It's important because it gives a very poor impression to all users of the system but particularly people from outside Ireland.

One of these giant fishing vessels has been seen less than 40 nautical miles off the coast of Ireland in the past week - the FV Margiris has been called the 'Death Star of the Ocean' and can land up to 250 tonnes of fish a day, 14 times what a regular Irish trawler might take, while often leaving tonnes of unwanted 'by-catch', marine life including marine mammals, dead in its wake. The vessel has already been banned from Australian waters - is undoubtedly causing untold damage to marine life off Ireland’s coast. In February of last year, French authorities launched an investigation after pictures of a huge 'carpet' of dead fish left behind the FV Margiris caused international condemnation from environmental groups. Up to 100,000 dead by-catch from the huge ship, were left floating in the water and it led to calls for the ship to be banned from French waters. The mega trawler - the second largest of her type in the world, is banned from some international waters, where countries have decided the cost of these types of factory fishing operations is just too high. https://www.independent.ie/news/environment/alarm-for-marine-life-and-local-fishing-crews-as-monster-super-trawler-fishes-in-irish-waters-for-a-third-day-42388536.html https://afloat.ie/port-news/fishing/item/58163-controversial-supertrawler-margiris-currently-fishing-off-irish-coast https://mobile.twitter.com/TrawlWatch_EU

Despite an Irish citizen from Northern Ireland having held the role of President of Ireland (Mary McAleese), it is an anomaly that they are not allowed to vote in the election. 125 states and territories allow people living abroad to participate in legislative elections, 88 allow participation in presidential elections and 73 countries and territories allow citizens overseas to participate in referendums. Ireland is not one of them. Of the 14 EU Member States that hold direct Presidential elections, only Ireland, Slovakia and Cyprus deprive their overseas citizens of the vote. Source: Votingrights.ie

This petition is asking the Spike Island Development Company Limited wholly owned by Cork County Council to provide a wheelchair-accessible bus on the island to ensure all visitors including disabled visitors can safely reach the exhibition area, Until this happens, an exhibition celebrating the life of Kay McShane, who grew up on Spike island and won acclaim as a medal-winning Paralympian cannot go ahead.

Shane has exposed multiple Health scandals and should be protected not punished. Ireland has just legislated for further protections for Whistleblowers, but Department of Health has refused to investigate Shane's multiple Protected DIsclosures

It is vital Water Services are kept in public ownership with public servants providing dedicated service. Privatisation of water services has failed miserably globally. Look at Thames Water in the UK, 14 billion pounds Sterling in debt, pollution, leaks, lack of repairs and now the banks move in and take over Water Services. Water will now be a currency.

The most vulnerable people in society will suffer if community services lose funding at the end of March. Money from the European Social Fund (ESF) is due to stop on 31 March as a result of Brexit. Young people, people with disabilities, those living in poverty and people with mental health issues are among many who will suffer.

We urgently call on the government to increase the number of gardaí in Newbridge up to the national average, which will help to improve community safety. We believe that this increase will require the assignment of a substantial number of new and experienced gardaí to our community.

Clonroad Campus is a busy place. It is home to Training and Education Providers, as well as Community Organisations. Learners from Streetwise Brothers of Charity last year raised their concerns with Clare County Council as to the unsafe entry/exit route for Clonroad Campus. They highlighted the risks of no footpath and broken ground for all pedestrian users of Clonroad Campus and the unsafe access to Ennis town. The learners of Streetwise Brothers of Charity are advocating for a safe, accessible route in/out of Clonroad Campus, so that they and others may access Ennis town safely. #accessibility #universaldesign #safety #campaign #advocacy #community #teamwork #activecitizenship #walkinourshoes Read more here: https://clarechampion.ie/streetwise-participants-tell-councillors-they-dont-feel-safe/

Many people are now homeless. Some are literally appealing to peoples' kindness to let them stay with them because they have nowhere to go after a landlord ends their tenancy. Available rental housing is at an all time low, and the need for it is extremely high. Local authority housing is like gold dust. Mostly landlords are either selling their property or they're turning to the Air BnB model to earn more money. This situation is hiking up the cost of renting a home, and buying an existing house is often far out of reach. This situation is exacerbated by planning restrictions in rural areas. Many people would take care of their own housing needs by buying a small plot of rural land if they could get planning for a low-cost dwelling that is fitting in its surroundings. There is ample land lying idle in West Cork, whilst rural communities are dwindling and people hopes for the safety of a home are dying. This is an easily solvable situation, if the people with the power would only do the right thing. It's up to us to help them make the correct decisions.

Being punished for expressing basic human kindness and concern for others is wrong.

-Students in UCC do not want to see the return of Race Day. - Race Day promotes animal cruelty, gambling, fast fashion and binge drinking. All the while, creating an unsafe environment for attendees and portraying a bad reputation of the student body to the public. -Efforts should be put into events which promote better values; events that do not use animals for our entertainment, and that do not encourage young people to gamble during a cost of living crisis. Horse Racing in Ireland -176 horses have died on racetracks since 2021. Thousands more are bred for the industry and are killed when they are not profitable. -€72.8 million of taxpayers money was paid out to the horse racing industry in 2023, compared to only €15 million total which was paid to the FAI, GAA, Athletics Ireland, Swim Ireland and the Special Olympics combined. -Horses are unique and intelligent animals, we don’t need to use them for entertainment. For more information… -List of Horses killed on Irish Racetracks https://irishhorsedeathwatch.com/ -Watch the BBC’s documentary ‘Panorama - The Dark Side of Horse Racing’ -Visit website of the National Animal Rights Association https://naracampaigns.org/ and read their campaign to stop Horse Racing https://naracampaigns.org/horse-racing/ -Further reading on Blood Sports in Ireland https://banbloodsports.wordpress.com/?fbclid=PAAabu4O8kG-Vv2TmH-3iaB3_MvIfy2pNcc51VIVVam3SVW80ndInZ0EvA0YU -Sign petition to stop government funding of Horse Racing https://www.change.org/p/irish-government-stop-giving-millions-of-euros-to-horse-racing - Australian Coalition for the Protection of Rachorses, #NupTheCup Campaign https://horseracingkills.com To support horses in Ireland visit My Lovely Horse Rescue https://www.mylovelyhorserescue.com/