Making that call is often the first step on a victims journey to safety. It can take to 35 assaults before a victim reaches out for help. Ignoring calls leaving women and children to fend for themselves is unacceptable.

Pride exists beyond the month of June or the celebrations that mark it. Waterford has a duty to counteract the haters who tore down and burned the Pride flags twice recently. Support this petition to call on a permanent Pride Crossing in Waterford.

Residents in the Callenders Mill estate and surrounding estates do not want a shop built on the green area in front of their houses. This green is filled with children playing every day. Residents want to keep this green space as there is already a lack of green spaces for children in Celbridge. Callenders Mill is clearly a residential area. The proposed shop will be open from 7am to 10pm, which will cause serious disturbance and noise pollution for residents. There is already insufficient parking for residents in the estate. There are already a significant number of other shop in the vicinity. There are also vacant shop units within walking distance of the proposed site. We do not need or want a shop in Callenders Mill, Celbridge!

THE IRISH ECONOMY IS A HUMAN ECONOMY Our love affair with GDP has come to an end because growth that leaves our people and our planet behind is failure. We measure our economy’s success based on the equality we achieve, and the physical and mental health of our people and environment. We value inclusive and sustainable job creation. The social and solidarity economy, and especially social enterprises, play an important role in this agenda, restoring heart and hope to new economic thinking. IRELAND LEADS THE GREEN TRANSITION IN EUROPE We are achieving our ambitious targets for a just and green transition. The private, public and civil society sectors work together to achieve these targets, as we all adapt how we live, work, travel and consume. The transition is just and fair, and leaves no one behind. Ideas that help us embrace the transition are pioneered in Ireland and exported worldwide. A RADICAL EQUALITY AGENDA HAS EMERGED Everybody in Ireland believes equality benefits us all. The Government and society actively protects the rights of Ireland’s most marginalised communities. Minority communities are equipped to speak for themselves and enter powerful decision making positions. Led by next generation leaders, philanthropy, alongside taxation, plays a key role in redistributing wealth to support a more equal society. OUR RURAL COMMUNITIES ARE THRIVING Regional towns and rural communities are re-energised and sustainable. The rise of remote work has given many the freedom to choose where and how we want to live. We can work at homes or regional hubs and offices and people in rural communities no longer have to say, ‘there are no jobs here’. Fewer commuters mean fewer emissions and housing pressures are alleviated for our cities. A BOLD GENERATION TAKES CHARGE Collaboration is the new competition. Creative, energetic, and solution-focused, this new generation takes care of our people and planet. They ask questions of themselves, their families, their employers, and they start or invest in organisations that provide solutions to these questions. Wait for change to happen? No way. They make it happen. They work together to build an equal, sustainable and just future.

Having recently lost my partner of near twenty years and being left to be the sole provider of our three children I have discovered that I am not entitled to the same supports as my married counterparts. Unmarried families are not recognized under our constitution and are therefore not offered the same protection from the state. The state treats cohabiting couples as a family unit for taxation and means testing purposes yet it will not accept cohabitation when there is a bereavement. Modern society does not allow for people to live the way they did when the constitution was written due to the challenges people have to face both financially and personally. I am calling on the Government to address the definition of the Family where marriage is concerned and also to address the families that have been left out of the widow/widower pension due to there status not being accepted by the state.

In the first known charge of its kind under Covid health regulations, members of ROSA, Socialist Feminist Movement, have been fined up to 500 euro and face prosecution over safe, outdoor protests highlighting gender violence during the pandemic. A recent report found Gardai failed to respond to thousands of domestic violence 999 calls — yet advocates and activists are being taken to court. A Limerick woman is the first to face court for being an “organiser” of a small socially distant standout calling for emergency action against rising levels of violence against women, known as the ‘shadow pandemic.’ Aislinn O’Keeffe, a Limerick ROSA member, is being charged with being an “Event Organiser” on Thomas Street under the Public Health Act. The ‘Event’ was in fact a stationary protest involving 10 people, mainly women, following the murder of Sarah Everard, which highlighted the restrictions women must self impose to avoid violence and the stark increases in the incidence of gender based violence worldwide. The standout was the smallest of five called by ROSA in a number of cities. Aislinn O’Keeffe explained : “ROSA fully supports public health measures — but the shocking rise in violence against women is in itself a public health emergency. “Since the ROSA protests at least three women on this island have been victims of femicide. During the pandemic, gender violence soared worldwide and in Ireland calls to Gardai increased by 25% in one quarter and to Women’s Aid by 43% . It was already extremely difficult for women to leave abusive relationships due to lack of supports and a housing crisis, but they had no escape in lockdown. “Services nationally are at breaking point. Refuges such as ADAPT in Limerick are at full capacity and must fundraise to maintain services. We protested that day for the 19 women SAFE Ireland says sought help for the first time, for the seven women turned away from refuges that day. What about their safety in the pandemic? Speaking on behalf of ROSA, former TD Ruth Coppinger, said it was incredible that of all the gatherings that caused public outrage during Covid, the state is choosing to use the Public Health Act to prosecute ROSA for highlighting a public health and safety issue for women. “No prosecutions were taken by Gardai under this law for Golfgate, an indoor event attended by the well-connected in society. Nor was any taken against far right covid deniers who marched without any health precautions. Dublin footballers who gathered for training have also been told there’ll be no prosecutions. Instead, the state is prosecuting women and young people who took part in stationary and socially distant standouts that were fully Covid19 compliant and on an essential issue of the huge spike in gender based violence. “When this legislation was introduced, it would clearly have been seen as designed to target dangerous, indoor or crowded events where public health was being flagrantly ignored, not a symbolic standout on gender violence. . “Two young people are also being fined for attending the standout at the Spire in Dublin under the non essential travel grounds. Ironically, they were two young men acting as covid safety stewards on the day. No other ‘event organiser’ charges have thus far been received for the larger protests in Dublin, Cork and Galway. “ROSA will mount a full challenge to these prosecutions. We will seek support, including financially, from the public. We call on the state to withdraw these charges. We also want answers from the political establishment as to why legislation designed to protect public health is being completely misapplied when clearly no threat to public health existed. “The government is maintaining this legislation til November. There has to be a constitutional right to protest, as long as it’s done safely. Are we stay hidden and silent on important issues throughout the pandemic?

The Limerick - Nenagh - Ballybrophy Railway is a vital piece of national rail infrastructure but it needs a more holistic approach to investment and upgrading in order to deliver a proper service that will attract passengers. Public transport throughout the Midwest region is not good enough. I would hope people throughout the Midwest and supporters of the rail network throughout Ireland would support our campaign. Our requests are not unreasonable, they are modest practical requests that would massively improve the services available on the line. Your support would be greatly appreciated.

This is important because it provides 3rd party cover for all private roadworthy vehicles helping those who are poor and younger people to avail of road legal transport. It also ensures that drivers of larger gas guzzler vehicles and those who use our roads most pay the most. In addition it removes the ability of insurance companies to charge extortionate prices for young people and levels the playing field for those with older cars and rural dwellers, who have inadequate access to public transport.

This is important because it provides 3rd cover for all private roadworthy vehicles, helping those who are financially disadvantaged and young people, to avail of road legal transport. It also ensures that drivers of larger gas guzzler vehicles and those who use our roads most, pay the most. In addition, it removes the ability of insurance companies to charge extortionate prices for young people and levels the playing field for those with older cars, rural dwellers and those who have inadequate access to public transport.

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 ,