA status throughout their PhD program. 5. The lack of access for many PhD students to the hosting agreement means that their spouses have no direct access to employment in Ireland despite their qualifications and experience. On the other hand those on hosting agreements have their partners access employment with no restrictions. This makes the families of PhD students without hosting agreements to be vulnerable and therefore it means more stress to the researcher. Treating these researchers differently brings about inequality among them. 6. It is only fair that the contributions of all Non-EU/EEA PhD students to research in Ireland is equally recognized, valued, and given credit without looking at their contractual terms. Those PhD Students on hosting agreement and those not on hosting agreement are equally qualified and hold same responsibilities in Research and Development in Ireland. Treating these two groups differently based on the terms of their contracts creates inequality and is unfair. 7. The eligibility criteria for accessing the hosting agreement should be reviewed not to rely on types of contracts researchers are hired on but their contribution to Research and Development in Ireland. References http://www.inis.gov.ie/en/inis/pages/registration-stamps https://www.euraxess.ie/ireland/fast-track-work-permit-non-eu-rd-hosting-agreement-scheme/i-wish-research-university#:~:text=Can%20I%20have%20a%20Hosting,iua.ie%20for%20more%20information. http://www.inis.gov.ie/en/inis/pages/researchers https://www.citizensinformation.ie/en/employment/migrant_workers/employment_permits/spousal_work_permit_scheme.html

This petition is in response to Galway County Councils proposed destruction of Gort Uí Lochlainn Woods for a new housing development: https://consult.galway.ie/en/consultation/part-8-la0921-development-31-no-houses-coill-bhruachl%C3%A1in-gort-u%C3%AD-lochlainn-moycullen-co-galway Gort Uí Lochlainn woods is a beautiful mature, natural, broad leafed deciduous woodland that is used extensively by the community. This woodland harbours rich biodiversity with over 200-year-old native deciduous trees, inc. beech, holly, birch etc., a rich understorey and a stream releasing freshwater from the boggy uplands down to the limestone lowlands, all harbouring species of endemic flora and fauna, the latter including mammals such as foxes, badgers and bats; birds such as jays, sparrowhawks and a visiting barn owl; woodland and aquatic invertebrates. The present pandemic has highlighted the intrinsic value of outdoor recreation to human well-being; taking this woodland away from the neighbouring community is an affront to all human needs for natural resources for mental health and wellbeing and it is a natural classroom to teach our younger generation respect for their natural environment. Galway County Council proposes to destroy the woods without even conducting an environmental impact assessment, and in so doing are ignoring that: - The woods is a habitat to multiple wildlife and a variety of flora and fauna - The woods act as a flood protection system - The destruction of woodlands negatively impacts our fight against climate change

Thousands of houses throughout Ireland, particularly in the Northwest, are falling apart because they were built with DEFECTIVE Blocks. The blocks are contaminated by compounds called PYRITE and/or MICA. People’s homes and lives are being totally destroyed - lives are being shattered - children’s futures devastated. Our houses are now worthless and are unsafe to live in. Imagine if you discovered today that your home was worthless, unsaleable, cracking and crumbling, and would ultimately collapse. How would you feel? This is what is happening to us, through absolutely no fault of our own. Our houses were built with blocks governed by the Standards set by the Irish Government. The Irish Government allowed the quarries that made the blocks to self-regulate. Both the Irish Government, and the quarries have FAILED innocent homeowners. In 2007 when pyrite contaminated houses on the EAST coast of Ireland the Irish Government introduced a redress scheme. This scheme covered 100% of costs for homeowners allowing them to rectify their homes. The Irish Government is REFUSING to grant citizens on the WEST coast of Ireland the same 100% redress scheme. They are offering a PARTIAL redress scheme which has so many exclusions, conditions and hidden costs that it is NOT FIT FOR PURPOSE. €7,000 is needed for testing before accessing the scheme. This make it financially inaccessible for majority of homeowners affected. We NEED a 100% redress scheme to deal with this life-destroying problem. We are your fellow citizens and we ask you to STAND WITH US in our fight for JUSTICE. Please, please sign this petition to support our cause. Help us get our homes back.

The Hawthorn tree has been an important part of Irish life since time began and appears in many of our ancient legends and folklore. The haw, or fruit of the Hawthorn can be eaten and was often referred to as the poor man's apple or fairy apple possibly due to the fact it resembles a tiny apple. The connection to fairies continues with lone Hawthorns in fields being called The Fairy Tree and so being protected by the landowners. They also appear at many of the Holy Wells around the country. The Hawthorn is particularly spectacular in May/June when it is in full bloom and is a stunning feature on the landscape quite as spectacular as the Cherry Blossom is in Japan which is celebrated there and rightly so. We should honour the Hawthorn in the same manner. By acknowledging the Hawthorn we will keep the stories alive while also helping towards reminding us to protect our biodiversity as Hawthorns grow in our hedgerows and are home and food for many of our native creatures. By making it our national flowering tree we can educate our people on biodiversity, heritage and culture and use her beauty to attract visitors during the months of May and June.

The Commission of Inquiry into Mother and Baby Homes and Certain Related Matters let survivors down. It had a limited remit which only included specific homes and County Homes, not everybody affected by these past wrongs. The Commission discounted the evidence given by hundreds of survivors to the Confidential Committee. We need to do better by survivors, adoptees and birth parents. Survivors need answers.

Our government opts to ensure that the basic human right to housing does not become a fundamental right in our constitution. Given that one in three TD's in Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael are landlords they will just deliver further homelessness, evictions, housing lists, spiralling rents and house prices. Government has outsourced housing to private developers, who are only after high prices and profits. We need to invest in building high quality ‘green’ public housing on public land to solve the crisis. Soaring rents and lack of security leave tenants exposed to eviction and homelessness. It could happen to anyone. We have some of the highest rents in the EU but have less protection. While vulture fund investors are left unchallenged and get huge tax breaks. Our housing crisis continues to get worse with 50 people having died in homelessness so far this year. If we look at Finland's "Housing First" strategy, we can see that the level of homelessness has fallen sharply and an alternative is possible. The People Before Profit Right to Housing Bill to help combat this has been resubmitted and will be voted on soon. The Bill was defeated in the last Dáil in 2017 but Richard Boyd Barrett TD resubmitted it to the Bills Lottery last autumn and is hopeful that, considering the Programme for Government gives a commitment to a referendum on housing, that this bill will garner more support this time. Please contact your local TD's and request that they support this bill. Be very aware of who voted for and who voted against. Those that vote it down clearly don't care about everyday people. You can find more information on the link below

More than two years ago - on 9th May 2019 - the Dáil declared a climate and biodiversity emergency and called for the Citizens’ Assembly to examine how the State can improve its response to the issue of biodiversity loss. Since then, no visible progress has been made, despite the Programme for Government's commitment to “progress the establishment of a Citizens’ Assembly on Biodiversity." We are now calling upon the Irish Government to treat this like a real emergency and announce the date for a Citizens' Assembly on Biodiversity Loss before July 16th. In addition, we want to ensure the Citizens' Assembly's agenda includes the possible recognition of a constitutional right to a safe, clean, healthy, and sustainable environment environment and the principles of a Just Transition. Why? In March 2021, Ireland - alongside 68 other countries - submitted a statement to the UN Human Rights Council stating that “a safe, clean, healthy, and sustainable environment is integral to the full enjoyment of human rights. Therefore the possible recognition of the right at a global level would have numerous important implications on what we leave to our future generations...We are committed to engaging in an open, transparent and inclusive dialogue with all States and interested stakeholders on a possible international recognition of the right to a safe, clean, healthy, and sustainable environment.” Given the Irish Government’s support for the possible recognition of a right to an environment at the international level, for consistency the Government should also support such dialogue at the national level, and the forthcoming Citizens’ Assembly on Biodiversity Loss provides an opportune occasion for this to happen. The principles of a Just Transition should be included on the Citizens' Assembly's agenda to ensure that action taken to address the biodiversity crisis is consistent with these principles.

Magheramore Beach is one of the best beaches in Ireland and concerns have been expressed that continued access to the beach could be jeopardised as a 21-acre site that serves as the route to Magheramore Beach is to be auctioned in the coming weeks. It is critical that this site is sold with the knowledge that there is a public right of way to the beach through it. Generations of people have enjoyed Magheramore Beach which is a beautiful cove just outside Wicklow Town. In 2006 a barrier was placed across the entrance to restrict vehicular access to the beach and attempts have been made previously to stop all public access. The path to the beach is a well-established right of way and any attempt to close or restrict public access to the fantastic beach will not be tolerated and will be bitterly opposed. The sale of the 21 acres of land gives an ideal opportunity to Wicklow County Council to purchase the entire site as a public amenity, or a proportion of the land and develop a carpark to cater for the growing number of people that now use the beach. Currently people must park along the main road which has been the cause of some trouble as some people park irresponsibly. Providing a carpark would ensure people can park safely and enjoy the beach.