On the day of the tragedy, during an examination by a doctor, Caitlin went into a bathroom and spent 13 minutes giving birth without telling anybody, an unimaginably traumatic event. Caitlin is currently suffering from depression and post traumatic symptoms, yet the trial showed little concern for her physical and mental wellbeing. It is concerning that the DPP would criminalise a young woman who gave birth in shock. This breaks will previous compassionate views in similar cases, the Gardaí always appealed for women to come forward and they would be treated with compassion and privacy, alas, this wasn't to be for Caitlin. What is not on trial is how Caitlin is a victim of domestic abuse. During her trial she spoke of being beaten and punched by her father and bullied at school. Caitlin, is a survivor of bullying and abuse, and will not likely see justice for the harm that was done to her.

Our beloved Mangala is a unique area of woodland in the heart of Douglas. It's an area of natural beauty and is full of biodiversity including many protected species. The destruction of natural habitats and mature woodland is not acceptable. The Mangala is also of huge historical importance because of its close connection with Morough Mills. The Mangolds, locally called Mangles, that gave it its name were grown there to be used in the mills. The woods is a haven that generations of us have enjoyed and continue to do so. The people of Douglas won't stand for this. We won't allow the destruction of OUR Mangala

For many parents with a fear of gadgets, programming courses are a lifesaver. The child is already addicted to computer games and it's hard to distract them, so let them do something useful, they say. This is the most popular request when starting school. Another popular option: parents understand the prospects of IT-sphere and send their children to learn demanded skills for high-paying professions. Children in general find learning programming from scratch much easier than adults without IT experience. In third place is the desire of children who are interested in IT. Parents support this interest and buy courses. Learning to program is above all a great way to develop logical and analytical thinking. When writing code, the programmer goes to the goal, speaks the same language as the computer and will only be understood if the code is logically constructed. If two lines are mixed up, the program or game will not work. Analytical thinking, planning, and planning come into play. Design thinking works too. The courses are designed with a practical approach in mind, students can practice what they have learned in their projects without using ready-made templates. A clear sequence of actions, decomposition of tasks and tracking their implementation are important for success. If, when creating a game, a child spends all his or her time on elaborating one character, the game will not happen. You will get one character without a game world. Therefore, students develop soft skills and time-management skills at the same time.

Misinformation is a deadly pandemic on social media sites. One particular concern of mine is the spread of fake ‘life hacks’ videos. This might seem harmless until you look at the types of videos being posted up. One video I saw that was actually on YouTube’s Facebook page was telling people how to make sausages in the toaster using tinfoil. Putting tinfoil into toasters is strongly discouraged from most toaster manufacturers because it could cause electrocution and even fire. Another video I saw on Instagram encouraged people to use a transformer from a microwave to burn a design into wood. This is remarkably dangerous because one single mistake could cause an electrical current of 2,000 volts to enter your body, which is 10 times the amount of power needed to stop your heartbeat. There have been at least 34 reported deaths from this ‘life hack’. Four of them were qualified electricians and the majority of them were wearing proper gloves and P.P.E. However, despite this, these videos rarely suffer any sort of sanctions from the website. One site that promotes these kinds of life hacks is ‘5 Minute Crafts’. This channel is currently the 11th most subscribed YouTube channel with over 70 million subscribers. They often put up fake and sometimes ‘life hack’ videos and they often get millions of views. I think this is unacceptable and we as a country have the power to put immense pressure on these companies because there are multiple users and both Meta and Google have offices in Dublin.

As the world goes digital for all types of audio and visual entertainment, Ireland is going in the opposite direction. Radio in Ireland is stale - dominated by just a few media groups, most of which play the same music over and over again. DAB Radio stands for Digital Audio Broadcasting and can offer much more choice for the radio listener. Imagine having multiple non stop music stations of every conceivable genre? The Broadcasting Authority of Ireland (BAI) is the body responsible for regulating radio in Ireland, however no new licenses have been issued in the last decade. When it comes to Digital Audio Broadcasting, provision has been made in section 131 parts i and ii of the Broadcasting Act 2009 to open up Ireland to Digital Radio, however in over 13 years the above Commission has sat on its laurels and failed to realise the provisions of this act. If you have come to this petition, it is most likely because you have been listening to a DAB service in Ireland which has been set up to demonstrate what could be, if our regulators embraced this technology (like most other countries in Europe) The EU have allocated 36 frequencies in the VHF band exclusively for use by Digital Audio Broadcasters - each one of these frequencies capable of broadcasting over 20 digital music services each – if we do the maths, that’s a lot of potential services available. It is now an EU requirement for every new car to have a DAB tuner on its entertainment system. on average 120,000 new vehicles are sold in Ireland each year, it will also be a requirement soon that any "portable radio" sold must also include the DAB band to receive Digital radio. In Ireland this frequency band is completely unused. When any enterprising entrepreneurs take it upon themselves to demonstrate what could be, swift action is taken by the regulators to close these services down. Ireland needs the restrictive rules around broadcasting removed. Imagine only one takeaway, or one car retailer being allowed in each town or even each county? !! well that's the way it is with radio. The BAI needs to fully embrace DIGITAL radio and to remove, completely amend or rework the existing Broadcasting Act 2009, which combined with the Wireless Telegraphy Act 1926 and 1988 completely stymies any third party from entering the radio market. This makes the overall radio experience of Irish people much poorer than their EU or UK counterparts. DAB radio is also extremely environmentally friendly - 20 stations could potentially use the same amount of electricity as just one FM service. Three of these DAB frequencies could be used to transmit every station currently on FM across the entire country. About 40 transmitting sites would be needed to provide almost national coverage. Those sites are already being used for FM. The National stations from RTE, Today FM and Newtalk currently use 6 analogue frequencies on each site. Add into the mix the local and community stations, and in many parts of the country this exceeds 10 analogue frequencies. All these could be condensed into just 3 national DAB Multiplexes. Imagine being able to select the local radio station for Kerry while on holiday or business in Donegal without the need to use mobile data and a clunky app, or being able to tune into a Monaghan local GAA match while in Cork on the Monaghan local station. With Digital radio this is all possible. Add another 3 multiplexes into the mix and we could have 60 national non stop stations bring you every conceivable music format. DAB can also be used on a local basis. In the UK this is called small scale DAB. County multiplexes could contain numerous versions of the very successful community services, local sports events, religious services and live local government broadcasts.

This is important because no animal deserves to live in cruel conditions they need to have a happy and healthy life

The introduction of surveillance tech under the form of Meta's smart glasses, or stalker specs, is a huge infringement to our privacy. Running public awareness campaigns through national broadcaster of informing people how to know if they're being recorded non-consensually is not good enough. These devices are a stalker's dream and they offer very little meaningful benefit to wider society. We're calling on Minister for Justice Helen McEntee to ban this form surveillance tech.

In March 2022 former Minister for Infrastructure Nichola Mallon refused permission for the planning application for a mechanical biological treatment (MBT) facility and waste incinerator at Hightown Quarry, beside North Belfast. The planning decision was made following over 5,000 objections submitted by the local community, and a wide range of political representatives from MPs to Councillors. It will increase the market for waste disposal and discourage recycling. Waste technology, waste composition and recycling policies had all moved on since the project was first conceived 15 years ago, and it should be abandoned once and for all - not blindly pursued with public money. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-60893249 The planning refusal followed a long running campaign by the No-Arc21 group who represent residents around the Mallusk, North Belfast and South Antrim areas, who are opposed to the controversial project. This planning application was refused by a previous Environment Minister Mark Durkan, and successfully challenged in the Courts by No- Arc21. There is comprehensive and widespread political opposition to the project from all political Parties in South Antrim and beyond. Alternative do exist and if this Incinerator goes ahead it will reduce recycling and result in millions of tonnes of CO2 being emitted and accelerating climate change. This challenge is a flagrant waste of public money and resources can be better targeted to increase recycling to 70% by 2030 as per the Climate Change targets on Waste Management. During the current inflationary pressures that many households and workers are facing at present, councils should not be wasting more money on a legal case which questions local Ministerial powers to make such decisions. Over £20 million has been spent on the "Waste Monster" to date, how many pot holes, hospital beds, pay rises for key workers etc. could have been sorted in the over eight years of this white elephant. Bin the Burner

Thousands of people are being forced into factory-like accomodation with camp beds in halls, insecure hostels and cramped institutions, while some are even pitching tents or sleeping on the streets. Meanwhile thousands of homes lie empty across the Island - some have been built by toxic vulture funds and are owned by banks and businesses waiting on the prices to rise to turn a quick buck. Others are lying in disrepair with little intention to be used again. Many Airbnb’s and tourist lets are used only for a few weeks of the year.

To help encourage people that this day and age, everyone from any place, race, age, gender should be accepted no matter what. Especially in the area of Blanchardstown where most crime and violence occur, people have fear of coming out. It would make such a difference to display the rainbow-pride crossing on that particular busy intersection as it could make a very big change mainly on the peoples perspective on the LGBTQIA+ community.

I am a woman living with Young Onset Parkinsons Disease and working as a Dietitian who provides a dietetic call back service for people living with Parkinson’s. I come off my calls depressed at the negligence of care of my fellow PD patients around the country. Tonight I cannot sleep after the awful stories I heard today. I cannot stand by and hear it happen again and again. It is negligent how the state is treating people with Parkinson’s. I cannot even put into words the awful ways people are suffering. The over 12,000 people battling the fastest growing neurological disease are being mistreated and forgotten. Many of those battling this condition do not have the voice (some literally due to the disease) and their care givers are too worn out to fight the system. Please lend your voice to raise the voices of the many who are suffering around the country. It has to stop. Imagine your mum, dad, sibling, son, daughter, friend or colleague being left to deteriorate slowly but surely and you have to watch helplessly. This is what is happening AROUND the country and it is negligent. People with Parkinson’s are meeting with TDS for an AV Room presentation on July 6th in the Dail campaigning for proper care for people with Parkinson’s Disease. We need 5000 signatures to raise the voices of those suffering. Please sign my petition and please share with your network and ask them to sign.

Using Afrikaans to verify citizenship is racist, ignorant and insulting.