Many people are struggling to find suitable accommodation with their pets and some are even forced to give up their much loved pets. Let's do what the French do. Allow our cats and dogs etc. to live with us.

Unregulated private consultants or 'experts' are routinely used in the Family Law Courts to determine if children should be forced to be 'reconciled' with a parent (usually a father) without any consideration of the children's wishes or reports of evidence of abuse and violence in the home.  Because of the 'in camera' rule there is no exposure of this widespread practice, no data, no oversight or accountability and if women and children speak about what is happening they can be criminalised for breaking the 'in camera' rule.  Very recently a woman's young children were taken without warning from their school in the company of Gardai. They were removed from the care of their mother and the only home they have ever known and forced to live in their father’s house. They are not allowed to see or speak to their mother.  The children have told their teachers, doctor and the social workers what they want and why but the court won’t listen and says they can’t have a voice - on the recommendation of a so called unregulated 'family expert witness'. The 2015 Child and Family Relationship Act says that all children have a right to be heard in matters concerning their lives and should be involved in decisions made about them. The children’s father has continued to exert power and control through post-separation abuse. The greatest way to hurt her is by taking the children away from her, aided by unregulated experts in the family law courts who are silencing victims of domestic violence and their children. We hear from many mothers who are victims of domestic and sexual violence, that in the family courts, when it comes to guardianship, custody and access hearings, domestic abuse survivors are not being heard or prioritised. Many of the reports are very similar to the story outlined above.  The reasons offered for these forced separation/reconciliation decisions by 'family court experts' are unreliable. Their arguments draw on concepts that are unscientific and discredited ie. parental alienation.  To stop this 'in plain sight' abuse of children and women who are survivors of violence - scrutiny of the decisions being made in Family Law Courts is urgently needed. Unregulated experts have to be investigated and their decisions published and reviewed. Mandatory training and education, accreditation and accountability for all professionals is desperately needed for all professionals working in the Family Courts. There must be independent monitoring and oversight.  Children should have the right to live free from fear. Our children should never be subjected to forced removal from their home and family and silenced by so called unregulated 'experts'. Children’s views, voice and wishes, their feelings and human rights should be paramount in all decisions by the court regarding contact arrangements.

On the 9th of March, a motion to ban the building of further data centres in the constituency was put forward by Cllr Madeleine Johansson of People Before Profit and passed with the support of Sinn Fein, Social Democrats and several independent councillors. There are several reasons councillors voted to ban further Data centres in the region: Ireland currently holds 25% of Erops Data centres and South Dublin is quickly becoming the Data centre hub of Ireland with TikTok set to build one of the biggest Data Centres in Europe in Clondalkin which would use up the same amount of energy in one day then the whole of Clondalkin in three months. It is estimated that 10% of Ireland’s electricity use is currently consumed by data centres and this is expected to increase to 25-30% by 2030. Data centres consume an average of 2% of electricity globally. The continued building of new data centres is incompatible with any hope we have of reaching our climate targets in CO2 reductions. It is clear from EirGrid’s initial statement in late 2021 that the grid in Dublin is struggling to cope, something more data centres would put a further strain on. In addition to the large amount of energy used by data centres they also consume large amounts of water, again adding pressure on the capacity of water services in South Dublin where we are seeing large new housing developments. Despite the motion passing however, there is now an attempt to overturn this decision. Councillors will vote again on this on the 21st June when it will be either included in the plan or removed. After that it will be sent to the Minister for Local Government Darragh O'Brien. We need the Minister and the government to support the democratic vote of local councillors and keep the ban in place. Please sign the petition.

Dublin Airport is the main airport in Ireland. We need to be able to rely on the service for work and pleasure.

Whistleblowers expose workplace wrongdoing that impacts on other workers, services to the public and public finances. Failing to listen costs us much more. Victimising whistleblowers has a negative effect on society as well as punishing people of integrity.

The Defective Concrete Block crisis is now affecting at least 12 counties across the country: Donegal, Sligo, Mayo, Clare, Limerick, Tipperary, Louth, Meath, Dublin, Kildare, Carlow and Wexford. The crisis has seen thousands of homes, businesses and public buildings crumble, due to decades of State failure to enforce Building Control and Concrete Product Regulations, a system that continues today. For over 10 years, affected families and communities have endured Government inaction, a failed and inaccessible original Scheme and a standard (IS 465) to assess homes that is not fit for purpose nor science-led. Tens of thousands of homeowners have protested on two occasions in Dublin, are at financial and psychological breaking-point and they need your help. Minister for Housing, Darragh O’Brien, has announced his intention to rush the Defective Concrete Blocks Bill through the legislative process and bypass the important step of pre-legislative scrutiny by the Housing Committee. This is against the wishes of the victims of this crisis and concerns expressed by both Scientists and the Insurance industry. The leading expert on concrete, Dr. Andreas Leemann, has described the Department of Housing’s proposed minor remediation options as ‘playing with fire’, whilst some homeowners have already been advised by insurance companies they will not be eligible for home insurance cover following remediation on the Scheme. But, the Government is ignoring these important warnings. Victims want pre-legislative scrutiny of this important Bill to ensure the Scheme works this time and is: o Accessible and provides the ‘Full Redress’ promised by Minister Darragh O’Brien o Includes all homeowners in all affected counties o Based on science and provides effective and durable remediation options Pre-legislative scrutiny of the Defective Concrete Blocks Bill would allow Housing Committee member TDs and Senators, from both Government and Opposition, to conduct a detailed examination of the Bill and, most importantly, to invite experts and stakeholders to provide their inputs. This will ensure the Government Gets it Right this Time and that families can move on with their lives. Without pre-legislative scrutiny, the new Scheme will be another failure and families will remain in crisis. Please sign this petition to let all TDs and Senators know you support our demand for Pre-legislative Scrutiny of the Defective Concrete Blocks Bill.

Facial Recognition Technology and others forms of biometrics surveillance are needlessly intrusive and invasive. Law enforcement use this technology to track and identify people wherever they go, be it online or in public spaces. It can quieten protest, or be used to harrass and target minority communities. This is an overreach of Garda power, and it's not clear why the Gardaí should require the use of such invasive practices. An Garda Siochána have already shown they cannot be trusted to maintain good data protection standards, why would we trust them with our faces? [1] https://www.iccl.ie/digital-data/garda-use-of-facial-recognition-technology-poses-extreme-risk-to-human-rights/

The local community in Inchicore have used the public library for generations since 1937. Now the Art Deco library needs refurbishment and a wheelchair access ramp built. The architects plan has been drawn up by DCC, but the tender has not been reissued after Covid. There may be alternative plans to convert the historic building into a tourist attraction - a possible social history museum, similar to EPIC. The library keys were handed over by the librarian to the DCC Dept of Property Development and Planning in January 2022. No one in the local community has been consulted about this. The local community are worried that they will lose access to this valuable community space. We are asking DCC to work with the local community on the future of the library, maintaining community access. The building has been empty for 3 years and is unheated. Refurbishment works are urgently needed due to the wet weather. The wheelchair access ramp has been fully designed - the tender just needs to be reissued by DCC.

Around 100 residents in the Shannon Arms on Henry Street are currently facing mass evictions from several landlords, most notably, Supermacs owner and multimillionaire, Mr. Pat McDonagh. Some of the other landlords have a history of mass evictions from the properties they control. Tenants have come together as part of CATU Ireland (www.catuireland.org) to resist these evictions. Some evictions have already occurred at the Shannon Arms complex, with further evictions taking place at the end of May - let's show Pat McDonagh that the public support the tenants by signing this petition! Though these evictions have been raised in the Dáil, and with other relevant bodies including the local council, there has been no tangible intervention to help the tenants, some of whom are young families and people with disabilities. The looming threat of these evictions have deeply damaged both the mental and physical health of a number of tenants, which has led to some residents being hospitalised. Due to the extremity of the housing crisis, and the lack of housing available within the city, there are scant options available for the tenants if they are to be evicted at the end of the month. We are calling on Pat McDonagh, and the other landlords who oversee the buildings to revoke these eviction notices and let the Shannon Arms residents remain in their homes.

Long-distance journeys cause unnecessary suffering to animals. They can become exhausted, sick and injured, hungry, dehydrated and stressed, having to cope with high temperatures and humidity and extensive periods in cramped, filthy conditions, sometimes with little or no food and water.  Every year thousands of young bulls are exported to countries outside the EU including Turkey, Libya, Lebanon and Morocco. As if that wasn’t bad enough this year new markets have been sought and shipments have gone to Jordan and Egypt. A trade deal with Israel has also been ageed for cattle and sheep.  THIS IS GOING IN THE WRONG DIRECTION!  These are all countries with no or minimal animal welfare regulations in place and appalling standards, particularly at slaughter. These bulls are subjected to unimaginable suffering, crammed into hot, filthy vessels for up to two weeks, usually just to be slaughtered in a brutal manner shortly after arrival at their destination.  Slaughter methods in these destination countries include slashing tendons, stabbing in the eyes, being strung up by a rear leg, multiple slashes at the throat, being hit over the head with poles, all whilst fulling conscious and in front of other animals. The slaughterhouse workers have a lack of education, and training, lack of facilities, there is no vet present and there is little in the way of legislation. Street slaughter is common.  We are calling for the Minister to ban export to all countries outside the EU that do not share our welfare standards, both in documented legislation and in practice.  You can find out more about the industry here: https://www.ethicalfarmingireland.com/live-export/

New Look staff in Strabane, some with over twenty years service, are being forced into redundancy by a senseless Lidl relocation from Bradley Way to Strabane Retail Park. It will bring ten new jobs but will cost up to sixty job losses. Strabane is an area of high social and economic deprivation and these potential job losses will be a disaster for a town with historically high unemployment. Four retail units will close to facilitate this Lidl development and relocation (New Look, Menarys, Peacocks, Argos). Strabane Workers Together are highlighting this redundancy injustice and are calling on all four aforementioned employers to relocate within Strabane.

Family Carers save the government thousands of Euro per year and should be recognised more for their 24 hour work