The shore of Belfast Lough is special - lovely walks at low tide, seals, birds, the beach. It's a perfect place for people to enjoy, and to improve their physical and mental health, and appreciate our natural environment. Yet it's closed off. Access denied! NIWater and MEABC have the power to change that. So simply open the gate, and #ShareTheShore!

Since the start of 2018, no new patients have been seen in the Northern Ireland adult gender identity clinic. There are now over 400 on the waiting list, some of whom have been on this list for over 4 years. While a review of these services was commissioned late last year, progress has been slow, and the Department and HSCB have been unwilling to meaningfully include and consult with trans communities. As a result, the majority of trans people in Northern Ireland who are currently accessing gender affirming care are doing so through private services, including those in England and further afield, or through self-medication. Those who self-medicate have been doing so to reduce the harm that is being done to them by the failure of statutory services to provide support and care while this review is ongoing and in the two years before it was commissioned. There is a mental health crisis in trans communities; while trans-led support groups and advocacy organisations are doing our best to support our communities, these groups are chronically under-funded and under-staffed. There is an urgent need for statutory services to step up and provide support to trans communities who have waited years for action.

According to Cancer Focus NI, 83 women in Northern Ireland a year are diagnosed with cervical cancer and often there are few symptoms. Northern Ireland should be on a path to eradicating cervical cancer, and improved, more reliable testing is a vital part of that.

Fracking and drilling pollutes our water, and damages our health. It is expected that the petroleum licencing policy that Minister Lyons will propose to the Executive could open the door for the approval of outstanding drilling and fracking applications in Fermanagh, and in the five council areas of Belfast, Antrim and Newtownabbey, Mid Ulster, Armagh City Banbridge and Craigavon, Lisburn and Castlereagh. There is no time for legislation to be passed on fracking and drilling in this Assembly term. It must be stopped at the Executive.

At the end of last year, nurses went on strike for the first time ever for fair pay and adequate staffing for the NHS. It has been confirmed that funding was secured to reinstate their strike pay, but it has not been paid out. Nurses are at the backbone of our NHS, and at the heart of the Covid19 response. They can no longer be at the back of the queue when it comes to pay.

If mental health promotion was given a more central and compulsory role in the curriculum the wellbeing of the young people would improve. The communities we work in are some of the most deprived areas in the UK. The suicide rate is around 70% higher in deprived areas than non-deprived areas, and rates of pupils needing tuition due to anxiety and mental health continues to be high. We need schools and the Education Authority to monitor how our schools are addressing mental health.

Getting an appointment is going to get a whole lot worse. Recently, the EU has banned amalgam fillings from January next year, and because of post-Brexit arrangements, that means a ban in Northern Ireland too. Amalgam fillings are a huge part of the work dentists do on the NHS here, particularly those in the poorest areas. The costs of using other materials are eye-watering, and that means only one thing. NHS dentistry in Northern Ireland will be a thing of the past. People in Northern Ireland have the worst oral health inequality in the UK and the highest proportion of filled teeth. If these amalgam fillings can’t be provided on the NHS, it will mean people in agony, going without treatment - and it’ll be the poorest who suffer most. But there is a way to change this. The ‘Stormont Brake’ gives the Assembly the power to stop EU laws like this one, that would have a detrimental impact on people here. We demand that Minister Robin Swann starts the process to make sure that dentists can continue to provide NHS dental services throughout NI.

In March 2022 former Minister for Infrastructure Nichola Mallon refused permission for the planning application for a mechanical biological treatment (MBT) facility and waste incinerator at Hightown Quarry, beside North Belfast. The planning decision was made following over 5,000 objections submitted by the local community, and a wide range of political representatives from MPs to Councillors. It will increase the market for waste disposal and discourage recycling. Waste technology, waste composition and recycling policies had all moved on since the project was first conceived 15 years ago, and it should be abandoned once and for all - not blindly pursued with public money. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-60893249 The planning refusal followed a long running campaign by the No-Arc21 group who represent residents around the Mallusk, North Belfast and South Antrim areas, who are opposed to the controversial project. This planning application was refused by a previous Environment Minister Mark Durkan, and successfully challenged in the Courts by No- Arc21. There is comprehensive and widespread political opposition to the project from all political Parties in South Antrim and beyond. Alternative do exist and if this Incinerator goes ahead it will reduce recycling and result in millions of tonnes of CO2 being emitted and accelerating climate change. This challenge is a flagrant waste of public money and resources can be better targeted to increase recycling to 70% by 2030 as per the Climate Change targets on Waste Management. During the current inflationary pressures that many households and workers are facing at present, councils should not be wasting more money on a legal case which questions local Ministerial powers to make such decisions. Over £20 million has been spent on the "Waste Monster" to date, how many pot holes, hospital beds, pay rises for key workers etc. could have been sorted in the over eight years of this white elephant. Bin the Burner

In every public toilet, we can avail of free toilet roll, hand soap and hand towels - what makes period products any different? We firmly believe that any toilet that requires toilet roll, requires period products in exactly the same way. For too long our menstrual needs have been sidelined, and for too long we have been conditioned to use toilet roll as a temporary measure when we take our periods unexpectedly outside the home. In fact, 98% of those we surveyed have had to use toilet paper and expressed feelings of discomfort, worry and anxiety as a result of this risky alternative. Period poverty is prevalent throughout N Ireland. We have seen an exponential increase throughout the pandemic and lockdown, receiving three times the demand for our period packs. The provision of free period products in all toilets will help alleviate the growing issue of period poverty and will also help meet the needs of all those who menstruate when their periods are unpredictable. No more being caught out and no more period poverty. Everyone deserves to have a dignified period. We are calling on the NI Executive to lock the provision of free period products into legislation so that every toilet, in every public and privately owned building, has free pads and tampons for everyone. Just. Like. Toilet. Roll. Let's follow in Scotland's lead! Let's make N Ireland completely period positive! #MenstruationMatters

In the next 13 weeks as the pandemic reaches its peak, hundreds of women and pregnant people in Northern Ireland will need an early medical abortion. The government must ensure that both patients and medical staff are not placed at unnecessary risk during the COVID-19 pandemic. We are all being asked to stay at home for the safety of the whole country. It is unacceptable that the health of patients and healthcare workers in NI will be put at risk by enforcing unnecessary travel to clinic appointments. We know that there is the capacity to provide a telemedicine in NI immediately. Millions of women around the world have successfully used abortion pills, which the World Health Organisation states are a safe and effective means of early medical abortion. Additionally other governments have recognised the need for abortion care at home during this crisis. Failure to provide a telemedicine service will leave many women and pregnant people unable to access essential abortion care and may lead them to other unsafe means. It will also place unnecessary strain on healthcare services and put staff in danger during an already extremely difficult time. We are calling on the NI Health Minister to; (1) introduce remote consultations for abortion and no criminalisation for any nurse, midwife or doctor who provides remote abortion care during this emergency (2) allow patients to take both abortion medications in the safety of their own home (3) recognise there is no safe way to access abortion care in England during the crisis

At the start of the pandemic, student nurses were being paid to staff wards and make up the staffing shortfall in the NHS. Since September these payments stopped, despite the current wave of Covid19 putting Northern Ireland's hospitals under pressure like never before. Students Nurses work 37.5hrs per week on clinical placement at the rate of £2.86 per hour under the current bursary of £430 per month. This does not meet basic cost of living standards. Paid less than the national minimum wage. Northern Ireland bursary has not been increased whereas Scotland's bursary is increased year to year. The majority of students still have to work part time on top of placement to be able to live month to month. Due to covid placement areas students are restricted to where they can work if at all Students are working in Covid wards and are at the same risk of as a paid member of staff. Students do not receive sick pay. Many students have incurred costs from covid-19 pandemic from moving out of home due to vulnerable family members at risk. No support available. These student nurses are the future of our NHS. They deserve to be paid for the risks they are taking at the frontline of this pandemic.

We believe it is inappropriate for a vulnerable young person (16-18) needing temporary or emergency accommodation to be placed in a B&B where adults are also placed. However, if the trust need to use these centres we want them to ensure that all employees have been previously accessNI checked prior to placing a young person within. Lisa Arthurs states, "My daughter Gabrielle was only 17 when she was placed in a B&B where she was sexually assaulted. No prior police checks were carried out on those working in the B&B. The sexual assault impacted Gabby massively and when Gabby sought counselling she was told she would have to wait months. Within this time period things began to spiral out of control for Gabby and she was subsequently placed in a number of centres which were miles away from the support of her family and friends. Tragically Gabby is no longer with us to fight for this change, however I have started this campaign #JusticeForGabby to ensure change happens within the care system. Firstly, we want to ensure that the Health and Social Care Trust carry out police checks on all staff working within these B&B's. I want to ensure that no other young person suffers the same fate as Gabby. Gabby was a loving, kind, warm hearted soul who was always looking out for her friends and family. We miss and love her so much everyday. Please support our campaign - change will happen!" FOI - Freedom Of Information Request (from the Belfast Trust) - 13th November 2020; Can you confirm that all staff/percentage of staff (not only owners/managers) working within the B&B or hotel have been access NI checked prior to placing a young person there? The Trust cannot confirm that all staff working in a B&B/ Hotel are access NI checked prior to a young person being placed there and this is outside the Trust’s remit Gabby recorded her story a few months before her death where she highlights the failings within the system. Please see video attached (www.vimeo.com/480947678). Please support our campaign by signing and sharing this petition. This is only the start of #JusticeForGabby.