Some Dos and Don'ts for everyone on the eve of #ChineseNewYear or more accurately #LunarNewYear!
Happy New Year folks x
[#]newyear #happynewyear #newyeareve
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Do you have a Trinity Seanad vote? See who your fellow heads are voting for! And put your ballot into the postbox tonight or latest tomorrow or drop it into Trinity (Academic Registry Office). It needs to be there by this Wednesday 29th at 11am!
[#]Seanad #Seanad2025 #irpol #WomenInPolitics
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The absolute scenes at the Dáil today is something that doesn't need to be repeated again. But those gaining from being in Government can't say they're not part of Government.
(Video credit: Irish Times and Oireachtas TV)
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Despite the Ceasefire in Gaza, Palestine is still very much occupied and Palestinians under attack.
We need to stand with Palestine, pass the Occupied Territories Bill!
[#]palestine #ireland #gaza #westbank
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If you're a Trinity or DIT (pre 1998 grad) & you haven't got your ballot yet for the Seanad election, contact academic.registry@tcd.ie to get your ballot reissued. Deadline is today!
And deadline for registration for the new Higher Education Panel is 23rd of Jan! Go to http://SeanadVoter.ie
[#]Seanad2025
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Trinity Seanad Voters don't forget to post back your ballots before 25th!
I'm asking for your Number 1 Vote to make sure we have progressive voices in the Oireachtas!
[#]politics #irish #climatechange #womeninpolitics #politics
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This next Government will be more conservative than the last. A business-as-usual approach will not deliver fair and affordable housing solutions this country desperately needs, even if we are increasing supply.
If elected to the Seanad, I will work to improve and amend legislation that better serves people, not just the big developers.
[#]Housing #Seanad2025
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The incoming government proposes to give effect to the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) definition of antisemitism. This definition has been widely criticised for equating criticism of Israel with antisemitism.
This seems a bizarre stance to take given the Taoiseach and Tánaiste have both been outspoken in their criticism of the Israeli government.
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All this intrusion and discrimination will be for nothing given that FRT does not work as well as it is claimed by its boosters. When London’s Metropolitan Police used live FRT it was correct only 19% of the time (https://repository.essex.ac.uk/24946/1/London-Met-Police-Trial-of-Facial-Recognition-Tech-Report-2.pdf). The tests of ability of the software are done under tight conditions that do not reflect real world use.
Investment in communities and investment in Gardaí on the street is what is needed, not technical solutions that don't work and cause more harm. 2/2
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Fine Gael are committed to Facial Recognition Technology despite the concerns about efficacy and civil liberties. The PfG renews that commitment to roll out FRT. Worryingly it goes much further, and pledges to introduce live FRT. This is in essence mass surveillance and should worry everyone.
FRT has been shown to have inherent racial and gender biases (https://proceedings.mlr.press/v81/buolamwini18a/buolamwini18a.pdf, https://arxiv.org/pdf/2108.02818.pdf, and https://arxiv.org/pdf/2306.13141.pdf).
[#]FacialRecognition #FRT 1/2
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This will leave many people without transport alternatives and will have consequences for forced car-ownership, road safety, rural isolation, and transport emissions. The focus must be on the Town Centres First policy to regenerate rural towns and villages. Simply put, we can’t have it both ways. 3/3
[#]RuralTransport #RuralDevelopment #PublicTransport #ConnectingIreland
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The Programme for Government commits to continuing the roll out of the Connecting Ireland Rural Mobility Plan but at the same time supports the unrestricted development of one-off rural housing. While there may be a case for permitting one-off rural housing in, for example, Gaeltacht areas to ensure the preservation of the language locally, a blanket endorsement of one-off housing will make it increasingly difficult to successfully deliver on the Rural Mobility Plan. 2/3
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Delivering public transport services in rural Ireland is a big challenge due to the dispersed nature of settlement. Despite this, there have been huge improvements made over the lifetime of the last government with the expansion and improvement of the Local Link services. Weekly passenger numbers increased from just under 20,000 in January 2022 to almost 106,000 in October 2024.
https://www.transportforireland.ie/news/people-now-using-tfi-local-link-services-100000-times-a-week-in-rural-ireland/ 1/3
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There are two problems with that - growth in aviation is far exceeding any benefits that are being made through technological advancements in sustainable fuels, and secondly, the fossil-fueled planes that are being manufactured today will still be in operation in 2050. We are beyond the stage where we need a roadmap - we need to see real action on curbing the growth of the aviation industry and developing alternative, more sustainable modes of transport.
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Just this week, the European research group, Transport & Environment, reported that "Aviation industry plans for growth [are] ‘irreconcilable’ with Europe’s climate goals". There is no recognition of this in the Programme apart from a vague commitment to develop a "National Sustainable Aviation Fuel Policy Roadmap".
https://www.transportenvironment.org/articles/aviation-industry-plans-for-growth-irreconcilable-with-europes-climate-goals
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The Programme for Government commits to lifting the Dublin Airport passenger cap with no acknowledgment of the impact this will have on emissions. In fact it goes much further than that in its ambitions for growth in the aviation industry. It calls for maximising the use of Ireland's airports including upgrading Waterford Airport and introducing a new air connection between Dublin and Derry - even as many countries in Europe are curbing short haul flights that can be served by ground transport.
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Given the scale of destruction in the last 15 months, preventing the reconstruction in Gaza is condemning Palestinians there to ongoing humanitarian disaster. Ireland must use its voice to ensure reconstruction actually happens or the humanitarian consequences of this onslaught will not stop.
This of course comes against a backdrop of cuts to UNRWA funding, and attempts to undermine and destroy UNRWA.
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The news of a #Gaza ceasefire is welcome, and respite from the violence and the murder. However, what happens next is important too. After previous conflicts the Gaza Reconstruction Mechanism has been the vehicle for getting supplies into Gaza to rebuild. This has in practice led to a denial of essential materials and supplies. It has been little more than the continuation of the Israeli blockade and the choking of Gaza. As a result, little reconstruction has happened following previous attacks.
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...There is also no recognition of the role that Dublin City Council and its elected representatives have to play in implementing the Taskforce recommendations.
I have long advocated for a directly elected mayor in Dublin. We have already seen how successful it has been in Limerick but the Programme for Government shows a disappointing lack of commitment to expanding the directly elected mayor to other cities.
This needs to be a core principle of any plans for reform of Local Government.
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It’s good to see a commitment in the Programme for Government to implementing the recommendations of the Dublin City Centre Taskforce but concerning that there is no mention of the Dublin City Centre Transport Plan and the role that it can have in making the city centre a safer, more accessible and more attractive place to live and to visit.
We need a city that is safe for all, where families are welcome and where people with disabilities can access the city freely and without impediment...
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