The government plans to continue with direct provision in existence until the end of 2024. The government has not committed to ending the delays in the international protection process, that greatly exacerbate the impacts of the direct provision system. This failure has severe impacts on people's mental health and ability to integrate in the community. In order to address this ongoing harm, the government must identify suitable alternative modes of accommodation immediately and introduce new modes of accommodation in 2021. Further priorities that government needs to act on right now are identified in the Catherine Day Report (page 83). These actions can and should be done immediately. 1. Carry out vulnerability assessments for all people in the international protection process to identify and accommodate their special reception needs. A pilot program has commenced, but this will need to be heavily resourced to ensure that all people can be assessed, as Ireland has been obliged to do since 2018. 2. The allowances currently paid to people in direct provision should be increased from January 2021 and regularly reviewed in line with the cost of living. (4.12) – This has not been done. 3. The right to work should be made available after 3 months. (5.1) – This has been reduced to 6 months, not 3 months. It should be reduced to 3 months or 0 months without delay. 4. Applicants should be entitled to apply for driving tests and licenses as soon as they have made an application for protection. (5.2) - This has not been done yet. Government has committed to implementing this by summer 2021 in the White Paper. 5. Applicants should have the right to access higher education on the same basis and at the same fees as Irish people, once they meet the qualifying criteria (5.5). Access to education has been expanded but not to this extent; education is a human right, delay is not acceptable. 6. To clear the backlog of current cases a one-off case-processing approach should be introduced for all applications which have been more than two years in the system (6.7). This has not been done and there has been no commitment by the Department of Justice to do so. This priority – the case processing system – is a crucial action that needs immediate implementation by the Department of Justice. The delays in the international protection process have worsened due to the impact of Covid-19, because international protection interviews and Tribunals were paused for many months. People have been left waiting sometimes for over one year for a decision even after their interview. This has a negative effect on people's mental health, ability to integrate in the community and delays the possibility of their family members joining them. As well as the once-off case processing approach for all applications which have been more than two years in the system, the government must act to ensure that interviews take place and decisions issue within specific lengths of time. The Minister for Justice must ensure that the International Protection Office has the resources, staff IT equipment to deliver this even in challenging situations such as Covid-19. Minister Roderic O’ Gorman has called the timeline of the end of 2024 ambitious. Calling this ambitious is a disgrace. We know that our government can act quickly in the common interest when it has needed to since the start of COVID-19. We’ve had 21 years of people in Ireland living in direct provision and the harm that this does to people and to our communities. The government must act now identify suitable alternative modes of accommodation immediately, while also taking immediate actions to fully implement the priorities identified in the Catherine Day Report, and introduce new modes of accommodation in 2021.

The Pipers, and particularly their historic caravan, have been valued and iconic members of Kinsale's community for generations. They are now being assaulted by a small faction developers, and a town council which appears to have little concern for protecting Kinsale's rich history, culture, and community. We are calling on the Kinsale Town Council to immediately return Pipers beautiful caravan to its historic location, and to cease all eviction attempts in the future.

Last week, the Irish Government published a report on children’s rights and best interests in the context of assisted human reproduction, written by the Special Rapporteur for Child Protection, Professor Conor O’ Mahony. If adopted, the recommendations contained in this report would address numerous legislative gaps that prevent children conceived through AHR, from having a legal parent-child relationship with both the parents, who love and care for them on a daily basis. Equality for Children are calling on the Government and Minister for Health, Stephen Donnelly to immediately adopt and implement the recommendations made in this report. We urge you to sign our petition in order to push the Irish government to take the actions our children need! More information about the report: The report by Professor O’Mahony provides clear, practical solutions, which uphold the rights and best interests of children including their right to family life, identity and non-discrimination. The report recognises the reality of AHR treatment, which can often involve needing to access services abroad. The report also highlights the need for legislation to address the real-life circumstances of individual children including those already born, so they can establish a legal parental relationship to the parents who love and care for them daily. It highlights the need to provide comprehensive legislation to cover areas such as; altruistic surrogacy in Ireland, the recognition of the rights of children born through international surrogacy, and crucially addressing the gaps in both the Children and Family Relationships Act 2015 and the drafted Assisted Human Reproduction Bill by including children already born through surrogacy, children conceived using a known donor and children conceived outside of clinical settings. The report acknowledges the distress caused to children born through assisted human reproduction and their families due to the absence of appropriate legislation “Children have been left in vulnerable legal positions for lengthy periods of time due to the failure of the Oireachtas to legislate to address their status.” Ranae von Meding, CEO of Equality for Children says, “Last week’s launch represents another crucial step forward in our campaign. By adopting all of the recommendations in Professor O’ Mahony’s report, thousands of children in Ireland will finally be able to have a legal parent-child relationship with both of their parents, something that has been denied to them to date. This includes children born to gay dads through surrogacy, children conceived using known donors and those conceived outside of clinical settings left behind in the Children and Family Relationships Act, 2015”. “Significantly, the report recognises the uneven impact the CFRA has had on children conceived outside of clinical settings and born to LGBT+ parents who cannot rely on the presumption of paternity/maternity as male-female couples can. This very principle has been a significant pillar of our campaign at Equality for Children, as it has effectively resulted in children of LGBT+ parents being discriminated against based on the sexual orientation of their parents.” “We urge the Government to act swiftly and adopt all of these recommendations into legislation governing assisted human reproduction. It is almost 6 years since our country voted for marriage equality. We are still waiting for the legislation that will allow the children of LGBT+ parents to be treated equally." “As it stands currently , in the vast majority of LGBT+ families, only one parent can be a legal parent. This must change. It’s not equal and it’s not what we voted for.”

For Ballyhaunis and its community to progress we need our local Bank of Ireland branch operational; to be an open and fully functioning Bank. The Ballyhaunis Community have built and maintained this Bank over the last Century and are dependent on it for its future growth which is crucial to the economic future of the region. We now call on the Minister for Finance Paschal Donohoe to now use his influence to have this decision reversed. We need your help please sign our petition, spread the word on social media and anywhere we can get support. How it will be delivered The petition will be delivered directly to the Minister for Finance, Paschal Donohoe TD and by post to the CEO and Board of Bank of Ireland.

Every year thousands of Wild Atlantic Salmon are netted and killed in Castlemaine Harbour by Legal State Regulated nets. With Atlantic Salmon at critical levels and to legally license nets to kill our Native Salmon is beyond unacceptable. Castlemaine Harbour is an SAC which means Atlantic Salmon are a qualifying interest. Nets operate all over the Harbour, some are licensed to operate in Cromane, others in the mouths of very important rivers like the Laune and the Maine. The Behy river, Caragh River and the Emalgh river are all affected by nets operating in Cromane. Inland Fisheries Ireland, the state body in charge of protecting our Salmon in Ireland, authorise a mixed stock fishery in Castlemaine Harbour. In 2019 the number of salmon netted in the river Laune was 1,539 and in Cromane it was 549. There is reason to believe that many more Salmon are caught illegally also by not being tagged when caught in nets. Inland Fisheries Ireland admit that Salmon numbers are decreasing every year so why allow these nets to continue killing Salmon year in and year out. We put alot of pressure on this issue last year and it will be the same this year. Its an environmental disaster and our government is at fault. They are the ones leasing the nets so they can continue to destroy our beautiful rivers. This practice is not only continued in Castlemaine Harbour but continues all over Ireland. We want to concentrate first on Castlemaine because we believe that the Maine river is under serious stress and the figures collected by the Inland Fisheries Ireland are falsified to keep the fishery open. I wont be going nowhere, netting starts in May and we start now, get sharing and signing. Tight lines. Daniel

Provides a safe route to schools. Provides a shorter, more convenient route to Bray Seafront Joins up green amenities

Wormers will become available only with a vet prescription in January 2022. Ireland needs to adopt a special EU clause which will allow local merchants and pharmacists to prescribe these essential and frequently required vet medicines. The Minister’s plans will increase costs dramatically and damage horse welfare.

The rights of autistic people have been gravely breached. The Department of Education and the Department of Health have conspired to share and indulge in private information of 48 autistic people in order to create barriers for them to obtain essential services. This stands in clear violation with our rights under the UNCRPD or the protection of those seeking justice under the Equal Status Act, 2000.

What if we made Greystones & Delgany greener, healthier and wilder? What if we were the first region in Ireland to create biosecurity by 2026? We can all be part of a legacy we can be proud of: handing over to our children and future generations an area that is climate-resilient and supports our wildlife to live alongside us. Please support this petition and we will bring it to the Government and Wicklow County Council to transform Greystones & Delgany (and North Wicklow). Greystones & Delgany are currently undergoing a frenzy of development, with new housing estates approved and planted in every available field left. Not only is the infrastructure (roads, public transport links, schools, healthcare, etc.) not keeping up, but nature is taking a huge hit. So what if the answer to overdevelopment was to create a Community Nature Reserve – a gift to current and future generations? Following 2 years of research by Eoin Llewellyn here are key realistic projects that can be implemented to rehabilitate nature. • Expand the Glen of the Downs on both sides of the Three-Trout stream with permanent native forest. • Return Kindlestown Forest to permanent native woodland (under the Government's new Project Woodland and/or Coillte's Millenium Forests programme) as each Sitka spruce plot is harvested, and link it to the Glen of the Downs SAC (Special Area of Conservation). • Relist and protect the Bronze Age hillforts of Coolagad (Kindlestown) and Downshill, ahead of the millennial anniversary of the Battle of Delgany 1022. (see Yasmin Fortune's research on www.glenodownsheritage.com) • Create 20-meter wide riparian ways and a nature reserve along the full course of the Three-Trout Stream, with green link path for people to walk and/or cycle to school and work. (see Eoin Llewellyn's research https://www.mywildireland.ie/projects/ • Add chestnut fencing and a raised boardwalk on South Beach to protect coastal flora and dune grasses from collapse, plus nature signage indicating plants and insects present. • Create a coastal nature reserve on 2 fields east of the railway line above the North Beach, thus extending Bray Head SAC (Special Area of Conservation) into Greystones. If this Nature Reserve was to see the light of day, Greystones & Delgany would become the first biosecure area in Ireland by 2026! At a time when successive lockdowns have highlighted the dire need for green spaces near urban centers, Greystones & Delgany could become a flagship example of a town living in harmony with nature, and a template to be replicated across the county and country. As the next County Development Plan is being drafted, let's change the story of Greystones & Delgany - from a town besieged by suburban sprawl, to a place where a greener, healthier and wilder future is possible. See - https://www.mywildireland.ie/projects/

Annacotty weir is located in the lower reaches of the River Mulkear, Co Limerick. This is part of the Lower River Shannon Special Area of Conservation (SAC). This is a relatively minor weir - but it causes a major fish passage problem. The weir has no purpose. It is an ornamental weir that was installed as part of an Office of Public Works (OPW) flood scheme. The main species affected are River Lampreys and Sea Lampreys which are both Qualifying Interests of this Natura 2000 river. But it’s not just lampreys that are affected – the upstream migration of Atlantic Salmon is also delayed by this weir, and under certain medium flows salmon have great difficulty passing this obstacle. Some salmon never get past, and all are stressed and waste valuable energy trying to scale this difficult barrier. Furthermore this weir blocks the migration of the critically endangered European eel. I want the OPW, Inland Fisheries Ireland, and Limerick City and County Council to engage with both myself and other interested and committed people who want to remove this fish migration barrier. The problems at this site have been highlighted for many years yet nothing effective has been done. Measures taken by the Mulkear LIFE project at this site did not work. There is widespread support for effective action to be taken to finally address the fish passage issues at Annacotty weir. It is now time for the above government agencies to do what they regularly claim to do - which is to engage with volunteers like myself working on local environmental projects to bring waterbodies back to ‘Good Status’, and Annex II species in Natura 2000 rivers back to Favorable Conservation Status’. I also again commit to work on a pro bono basis to input into the design of a solution for this site, and prepare the required ecological assessments to support the necessary planning application and Appropriate Assessment. If we can’t address the fish passage issues at this relatively minor weir then how will be ever able to address the major issues on the main River Shannon caused by the ESB dams. Having lampreys confined to the lower reaches of this major catchment makes them vulnerable to impacts such as declining water quality. Lampreys are also blocked on the main River Shannon by the ESB dams so are very confined in this catchment. Salmon are also affected by this weir and are at unfavorable status in this catchment. We have to all we can to help the critically endangered Eel. Annacotty weir needs to be removed - or lowered with a rock ramp fish pass installed. This would restore fish migration in this large tributary of the Lower River Shannon. This action is required under both the EU Habitats and Water Framework Directives.

In early 2020 Monaghan County Council passed a motion to address the use of pesticides and to allow low/no mow in some areas for the protection of pollinators and other biodiversity. When we then went into lockdown, council services were put on hold and there was a lot of spring growth that wasn't being managed in any way, which led to complaints from the public about messiness and overgrowth. As a result, the motion was reversed. The timing was unfortunate, as areas can be managed for beneficial wildness without becoming too messy and they can be very beautiful too! OUR ASK We are asking for Monaghan County Council to set an example and put some proper guidelines and policies in place before we do too much damage to our outer and inner ecosystems. DAMAGING OUR ENVIRONMENT – OUTER ECOSYSTEM The use of pesticides and herbicides is causing huge losses in our local biodiversity. Reduced biodiversity means humans will face a future where (1) our food supply will be more prone to failure (because no pollinators) and more vulnerable to pests and diseases (because we have messed with the natural food chains in delicately balanced ecosystems), and (2) where our water supply has been compromised. There have been a number of articles published recently about exceedances of pesticides in national and local water supplies and there is an appeal to the public to consider alternatives for gardening, farming and maintenance of sports grounds. DAMAGING OUR BODIES – INNER ECOSYSTEM Human exposure starts in the womb when pregnant women share their body’s chemical accumulation across the placenta, where it becomes part of a developing baby’s first environment. This exposure continues throughout childhood when the fast-growing bodies of children take in more food, water and air than adults. A child’s biological systems are developing rapidly and can be disrupted by micro-doses of toxins during this period. The levels of pesticides and other chemicals in adults reflects each person’s unique accumulation and storage of chemicals over their lifetime. Just as children are particularly susceptible to chemical harm in the first years of life, our final decades also represent a window of increased vulnerability. The history of exposure that comes with age means our body's chemical burden may be at its peak just as our biological systems gradually begin to weaken and slow. **We can do something about this – we can stop using pesticides and herbicides** [Photograph of County Monaghan wildflowers by Fearghal Duffy, for more beautiful photos of local biodiversity follow him on Twitter at @FearghaRua]

This is extremely important as many people are left to suffer on long waiting lists or are forced to pay privately for services. Covid 19 has also had a negative effect on accessing these services and as a result investment is vitally required to keep these services running and develop them further, so they are accessible for all. For those who are unable to pay for services privately or are not able to travel for services ,accessing neurological services becomes extremely inequitable and this is something that needs to change.