Issues: 1. Capacity • Since a network of 12 hospital Research Ethics Committees (REC) was established around the turn of the century, the number of health research applications has dramatically increased – without a corresponding increase in REC capacity to assess these applications. 2. Uncertainty • It is now the case that many RECs can no longer guarantee a timeline for review/approval – even where submissions are made by deadline, which creates uncertainty for trial/study planning. • Any uncertainty in the Irish health research environment makes Ireland a less attractive location for opening clinical trials and undertaking health research. • Consistency: Different RECs may respond to the same application in different ways, or place different demands on researchers. • REC efforts to standardise application forms between 2010-2015 appear to have faltered with the introduction of GDPR and the Health Research Regulations. 3. Drug vs. non-drug studies • While drug trials (interventional trials) only need approval from a single REC to open a study at any sites, non-interventional studies (translational - TM) must submit a separate application for every single site. 4. Research guidance • There is no central location where guidance can be sought on how to progress research. Clear and consistent direction on e.g. patient consent is required to navigate an evolving research environment. In summary: • Reduce the burden on researchers • Standardise ethics reviews, which are paramount for guarding patient safety • Streamline approval and guidance Note: This petition was created by Cancer Trials Ireland as one element of the organisation’s Just Ask 2020 campaign to raise public awareness of clinical trials and issues relating to clinical trials. The Just Ask 2020 campaign is supported by unrestricted grants from Pfizer Healthcare Ireland; Novartis; AbbVie; MSD; Roche; Bayer.

I don't own a house, I can't afford to buy in this area. I'm a native Irish speaker who wishes to live in the Gaeltacht. As an OAP, I cannot get a bank loan or a mortgage to enable me to buy an overpriced house in Corca Dhuibhne

In Ireland , all of the basic or advanced trainings, Cross contamination, Blood borne pathogens , Sterility, Infection control bearly gets an hour of teaching with no exam at the end. Through lack of knowledge Hepatitis A, B or C, or HIV can be contracted if the practitioner has not followed a minimum training/teaching with exams plus annual tests to ensure practices do not slip. To date, no such regulation is in place, leaving the general public exposed to a viral/bacterial infection unwittingly along with their treatment. What makes this right? Olive, a Registered Nurse and Midwife with over 30 yrs experience wants to ensure public safety, and due diligence to the industry . Please help by signing the petition below , and ensure Mr Blogs dosent enter a treatment clinic for one thing and leave with much more. Kind regards Olive

It is important for this to happen, because there are students in both Third Level and Future Education Colleges who are being looked down upon and made feel ashamed and embarrassed because of their mental health and the majority of us Students are being kicked out of their college for having a Mental Health Illness. You can't just stick a plaster over a Mental Health Illness, it's not the same as a broken arm or leg; were it it will heal in approximately 6 weeks. I think both students and teachers should be taught about Mental Health so they can understand it more and know exactly how to help someone with Mental Health; mental health isn't just an illness; it affects everyone differently and the majority of mental health goes unnoticed due to it been invisible. 1 in 5 people have Mental Illness, 5 in 5 people have Mental Health We want you Simon Harris to join us Students in stopping this Stigma of Mental Health in college, especially now in these difficult times.

The Endometriosis Association of Ireland (EAI) has quoted the waiting time for diagnosis as being up to nine years – longer than the seven-and-a-half years reported in the UK. Endometriosis affects can cause debilitating pain, heavy periods, painful sex, painful bowl and bladder movements, fatigue and infertility. The UK is finally starting to address this horrific condition and following an MP inquiry in the UK, the majority of people have shared stories of how their mental health, education and careers had been damaged by the condition. More than 10,000 people took part in the All-Party Political Group inquiry which found that 58% of people visited the GP more than 10 times before diagnosis and 53% went to A&E with symptoms before diagnosis. The majority of people also told MPs their mental health, education and careers had been damaged by the condition. About 90% said they would have liked access to psychological support but were never offered it, with 35% having a reduced income due to endometriosis. In survey of 13,500 women it found that half of them reported being addicted to painkillers and having suicidal thoughts. Due to a "gender pain gap" women's symptoms are often belittled by doctors, despite numerous visits to A&E, local GPs and specialists. Pain is notoriously hard to describe and pinpoint. But for women, the work is doubly arduous. We have to learn to advocate for ourselves and one another. But we need doctors and health professionals to meet us in the middle, believe our testimonies and help us over the line to diagnosis and treatment. With no cure for the condition and limited treatment including hormone therapy and surgery. It's time to call on the Government to establish a working group to address the long waiting times for diagnosis, treatment of the condition and the major psychological damage it has on the women who suffer from it. Endometriosis care across Ireland needs urgent improvement and diagnosis times need to be cut in half. We can't carry on like this, one in ten could means one day it could be you, your sister, girlfriend or friend suffering from this debilitating condition. *(Although endometriosis is most commonly referred to as a female disease. Endometriosis may also impact Trans/Cis Males. There are documented cases of cis men (someone who identifies with the sex they were assigned at birth) who present with endometriosis of the prostate that is typically discovered when their body is introduced to estrogenic effects. There is also population of trans men (and trans women) who face living with endometriosis everyday whose experience with the disease goes un-researched) Additional Resources: Endometriosis Association of Ireland: https://www.endometriosis.ie/?gclid=CjwKCAjw_sn8BRBrEiwAnUGJDou2wgRqMbtuQ0nzBYwM0L8x9Dy_r69srSPgkoOX4hhnEdtIT37GDxoCkyMQAvD_BwE Endometriosis care needs urgent improvement, MPs say: https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-54513072 Endometriosis showed me we need better ways to talk about women's pain: https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2020/oct/22/endometriosis-women-pain-diagnosis-report-mps?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other 'A lot of doctors fail to recognise it': Calls for government to review treatment of endometriosis': https://www.thejournal.ie/endometriosis-working-group-4840562-Oct2019/ Additional 'Endometriosis and Being a Trans Person: Beyond Gendered Reproductive Health' http://www.hormonesmatter.com/endometriosis-transgender-beyond-gendered-reproductive-health/

Since the start of 2018, no new patients have been seen in the Northern Ireland adult gender identity clinic. There are now over 400 on the waiting list, some of whom have been on this list for over 4 years. While a review of these services was commissioned late last year, progress has been slow, and the Department and HSCB have been unwilling to meaningfully include and consult with trans communities. As a result, the majority of trans people in Northern Ireland who are currently accessing gender affirming care are doing so through private services, including those in England and further afield, or through self-medication. Those who self-medicate have been doing so to reduce the harm that is being done to them by the failure of statutory services to provide support and care while this review is ongoing and in the two years before it was commissioned. There is a mental health crisis in trans communities; while trans-led support groups and advocacy organisations are doing our best to support our communities, these groups are chronically under-funded and under-staffed. There is an urgent need for statutory services to step up and provide support to trans communities who have waited years for action.

For the first time the Irish people can see for themselves the callousness with which the Irish State has treated Women and Children & survivors who came through Mother and Baby Homes, Baby Homes, industrial schools who are denied access to their own testimony, files and records - this needs to stop.

Imagine being in permanent lockdown. This is the reality for thousands of children and adults with disabilities who are restricted in where they can go and what they can do because they will not find a toilet with the equipment they need. They often have to go through the indignity of being changed on the floor of a public toilet or stay isolated from their communities at home. Imagine not being able to find a toilet when you need to. Changing Places Toilet Facilities are different from standard accessible toilets. They provide extra equipment like a hoist and an adult sized changing bench. In Ireland there are only 15 Changing Places Toilet Facilities. There are over 1500 in England and new legislation will make Changing Places Toilets mandatory in new public buildings from 2021. In Northern Ireland there are approximately 40 and the NI Assembly is now following England and has committed to amending their building regulations. The Irish Government should follow the example of England and change Irish building regulations to ensure Changing Places Toilet Facilities are mandatory in public buildings. Without Changing Places Toilet Facilities available throughout the country people with disabilities are denied a basic human right and continue to be excluded from everyday life. #WeAllGottaGo

Government guidelines regarding Covid Level 5 and Essential Retail Outlets clearly state "markets that, wholly or principally, offer food for sale" can open for business. However, Dun Laoghaire Rathdown County Council has announced the closure of Dun Laoghaire People's Market and Marlay Park Market. This action will deprive traders of much needed income in what is traditionally their busiest time of the year. Furthermore, it will deprive consumers who look to these markets as their location of choice for the weekly purchase of organic & artisan produce.

Libraries can safely operate a click and collect service while maintaining adhering to the current guidelines. Under Level 5 , retailers which can provide a click and collect service to customers are allowed to continue to operate, this shows lack of consistency in Government policy. Public libraries provide an essential service to local communities. While we acknowledge that online services such as audio and ebook rentals are offered under Level 5, these services should not be considered equivalent to library book rental.

Imagine not being able to find a toilet when you need to. This is the reality for thousands of children and adults with disabilities who are restricted in where they can go and what they can do because they will not find a toilet with the equipment they need. They often have to go through the indignity of being changed on the floor of a public toilet or stay isolated from their communities at home. Changing Places Toilet Facilities are different from standard accessible toilets. They provide extra equipment like a hoist and an adult sized changing bench. There are only 15 Changing Places Toilets in Ireland compared to over 40 in Northern Ireland. Without Changing Places Toilet Facilities available throughout the country people with disabilities are denied a basic human right and continue to be excluded from everyday life.

This is important to save life’s and make sure this COVID 19 stop spreading rapidly.