As the inhumane Legacy Act comes into force, we note the ruling of the High Court in Belfast in February 2024 that it contravenes the European Court of Human Rights. The judge said: "There is no evidence that the granting of immunity under the act will in any way contribute to reconciliation in Northern Ireland, indeed the evidence is to the contrary." [3] Every single political party in Northern Ireland, as well as victims groups, United Nations and human rights experts agree that this Bill must be stopped. No matter who you are, or where you come from, we all deserve truth and justice from the state. The Legacy Act will mean many here will be denied that. People bereaved, injured and hurt by the conflict are integral parts of our communities. We stand with them, and against the Legacy Act and the inhumanity with which it treats all here who continue to fight for the simple dignity of justice. [1]https://cain.ulster.ac.uk/victims/docs/group/htr/day_of_reflection/htr_0607c.pdf [2] https://www.jus.uio.no/smr/english/about/id/news/2024/report-reveals-state-impunity-in-northern-ireland-.html [3] https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-68419238

**Update May 03 2024** We have hand delivered the petition with 16,000 signatures to Minister Jack Chambers on May 02nd 2024 The Minister's team provided Email contact details which have been sent onto the Freedom Flotilla crew Lines of communication are being opened to allow the crew to apply for registration in Ireland. We will continue to update once we have more, please continue to sign and share this petition until we get the Freedom Flotilla flagged!! Below is the press release by the Freedom Flotilla who are attempting to get 5000 tons of Aid into Gaza: "For immediate release, Saturday April 27 ISTANBUL, TÜRKİYE: On Thursday afternoon, the Freedom Flotilla Coalition was contacted by the Guinea Bissau International Ships Registry (GBISR), requesting an inspection of our lead ship – Akdenez. This was a highly unusual request as our ship had already passed all required inspections; nevertheless, we agreed. The inspector arrived on Thursday evening. On Friday afternoon, before the inspection was completed, the GBISR, in a blatantly political move, informed the Freedom Flotilla Coalition that it had withdrawn the Guinea Bissau flag from two of the Freedom Flotilla’s ships, one of which is our cargo ship, already loaded with over 5000 tons of life-saving aid for the Palestinians of Gaza. In its communication informing us of this cancelation, the GBISR made specific reference to our planned mission to Gaza. It also made several extraordinary requests for information, including confirmation of the ships’ destination, any potential additional port calls, and the discharge port for humanitarian aid and estimated arrival dates and times. It further demanded a formal letter explicitly approving the transportation of humanitarian aid and a complete manifest of the cargo. Again, this is a highly unusual move from a flagging authority. Normally, national flagging authorities concern themselves only with safety and related standards on vessels bearing their flag, and are not concerned with the destination, route, cargo manifests or the nature of a specific voyage. Just like when you register your car, the authorities don’t require you to detail to them every place you are going to go with the car. Sadly, Guinea-Bissau has allowed itself to become complicit in Israel’s deliberate starvation, illegal siege and genocide of Palestinians in Gaza. Israel is showing the world the extent to which it will go to deny Palestinians the aid they need to stay alive, in direct contravention of International Humanitarian Law, UN Security Council resolutions, and two orders of the International Court of Justice. Israel is only allowed to get away with this because we have an international order where law does not apply equally, where people are not valued the same, and where might equals right. The US has hijacked international law and is violating its own laws to protect Israel at every turn. A recently-leaked USAID memo states that “famine in Gaza is inevitable,” and that “changes could reduce but not stop widespread civilian deaths.” It also states that the government of Israel does not currently demonstrate necessary compliance with U.S. law required to receive U.S. military aid. Nevertheless, last week, the U.S. Congress passed and Biden signed a $26 billion aid package for Israel. It is this kind of naked impunity, over decades, that has brought us to this point where Israel can carry out a genocide, that includes a public declaration by Israel’s leaders that it is going to deliberately starve children, and not only face no consequences, but also involve a majority of world governments in its crimes. While our governments claim to care about Palestinian lives, they are complying, and indeed enforcing a situation where a state that has been found to be plausibly committing a genocide, is allowed to control what, if any life-saving aid gets to the people trying to stay alive. Yesterday, the UN Special Rapporteurs on the Right to Food, on the Right to Housing, and on the situation of human rights in the occupied Palestinian territory, issued a statement stating that civil society initiatives like the Freedom Flotilla are important precisely because governments are not complying with their obligations under international law and many of these governments are even complicit in Israel’s siege and genocide. The statement affirmed that ours was a legitimate challenge to Israel’s control over the delivery of aid to Gaza and it demanded safe passage for our flotilla. However, without a flag, we cannot sail. But, this is not the end. Israel cannot and will not crush our resolve to break its illegal siege and reach the people of Gaza. The people of Gaza and all of Palestine remain steadfast under the most horrific, unimaginable conditions. We take strength from their incredible, inexplicable ability to maintain their humanity, dignity and hope when the world has given them no reason to do so. It is our responsibility to keep that hope alive. WE WILL SAIL." We are calling on the Minister for Transport, Eamon Ryan, as a Qualified person under "The Mercantile Marine Act, 1955, as amended by the Merchant Shipping (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act, 1998, and Sea-Fisheries and Maritime Jurisdiction Act, 2006" To Register the Freedom Flotilla ships as an Irish ships and allow it to sail to Gaza under the Irish Flag!

Educate D8 is a community group representing families in Dublin 8. For generations Dublin 8 has experienced under-investment in secondary education. Our Educate D8 Campaign has two main aims to address the under- provision of school places in our area: 1. To secure the establishment of a new secondary school in the area. 2. To gain access to the consultation process on ethos and patronage. Why do we need a new school? 45% of children in Dublin 8 have to leave the area to go to secondary school. 2135 Dublin 8 kids will need to leave the area for secondary school by 2026. Only 11% of children in Kilmainham Dublin 8 walk or cycle to school (active travel) in comparison with 75% in Clonskeagh Dublin 6. Kilmainham children have the longest commutes in Dublin. Children in Dublin 8 face up to a 90-minute commute to Sandymount Educate Together Secondary School, which was offered by the Department of Education as a solution to our problem. The average national commute for teenagers is 19.5 minutes (CSO, 2022). 62% of the population in Dublin 8 is not Catholic (CSO, 2022). 0% of the secondary schools in Dublin 8 are multi-denominational. 89% of Dublin 8 parents surveyed would like to send their children to a local secondary school. 6th class pupils in Dublin 8 are dispersed to up to 14 different secondary schools, decimating their community. Population growth in Dublin 8 between 2016 – 2022: -the population grew by 14% as opposed to 4.6% in Dublin City. -the population of 10-19 year olds grew by 30% in comparison to 14% growth nationally. PLEASE SUPPORT OUR CAMPAIGN AND SIGN OUR PETITION ASKING MINISTER OF EDUCATION TO GRANT US A NEW SCHOOL FOR OUR CHILDREN. Visit our website https://d8newschool.ie/ or join our campaign WhatsApp https://chat.whatsapp.com/Kl3PytsabTv1jsZfStgPTr

Signing this petition will show your support for this course of action. Please note that no financial donations are required or requested to support this cause.

Children, parents and grandparents are tripping over pot holes in the playground rubber surface. Childrens clothes are covered in green slime from the moss on climbing frames. Some playgrounds have burnt equipment that has still not been repaired. There can be broken glass in playgrounds. Summer is coming and the children of Dublin 8 need safe and clean places to play. The Dublin 8 playgrounds that need attention are in the following locations - Oliver Bond Flats block CDE - Oliver Bond Flats block RST - Tyrone Place 3 playgrounds & pitch - Watling Street playground - School Street playground - Bridgefoot St Playground - Island Bridge Court playground - Inchicore Community Centre basketball pitch (pothole & gate locked by health & safety officer) - Oisin Kelly Park pitch & playground covered in weeds, pothole, broken glass, burnt out - Weaver Park playground equipment burnt out - Vicar St Playground pitch & playground - Poole St Pitch & playground

Cén fáth a bhfuil sé seo tábhachtach? Tá easpa áiseanna sa cheantar do dhaoine óga, agus tá an tigh seo fíorthábachtach chun na healaíona dúchasacha a chothú agus a fhorbairt i gCorca Dhuibhne. Má dhíoltar ar an margadh oscailte é, beidh sé i seilbh duine príobháideach, agus imithe ón bpobal. Ba mhaith linn Teach Siamsa a choimeád in úinéireacht an phobail agus go ndéanfaí athbheochan ar na himeachtaí a bhíodh ann. Má tá tú sásta tacú leis an bhfeachtas Teach Siamsa a choimeád i seilbh an phobail, cuir isteach d’ainm sna boscaí ar dheis. Míle buíochas ó Choiste Teach Siamsa.

For the security and safety of the Town and area Why do we have to go to Portlaoise to have a form signed

Mobuoy dump is beside the River Faughan, which supplies 60% of Derry's drinking water. Experts say the Mobuoy site may contain 1.6m tonnes of waste. If the dump is not properly cleaned up soon, then the river could be contaminated, making our water undrinkable. Even though the site closed in 2013, people are still illegally dumping at the site! The minister responsible for waste in NI, Andrew Muir has yet to come up with a recovery plan for the site. The only suggestion his department has provided is to give local residents bottled water if the river becomes impacted. It is time for the Minister to get a grip of the situation: secure the site, clean up Mobouy and ensure clean and safe drinking water for the people of Derry.

Dear all,  I hope you are all in good health.  As you all know, Irish Society of International Doctors (ISID) and Association of Irish Pakistani Physicians and Surgeons (AIPPS) who represent 1000's of international doctors and their families have been engaging and working with stakeholders on visa delays for the past year or so to benefit everyone especially healthcare workers in Ireland. All skilled professionals living in Ireland are facing serious delays in processing for their families visas but some nationalities are facing more delays than others with waiting time beyond one year before their applications are being processed.  This has negatively impacted their mental health and emotional well being and in turn might be worsening the staffing crisis and patient care. Foreign healthcare workers constitute more than 60% of the Irish health system and are the backbone of this system. They deserve to be treated fairly and to have their families with them in Ireland especially when their jobs are so demanding.  A recent survey conducted by us revealed that certain countries (including Pakistan) have: 1) High visa rejection rate for family members i.e. spouse, children, parents etc  2) Long delays in application processing - more than one  year for even visit visas  3) Vague and generic copy paste refusal reasons    4) Processing time for appeals is one year plus  5) Poor Communication: there is a serious element of broken communication with applicants and the Department.  Lastly, we urge Pakistani Ambassadorin Ireland to take up and investigate this issue with the Irish Consulate in Karachi as the community is not happy with their treatment; through an audit of applicants being rejected as THERE IS NO COMPLAINT CELL THAT EXISTS WHERE THESE ISSUES AND UNFAIR TREATMENT CAN BE RAISED. Please sign this petition and spread the word to resolve this grave issue. #FastTrackFamilyVisa Many thanks. Dr Liqa Rehman ||| Mr Nauman Nabi President ,ISID ||| President AIPPS G.Secretary, AIPPS ||| Executive, ISID

We, the undersigned, demand an immediate halt to the proposed Mourne Mountains Gondola project. This ill-conceived venture threatens to irreversibly damage our cherished natural landscape, endanger wildlife habitats, and impose financial burdens on rates payers. We implore the Newry, Mourne, and Down District Council (NMDDC) to reconsider and explore more sustainable alternatives that prioritize environmental preservation and community needs. Reasons for halting the Gondola Project: 1. Lack of public consultation. Despite overwhelming local opposition (as evidenced by our recent poll indicating 77% dissent), the council has proceeded without adequate consultation. 2. Disregard for Alternatives. The council has dismissed viable, cost-effective, and eco-friendly alternatives in favour of the gondola, demonstrating a concerning lack of consideration for community preferences and environmental impact. 3. Financial risk. The project's secrecy regarding its business plan, coupled with unrealistic user projections and escalating costs, poses an unjustifiable financial risk to ratepayers.  4. Environmental Threats. Its operation threatens sensitive habitats including a Special Area of Conservation and an Area of Special Scientific Interest.  It would endanger wildlife habitats and protected species. 5. Adverse Aesthetic Impact. Pylons, the cableway and quarry centre will mar the pristine beauty of the Mourne Mountains, detracting from the experience of visitors and local people in the Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. 6. Negative Economic Impact. Contrary to promises of local economic benefits, the gondola project is likely to divert money from local businesses. 7. The National Trust, which is the owner of the quarry and the mountain is a conservation organisation and is very unlikely to approve its construction.   8. Weather and seasonal factors. The gondola is projected to operate eleven months a year but factors like high winds and bad weather are likely to drastically reduce the days it can work and generate income.  We urge the NMDDC to heed the voices of the community, prioritize environmental sustainability, and abandon the Mourne Mountains Gondola project in favour of more responsible available alternatives.  Let us preserve the natural beauty of the Mourne mountains for future generations to enjoy.

We are siphoning off the tax base of many, often poorer countries by our corporate tax policies and loopholes. We deny them the funds for hospitals, schools, social supports and infrastructure as well as their capacity to fight climate change. As a tax haven we are doing far more global damage than anything we do that damages the world’s climate. Apple admitted to the US senate that their effective tax rate in Ireland is 2%. Microsoft acknowledged that they put €98 billion through Ireland ‘that was not subject to tax in this jurisdiction’ They paid €3 billion in tax that year ( on €24 billion at 12% ?) making it approx 2% tax rate again. The untaxed money comes from Profit Shifting to Ireland ie profits from other countries. My friend in sub Saharan Africa said all the youth have smartphones but not enough to eat. That’s the power of advertising a product-on which no tax was paid. Ireland is a country that is generous in it’s contributions to developing nations but we completely undermine this by our tax haven activities. It’s time to call for a change in direction to a more ethical business and tax model

It celebrates and commemorates the man who really put irish football on the map and made it possible for a nation to dare to dream of success on the international football stage. In our irish eye he is an icon in our footballing history and he really should be celebrated with a statue in his honor for future generations crossing the doors of the aviva to behold the Great man we once had the privilege to witness in his glory.