OPEN LETTER: A call for more funding for walking and cycling is needed, but that call to date has lacked clarity on the quality needed and that is having practical effects. ... read full story / add a comment

This essay was written by Manuel Garcia, Jr under creative commons license and is republished here as it's message needs wider circulation.

Climate change action would kill imperialism, and that is why we can’t have it in America.

American political power is based on fossil fuels, and the US military is the engine that consumes those fuels to produce that power. So long as there is an American political elite that craves lucrative personal prestige and the ability to dominate internationally, the US economy will be fossil-fueled capitalism that maintains the military colossus that enables and protects those elite ambitions. ... read full story / add a comment

LOOK BACK IN ANGER THIS SUNDAY AND REMEMBER ALL THE DEAD OF WORLD WAR 1
Supported by:
Sinead Cusack Actor, Felim Egan Artist, Frank Mc Donald Journalist & Writer, Raymond Deane Composer, Stuart Dunne Actor & Artist, Sean Harrington Architect, Rev. Patrick Comerford President CND, Patricia Mc Kenna former MEP, Richard Boyd Barrett TD, Clare Daly TD, Aengus O Snodaigh TD, Brid Smith TD, Joan Collins TD, Eamonn McCann former MLA for PBP, Councillor Tina Mc Veigh, former Councillor Enda Fanning, Goretti Horgan Ulster University, Marcin Wojcik Lecturer DIT, Ms. Deirdre Judge and more.

The Irish Anti-War Movement will hold a dignified vigil at the entrance to the Irish National War Memorial in Island Bridge, Dublin on this Sunday morning 11 November from 10am to 11am.

This is to coincide with the World War 1 Armistice People’s Remembrance organised by the Royal British Legion that is taking place in the Memorial Garden from 10.45am.

Our vigil will remember all the dead of WW1 – Irish, British, German, Turkish, soldiers from the colonies etc. and the millions of civilians that died – and we will ask one simple question - What did they die for? This is the title of our pamphlet published four years ago at the centenary of the beginning of the war along with a statement signed by many prominent Irish people. We encourage people who attend to wear white poppies as a symbol of peace. ... read full story / add a comment

Ireland has just been identified as one of the most unequal countries in the EU regarding access to healthcare according to a joint report by TASC, FEPS and Trinity College.

“Without health and social measures that compensate for poor health, individuals are not able to fully participate in political and social life. The great importance of health is related to its value to all other life spheres. Not only do individuals have a right to health and well-being, but they also have manifold individual rights that are constrained in the case of poor health. From this perspective, health inequalities represent a particularly serious social injustice in modern societies” (‘Health Inequalities in Europe’) ... read full story / add a comment

An Anti-war rally will take place at the National Monument Grand Parade Cork at 11 am on Sunday 11th November 2018 ... read full story / add a comment

Thousands of children are in danger of huge disruption to their education because of the school building scandal. About 40 schools are due to be inspected because of concerns about serious structural defects.

Defects have already been found in a number of schools built by Western Building Systems. This company won a large amount of contracts from the Department of Education and was responsible for building many schools. ... read full story / add a comment

Over half a million households in rural Ireland are missing out on broadband because of a disastrous privatisation policy.

Up to 1999, the telephone network was run by a state company, Telecom Eireann. But the Fianna Fail government decided to copy Margaret Thatcher and sell it off. Ever since then, disaster has piled on disaster.

Instead of providing long term investment to install broad band, a series of private owners simply asset stripped the company, which had been re-named Eircom. ... read full story / add a comment

The new scheme to improve the Dublin Bus network called Bus Connects on close inspection is nothing of the sort. It is more akin to Bus Disconnects. The reports and PR from Bus Connects maintains it will be better and while the theoretical basis for it may be correct, it doesn't deliver because they plan to do it with the same number of buses. For some routes there will be a reduction in capacity by 25%. For example they claim a bus every 4 minutes on the main backbone A-Route but this figure is misleading because it is for the 4 A-routes. Since you are only likely to be on one of these, then that means the real peak frequency is every 15 or so minutes which is no different to the present. ... read full story / add a comment

GLOBAL INVITATION -First International Conference Against US/NATO Military Bases November 16-18, 2018, Dublin, Ireland Add Your Support and Join Us Dear Friends of Peace Around the World, We are deeply concerned, and frightened, by the threat of war that permeates the present Global atmosphere. The increasingly aggressive and expansionist actions of US/NATO forces in violation of international law and the sovereign rights of all nations, the raging wars in the Middle East, the burgeoning arms race devastating the national treasuries, the bellicose language replacing diplomatic negotiations, the economic difficulties facing country after country, and the destruction of global environment through war and unfettered exploitation, and their impact on public health, have all created crises that, unless checked by popular opposition, can lead to unimaginable catastrophe and war. ... read full story / add a comment

Indirect support to burning peat through a Public Service Obligation (PSO) levy to support electricity generation from three peat powered plants when co-fired with biomass has been challenged as it is leading to significant increases in greenhouse gas emissions and increasing the price of biomass to home users, forcing them to use more fossil fuels. ... read full story / add a comment

The National Transport Agency (NTA) wants to redesign all Dublin Bus routes. They promise a faster, more efficient bus service with more buses and better frequency for Dubliners. They also promise a more environmentally friendly transport system for the capital. If this was delivered it would mark a major step forward for life in the city. But the reality is not that simple. The plan hinges on 16 new radial bus corridors on the busiest routes – primarily linking outer suburbs with the city centre. At a future (non-defined) date, they also promise orbital routes to link the outer parts of the city together. ... read full story / add a comment

This is story is being reposted as it is considered to be of noteworthy interest to the issue of Brexit since it will probably have a significant impact on Ireland

Remainers claim that Brexit will be an economic apocalypse. But it provides the opportunity for a radical break with neoliberalism.

Nothing better reflects the muddled thinking of the mainstream European left than its stance on Brexit. Each week seems to produce a new chapter for the Brexit scare story: withdrawing from the EU will be an economic disaster for the UK; tens of thousands of jobs will be lost; human rights will be eviscerated; the principles of fair trials, free speech, and decent labour standards will all be compromised. In short, Brexit will transform Britain into a dystopia, a failed state ? or worse, an international pariah ? cut off from the civilized world. Against this backdrop it?s easy to see why Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn is often criticized for his unwillingness to adopt a pro-Remain agenda. ... read full story / add a comment

On May 25th we in Ireland finally get to vote to Repeal the hated 8th amendment. Here we present the 8 reasons WSM members are voting Yes to Repeal along with many of the articles we have published on the issue in recent months. ... read full story / add a comment

n response to Israel’s horrific massacre of some 60 unarmed Palestinians, and wounding of thousands, yesterday in Gaza, the Ireland-Palestine Solidarity Campaign (IPSC) has organised a series of protests around Ireland to take place today. Protests are expected to continue in Gaza, and casualties are expected to mount. ... read full story / add a comment

The Peace and Neutrality Alliance along with World Beyond War condemns unreservedly the overnight attacks carried out by Western powers on the Syrian Arab Republic.

The pretext for this offensive is that a chemical weapons attack has allegedly been carried out by the Syrian Government and that international law banning prohibiting chemical weapons must be upheld. Given that the bombing of a sovereign state is itself a violation of international law, we are being asked to believe that international law must be broken in order that it be upheld -- a manifest absurdity. ... read full story / add a comment

As the government is set to spend BILLIONS on signing us up to PESCO the Irish Ant-War Movement has decided to support the Housing Is A Human Right Day of Action on Sat 7th April 2018. If we can spend money on weapons we can provide affordable housing. ... read full story / add a comment

We are publishing this piece by PANA explaining what PESCO is about and how it means the loss of our neutrality. Unfortunately since then on Dec 7th the Dail voted by 75 to 42 to join PESCO.
Some key points are:
1) PESCO is a binding agreement because it says so. The government claims it is not. It is.
2) PESCO commits us to spending 2% of GDP on military spending by 2022. This is a figure of € 5.5 billion. We currently spend 1/10th of that on defense. This makes a mockery of "fiscal space"
3) PESCO in the event of crisis places under NATO's command. Therefore we are no longer neutral.
4) PESCO is the side door to Ireland joining a EU Army / NATO and would have us involved in "humanitarian" bombing and "peace making" -in other words imposing the demands of the corporate interests that rule above all else.
The Irish Government is considering joining PESCO. This will be one of the most important decisions this FG/Independeny Alliance will ever make. There needs at the very least a serious debate on the issue, and in any genuine debate form all sides in the corporate media. On the evidence so far this is highly improbable, as is their total lack of coverage of the use of Shannon Airport by US troops ... read full story / add a comment

Richard Boyd Barrett TD, has condemned the government with the support of Fianna Fail for tabling a Dail motion this Thursday for Ireland to join the EU PESCO agreement on advanced military and defence cooperation. ... read full story / add a comment

This week in the Oireachtas workers on insecure hour contracts became collateral damage in a cynical game of power play politics by the government. A disgraceful ploy to block the David Cullinane TD sponsored Banded Hours Contract Bill was concocted by raising a spurious money message mechanism which government conveniently uses to halt the progress of opposition bills that have a genuine chance of succeeding in the Dail. ... read full story / add a comment

Ireland has become the fourth European country to ban hydraulic fracturing (after France, Bulgaria and Germany). On June 28, the Petroleum and Other Minerals Development (Prohibition of Onshore Hydraulic Fracturing) Bill passed the final legislative stages in the Seanad.

The session included the committee, report, and final stages that took place in the Seanad chamber, where the gallery was full of supporters of the ban. It now requires only the signature of President Michael D. Higgins to become law. This is expected in the coming days. ... read full story / add a comment