For some years now, Fingal Council has shown very little interest in keeping a clean environment around the Broadmeadow Estuary catchment area. Volunteers in "Swords Pickers" were able to remove truck loads of dumped rubbish from Ward River Valley Park and Broadmeadow Estuary in the first half of 2021 alone. If something is not done to fundamentally correct this, plastic & other waste will continue to travel from the parkland in Swords, through the Estuary and out into the Irish Sea. Development of either the full size all-weather playing pitch and/or the Broadmeadow Greenway in 2021 will obviously add to the problem by multiplying volumes of human traffic.

Many parents and families in Northern Ireland are coming under unbearable financial pressure due to the arbitrary and expensive school uniform requirements. In addition to a school uniform, many schools also insist on bespoke, branded sportswear for PE lessons, particular emblems, or have contracts for branded items with specific uniform suppliers. The recent temporary 20% uplift in the school uniform grant is not enough. Many parents and children are put under stress and pushed into debt trying to meet these unnecessary costs. England and Wales have brought in legislation that ensures schools uniform requirements are affordable. The same is needed in Northern Ireland. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-57733760

Glyphosate the main ingredient in Roundup is poisonous to humans, wildlife and the environment. Studies recently found that this toxic weedkiller is in most people's bodies [1]. It is being sprayed on roadsides, paths, in housing estates close to where people live. Ireland has the second highest levels of glyphosate in surface water in the EU whilst other countries are banning it. In 2015 the World Health Organisation concluded that the pesticide was 'probably carcinogenic to humans' and again, [2] Despite this many local councils still use it and it is still being sold on shop shelves as Round Up. The EU re-approved the use of glyphosate in 2017 however, in the last few years it has been banned by countries including France, Germany, Sri Lanka, El Salvador, the Netherlands, Argentina, Columbia, Peru and Mexico. The EU licence renewal was due to happen this July 2022 but it's been pushed down the road again until July 2023. Big lobby’s already swooping in to convince politicians to vote to continue its use, ignoring the devastating effect it has on our biodiversity, water and our health.[3] Sign the petition to join the campaign so we can ban Glyphosate once and for all. Notes: [1] https://www.irishtimes.com/health/2022/07/09/disturbing-weedkiller-ingredient-tied-to-cancer-found-in-80-of-us-urine-samples/ [2] https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/widely-used-herbicide-linked-to-cancer/ [3] Page 83 http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.2903/j.efsa.2015.4302/epdf

Need to encourage more cycling and to improve and keep our present cyclists safe.

Seven months ago, our much loved postmistress, gave notice that she was to retire. An Post responded by putting a poster in the window looking for interested parties to take over the service. They did not advertise this in local or national press. Now, to our dismay, we have been informed that the post office will be closing on the 14th August 2021 . The Post Office service in Kinvara has been a hugely important hub of activity for many years and it continues to be a busy service. Kinvara Post Office is a core enterprise in this rural community and is responsible for the provision of vital financial services to the most vulnerable service users in our area. There is a agreement between An Post and the government that An Post must ensure that people continue to have access to financial services and are not financially excluded. One worrying result of this will be that our most vulnerable; older service users and those with physical or intellectual challenges, will now have to travel to Kilcolgan (8 km) or Gort (14.5 km) to draw their cash payments. There is also a serious lack of public transport in the area and people without cars are at a distinct disadvantage. Kinvara is a growing village and has many small businesses who both directly and indirectly benefit from the presence of our post office and the removal of this vital service will undoubtedly have a detrimental effect on these businesses. We call on An Post and Minister Eamon Ryan to reissue the call for a postmaster in Kinvara and this time advertise it so that relevant interested parties can see it.

In Northern Ireland, no matter who we are, our everyday speech is littered with Gaelic and Scots words. Many of the names of our towns and cities are derived from Irish, and it was historically spoken by many Protestant people across Ulster. It's wrong that a vile social media campaign has led this importance educational resource to move premises. Shared spaces where we learn from each other are vital for our peace-building and our quality of life. We offer our support and respect and stand firmly with all those involved in Naíscoil na Seolta.

It is an offence to drive without your car being taxed but its proving practically impossible to pay for renewal of motor tax via motortax.ie

The Homeless and Needy of our country are abandoned by the state. It is up to us, the general public, to look after their welfare, with food, clothing, sleeping bags, tents and very often just to lend an ear. We can not simply be ignored, just as our service users can't be abandoned either.

It’s terrible seeing all these useless face masks ending up polluting the environment and they keep producing more and more and giving them away

In recent years there has been a growing trend in purchasing a cask of whiskey for investment purposes. These casks need to be stored somewhere and distilleries are looking to our countryside to build large warehouses solely for the purpose of storing whiskey. Now West Cork Distillers Ltd. wants to build a whiskey maturation site on 26.5 acres in the heart of West Cork. The floorspace alone for the warehouses amounts to 24,480m2 (6 Acres), a road network is also required around these warehouses. The proposed development is only 1700m from the foot of Carrigfadda, that affords truly the most magnificent panoramic coastal and countryside views in West Cork. On clear days, one can see as far as the Old Head of Kinsale, the Kerry Paps, Hungry Hill and Sherkin Island, to name a few. This Large development doesn’t offer any extra employment into the area as it is mainly manned by CCTV operations or would have a maximum of two people on site. Our country lanes can’t support arctic lorries, the infrastructure is not there to support such a sizeable development. There is a potential for flooding in the area if the development goes ahead. A development of this size will lead to loss of habitat for our wildlife. This is an urban development that is more suited to an urban industrial area. We want to support our local enterprises, but we need our local enterprises to respect our rural communities. And we need your help to help us protect existing rural character and discourage urban style developments.

Badgers are not the cause of TB in cattle, and 8 out of 10 badgers here are healthy Badgers are a valued native species, protected by law under the Wildlife NI Order 1985 and the Bern Convention. According to Ulster Wildlife, twenty-five per cent of the European population is found in the UK, so we have an international responsibility to conserve and protect them. Vaccination should be used as a way to control bovine TB in the badger population. The most comprehensive scientific study of the effect of badger culling on levels of bovine TB in badgers and cattle in the world took place 1998 - 2006 and concluded ‘badger culling can make no meaningful contribution to cattle TB control in Britain’.

Parks should be public amenities that serve the physical and mental wellbeing of city residents. Even before the pandemic, many people living in cities are confined to cramped indoor living conditions during the summer, with parks providing an important refuge from this reality. Four Masters Park in the heart of inner city Dublin has the potential to be one of those thriving community spaces. However, at present it is closed off to the public despite Dublin City Council paying for its upkeep. Local residents and politicians have all repeatedly called for the park to be opened up but the Sisters of Mercy won't budge. The days of religious orders controlling our parks, our bodies, our hospitals and our schools are numbered. It is incomprehensible that public funds are being used on a space that can't be enjoyed by the people. Renewed media attention and the wider issue of church control in Ireland has brought this issue to the fore. Now is the time to put pressure on the Sister of Mercy nuns to release their hold on the park.