The news is full of reports on illegal gatherings. However it’s clear that the only group being punished through the hastily approved enforcement powers under Health Protection (Coronavirus, Restrictions) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2020 are those standing up for racial justice. Eight race hate crimes are reported every day in Northern Ireland. Black Lives Matter protesters last month took a huge stand against racism, and now the PSNI is punishing them for it.

Nursing homes are not suitable places for young people to live an independent life. Jennifer Hynes is a 42 year old woman, forced to live in a nursing home in Ennis since April 2019 with no plan agreed to end it. Up to then Jennifer lived in her own house. Due to lack of HSE support she was moved into a nursing home. She passionately wants her forever home in Ennis. Her own LA house is still vacant as we write this petition.

Benefits include: — Allowing space for social distancing, giving shoppers and other visitors a higher level of safety. — Allowing for extra space for those who most need it and still need to get about. — Space for outdoor eating from cafes and pubs without cluttering footpaths. — More space for the already growing influx of shoppers and tourists. — The junction at the centre of town will likely flow better with traffic if it was just coming from two ways rather than the current three directions which causes congestion. — Only remove a relatively small number of parking spaces compared to the car parks on both sides of the street. — Have no effect on car parks at AIB Bank or Bank of Ireland or the taxi rank. Some people objecting to changes like this is normal around the world, but a small number of businesses and residents objecting to this should not be allowed to stall this as happens with so much else in Ballina, especially given the strong public health reasoning. When we’re over the current crisis and people don’t like it, it can be removed then. It is only around 140 metres of the street and the street is lined with car parks on both sides with access via laneways. More parking spaces for people who have disabilities or mobility issues can be provided at both ends of the street and near the pedestrian entrances in the car parks. Shot stay spaces can also be provided. The taxi rank outside AIB would not be changed. As other towns have shown, this can be done quickly and cheaply with a mix of planters and bollards. It does not require much funding but if the council requires funding, there is national funding available for post-lockdown mobility measures like this. This was not tried before (it was Tone Street) and for a trial to be meaningful it needs to be trialled for a month or two. In the first week or two traffic might increases as people get used to it, but that’s not a reason to pull the plug.

Remote learning is not a feasible long term substitute to in-school education. Re-opening of schools should be prioritised over the aviation and tourism industries.

Currently in Ireland if you need to have an MRI you can access one through the public health system. If you are unhappy with the length of time it takes then you can visit one of many private clinics or a private hospital where you can pay to access these services sooner. Unfortunately that is not the case for everyone. There are lots of people for whom a regular MRI would be extremely difficult, due to the length of time required to stay still, the small space, the noise, etc. Babies, young children and those with additional needs may need to be sedated for this to ensure the clearest imaging. Some cannot be sedated despite numerous traumatic attempts and for those people general aneasthetic is required. The issue is that this service is only available in Dublin and waiting lists are downright extreme. You cannot visit a clinic for an MRI under general aneasthetic, you cannot access this service privately in any capacity on the island of Ireland. If your loved one falls into this category you are stuck. There are families up and down the length and breathe of ireland who have tried to access it publicly, who have tried to access it privately. Who have emailed TD's, have called hospitals in other countries and spent nights awake wondering how dangerous it might be to bring their loved one to another country for medical attention during a pandemic. More dangerous than sitting at home waiting? Our health service is in such a dire situation right now that to list the many broken things that need fixing would have us here all day. This however is one small thing that we can do together, this is a hugely fixable issue and we strongly believe that if a little light is shone on it then a huge amount can be achieved.

After watching the RTÉ investigates special and watching the nursing staff of St. James’ Hospital fight COVID on a daily basis, it was harrowing to see just what our nursing staff went through and continue to do so. These nurses watched countless people die and treated them with the upmost respect on their passing even acting as their family members due to the COVID restrictions. Our nursing staff have gone above and beyond across the country to save lives. And as the restrictions are lifted, they continue to fight COVID in our hospitals. This is not over for them and they fear a second wave. Our responsibility as the public to say a small thank you to these amazing nurses is to lobby ever single TD in this country until we increase their wages. Enough is enough. These amazing women and men deserve so much more. This is the least we could do for them. Below is a sample email to send to your local TD

Update: OPW have released this. All gates bar Knockmaroon open from Friday July 10th. Knockmaroon will open when works completed. Truly hope lessons can be learned from this and all stakeholders are considered in future planning. Thank you all for your support!! https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=3500180506661143&id=132971523382075&anchor_composer=false Phoenix Park is a worldclass amenity to the people who live nearby, on day trips, and tourists alike. The decision to only have 2 gates open to vehicular traffic is seriously restricting access to the park. Traffic volumes are increasing now that we are coming out of lockdown. Congestion in the surrounding areas is already a huge issue. This will only increase with these access routes cut off without an alternative solution. It can now take up to an hour to get from one end of the park to the other ; particularly at weekends with increased demand for the Zoo, Farmleigh and the Visitor Centre. Engine emissions from cars sitting on Chesterfield Avenue must surely be offsetting any potential environmental gain. Parts of the Park will become no go areas due to their isolation. There are no plans for an increased OPW presence with the gate closures. This decision seems to have been rushed through with little forward thinking and engagement with local communities. Give the park back to the people and then work on alternatives to reduce car traffic.

As children return to school in Ireland, the risk of a second wave of COVID will grow. Most schooling means spending long hours, indoors, in close contact but it doesn't have to be that way. A way to minimise this risk, whilst benefiting from nature, is to teach outdoors as much as possible. This has already been done in previous pandemics and is now being tried in Denmark, USA and UK amongst other countries m as part of the covid response. There are many co-benefits to child well-being in spending more time outside, such as nurturing a closer connection to nature and fighting obesity. I am calling on the government to consider this as part of the return to school and to provide resources to schools to build suitable outdoor class shelters. See: https://childhoodbynature.com/the-case-for-learning-outside/

The Construction Workers Action Group agree that this decision will eventually affect all workers and not only construction sector. This is an attack on all worker rates of pay. Some of the reasons to fight back: 1. Bench mark rate of pay for Construction will be the Minimum Wage of 10.10 Euros. 2. Skilled workforce will exit sector to avoid further low pay conditions. 3. Low wages adds to the long list of employment issues in construction including bogus self-employment. 4. Housing will further contract and Sector will continue to slow down due to lack of skilled workforce. As the political establishment cobble together the most unpopular government ever formed in the state’s history. Workers’ rights were under attack, when a High Court ruling struck down the legislation that provides for Sectorial Employment orders (SEO). The workplace relations act (amended 2015), was instrumental in the provision of SEO's. (A SEO is the legal structure used to set the minimum rates and rights of workers, in any given sector of employment) The ruling signals the intent of a section of employers to undermine these orders, and demonstrates a clear lack of empathy with workers and the already inadequate pay and conditions existing within the sector. It is our intention to organise a defence of the pay and conditions outlined in the SEO and to see that the second instalment, (due on the 1st of October!), is honoured and implemented. And lobby for immediate improvement in our overall working conditions for all workers in construction. The state has the right to appeal this decision within 21 days of the court decision and Minister Varadkar has the responsibility to reverse this disaster decision, and should do so immediately. This petition is a first step towards those ends and we call on workers of all sectors to sign it and demand government appeal the decision and introduce all relevant mechanisms to ensure that the pay and conditions are protected. While the petition on its own will not be enough, we are preparing a series of protests and demonstrations to ensure both employers and the politicians who facilitate them, are under no illusion as to the depth of feeling among workers for this attack on workers’ rights. Other issues such as bogus Self-employment, reckless employment practices, illegal taxation behaviour of rogue contractors and agencies and other will also all be lobbied for, within any movement going forward. We invite you now to sign the petition for better workplace conditions for all workers including construction workers. Organise in your workplace, join your union and fight back against this attack on workers rates of pay and their employment rights and join other workers in other sectors for better employment. In Solidarity Construction Workers Action Group.

Airbnb is a a major factor on homelessness. As Airbnb is so unregulated many landlords are evicting tenants to turn their premises into nightly lets. This is causing the massive reduction of properties available in the private rental market. Therefore pushing up the cost of rents. The People of Ireland are living in hotels and B&Bs while the tourists are living in the houses. Until this sector is regulated and the rules enforced this will continue to happen. Covid 19 has highlighted this, we saw 1000s and 1000s of houses lying empty because travel restrictions. I am urging the Government to do someting about this once and for all.

This Global Public Benefit Manifesto for the Roscam Peninsula, if well executed, will lead to the preservation & restoration of the National Monument and preserve the surrounding pastoral landscape of this Bronze age settlement and create an iconic “Sustainable by Design” Culture, Heritage, Arts and Theatre experience embedded within a dramatic natural seaside parkland setting. This can be a cornerstone Galway 2020 Legacy Project to mark Galway's year as European City of Culture

The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) recently reviewed the latest scientific evidence on the use of face masks in the community. It reported that the use of face masks by people who are asymptomatic may help reduce the spread of infection in the community. This is done by minimising the excretion of respiratory droplets from infected individuals, who may not even know they are infected and before they develop symptoms.