The destruction is vast - with nesting birds and insects and precious peatland being harmed, and the lives of people living nearby and first responders put at risk. Back in 2021, the Mournes experienced the worst wildfires we’d seen at that time, and promises were made that a fire prevention plan would be put in place urgently. But nothing happened, and now the Mournes are facing devastation all over again. Some are calling for the Minister to review the legal burn period which is the period where farmers and land managers are allowed to burn vegetation such as heather, gorse, whin or fern. The Mourne Heritage Trust charity expressed concern about the loss of "engagement rangers" in the Mourne Mountains. The Mournes are so beloved - the backdrop to trips and holidays and enshrined in song. But they are precious in so many other ways too - rich in peatlands which store carbon and combat climate change - they’ve been described as our equivalent to the rainforest. We, the undersigned, call for the Minister Andrew Muir to do more to protect our Mourne Mountains today.

The UK government announced plans to drastically cut benefits for disabled and sick people across the UK - including Northern Ireland.  These changes are cruel. More people receive disability benefits such as Personal Independence Benefit (PIP) here than the UK average. So these brutal cuts will cause huge distress and hardship for those of us who live with a disability or illness in the North. No matter who you are, or where you come from, we all deserve support when we are sick or have a disability. Many charities and even 80 Labour MPs – a fifth of the party – oppose these plans. We, the undersigned, oppose these cruel cuts to benefits and call on Keir Starmer to reverse plans NOW.

We all want to have good health, clean drinking water and a flourishing countryside. But your attempt to open up Northern Ireland for dirty mining will put all that at risk. Caoimhe Archibald’s Department for the Economy has awarded SEVEN licenses that give big mining companies the right to explore and drill for minerals such as gold, copper and diamond in County Armagh, Fermanagh and Tyrone. And one of those companies is Dalradian, who are pushing hard to build a toxic gold mine in the Sperrin Mountains. Just weeks ago, we submitted this petition calling on Caoimhe Archibald to block these licenses - but the consultation report is out - and even though 99.5% of those responding opposed the licenses, they’ve gone ahead regardless. And it makes a mockery of the Department’s consultation process. Mining is a filthy business. It pollutes our water and land with chemicals, harms our health and destroys our beautiful ecosystems. Approximately 12% of Northern Ireland’s land has been opened up for mining exploration across Country Armagh, Derry, Fermanagh and Tyrone. There is The North would become a sacrifice zone while filthy mining companies make billions in profit. For these companies, this was always the plan for Northern Ireland. In 2015, the Dalradian CEO said “I’m not talking about a single mine. We are working on building a mine camp here [in Northern Ireland].” We, the undersigned, call on the Minister Caoimhe Archibald to u-turn and reject the following licenses. We need her to listen stop even more corporations who want to mine, regardless of the damage it does to our health, and to our climate: • Mineral Prospecting Licence Application - KDRA4/25  • Mineral Prospecting Licence Application - OMA4/25 • Mineral Prospecting Licence Application - DGA4/25 • Mineral Prospecting Licence Application - DGA3/25 • Mineral Prospecting Licence Application - CA3/25 • Mineral Prospecting Licence Application - CA1/25 • Mineral Prospecting Licence Application - KDRA1/25

In October 2024, Derry City & Strabane District Council approved planning permission for the North’s first AI hyperscale data centre at Foyle Port, with outline permission granted for three more. We now know that AI data centres can carry enormous environmental costs. Yet the Northern Ireland Executive is calling for the expansion of data centres across Northern Ireland. Hyperscale data centres place huge demands on electricity and water. They require enormous amounts of energy to operate and vast amounts of cooling, either consuming millions of litres of water or requiring even more electricity or both. There is also a connection application for a massive 300MW data centre at Kilroot. These developments are being driven by some of the world’s wealthiest technology corporations, including Amazon, Google and Meta. Northern Ireland should not be expected to sacrifice its water, energy security, environment and jobs to meet the ever growing demands of multinational tech companies. There is also a serious risk that the expansion of AI data centres will increase emissions and prolong dependence on fossil fuels. These centres operate 24/7 and require a constant, reliable supply of electricity. At the same time, growing electricity demand is being used to justify bringing in more large scale wind developments in our designated Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty, causing further damage to landscapes and communities. The Northern Ireland Executive has now published an AI Strategy, which is open for consultation until 7 October. It states: “Our natural resources could establish us as a pioneer in green data centre provision, and with that a magnet for foreign direct investment.” The Executive is also using high levels of wind curtailment as an argument for attracting huge new data centres to consume this electricity. But the answer to a failing or constrained grid is not to create enormous new sources of electricity demand. If large amounts of renewable electricity are being wasted, then we should be addressing the reasons why, i.e. grid constraints, where generation is being built, transmission capacity and how our electricity system operates. We should not use those failures as justification for bringing in energy hungry hyperscale data centres. Northern Ireland needs to decide what its limited energy and water resources are actually for. Are they for homes, communities, public services and sustainable local industry, or for AI hyperscale data centres? We are therefore demanding an immediate review of the planning and approval process for data centre developments in Northern Ireland, a comprehensive public consultation on their cumulative impact on energy, water, emissions, infrastructure and the environment, and a ban on any more data centre approvals. Our water and energy security are more important than feeding the limitless appetite of billionaire tech corporations. https://www.savethemoat.com/blog-post

Dear Belfast Pride,  In 1991, Northern Ireland was a vastly different place—far less safe for our community. But you stood up. Despite immense political opposition and social backlash, you took to the streets and demonstrated that we exist, that we matter, and that we would not be silenced. Your bravery helped transform our country, creating a more inclusive society and saving countless lives through visibility and representation.  We recognise and appreciate the impact Belfast Pride has had in shaping our community’s progress. It is because of your courage that grassroots movements like Causeway Pride exist today. However, we now find ourselves facing a new crisis—one that requires decisive action.  The recent decision by the NI Executive to ban puberty blockers is an attack on the trans community, an act of political negligence that directly endangers young lives. Our community has been exploited and betrayed by politicians time and time again, and we refuse to accept it any longer. That is why we urge Belfast Pride to stand with us in rejecting participation from political parties complicit in this decision.  Stormont has consistently failed to deliver for LGBTQ+ people in Northern Ireland, with a long history of neglect, broken promises, and a lack of concrete action on equality. Despite repeated commitments, no minister with responsibility for equality has allocated specific funding to LGBTQ+ issues since 2005. This lack of financial support has left vital services, advocacy groups, and community initiatives struggling to survive, relying instead on limited charity funding or UK-wide grants rather than dedicated local investment.  Beyond funding, there has been a persistent failure to develop a comprehensive strategy to address LGBTQ+ inequality. Since 2007, the Northern Ireland Executive has promised to introduce an LGBTQ+ strategy, but nearly two decades later, no such strategy has been implemented. This has left gaps in crucial areas such as healthcare, education, housing, and protection from discrimination. While other parts of the UK have made significant strides in advancing LGBTQ+ rights, Northern Ireland has lagged behind, with its government failing to take meaningful action.  The absence of a strategy means there is no coordinated approach to tackling homophobia, biphobia, and transphobia, nor is there a clear commitment to improving LGBTQ+ mental health services, addressing homelessness within the community, or ensuring inclusive education in schools. The continued inaction from Stormont highlights a pattern of neglect that has left LGBTQ+ people in Northern Ireland without the support and protections they deserve.  Pride has always been a protest. It is not a platform for those who legislate against us, who refuse to protect our most vulnerable, or who remain silent in the face of oppression. Other Pride organisations, such as Foyle Pride, have already taken a firm stance—banning parties involved in the puberty blocker ban from their festival. We ask Belfast Pride to do the same.  Rather than holding a consultation, we believe that now is the time for decisive leadership. This is not an issue that requires deliberation; it is a fundamental question of whether Belfast Pride will allow those who harm our community to march beneath its banner. We ask you to cancel the consultation and take a clear, principled stand: political parties involved in the puberty blocker ban should not have a place at Pride.  Pride belongs to the people—not to politicians who betray us. We urge you to make your decision reflect this. Stand with us. Speak out. Fight back. 

The so-called Independent Remuneration Board has made a recommendation to increase annual salaries for the politicians from £53,000 to £67,200 - a bump of 26.8%. We are outraged by the possibility of MLAs receiving a substantial pay increase when so many people across the North are struggle with the cost of living crisis. The legislation that was passed by MLAs last year to set-up the new pay board did not undergo any public consultation. It is staggering that MLAs have passed this piece of legislation to pave the way for a massive pay rise, but have so far failed to pass any significant piece of legislation that make a material difference to public services and people's lives.  This pay rise has no justification. Local politicians at Stormont don’t have our consent to accept this increase. According to a poll from last year, the vast majority of people here are against new plans to raise MLA pay. The only interests MLAs are acting in are their own. 

Trust and confidence in leadership is essential for the reassurance of any community and many constituents have been looking forward in general terms to the new Minister’s  delivery on the Sinn Fein 2024 election manifesto, “Strong Leadership, Positive Change”.  In the Warrenpoint area, residents and businesses look forward specifically to leadership towards a solution within an area of Infrastructure responsibility to the waste stench and odour nuisance which dates back to a Council abatement notice going back almost ten years to  2015. Positive change would be greatly welcomed here. Recent confusion around the chemicals used by Re-Gen Waste in what appears to be a losing battle in negating the impact of their organic waste stench in Warrenpoint Port has led to claims and counter-claims by WHA and Re-Gen Waste as to which chemicals have been used. Their lack of agreement has resulted in the withdrawal of an Environmental Audit from the WHA website at the end of October and, in the three and a half months since then, no clarification has been forthcoming from the two bodies forming crucial cogs in the infrastructure of the NI Waste Industry.  That confusion has been escalated by WHA claims that HSENI had made a specific review into those chemicals, a position which has been categorically undermined by HSENI. Stakeholders can have no confidence and no trust in the running of the Trust Port in Warrenpoint by the  Warrenpoint Harbour Authority Board until WHA has replaced their withdrawn Environmental Audit on their website and also fully explained the answers received by a Warrenpoint resident from HSENI as follows :   QUESTIONS TO HSENI Can you please provide me the following: 1. Copies of all emails relating to the statement made by Mr Holmes especially the email of how you informed Mr Holmes of the results of the “specific review” on the Chemicals used by Re-Gen. 2. Copies of any evidence that you hold that supports the claim Mr Holmes has made relating to your organisation. HSENI RESPONSE : A search has been carried out on HSENI’s electronic and paper records based on the parameters of your request. I can confirm that HSENI holds no information in relation to your request. In response to question 1, requesting copies of all emails relating to the statement made by Mr Holmes especially the email of how you informed Mr Holmes of the results of the specific review on the Chemical's used by Re-Gen. I can confirm that HSENI holds no information in relation to this question. In response to question 2, requesting copies of any evidence that you hold that supports the claim Mr Holmes has made relating to your organisation. I can confirm that HSENI holds no information in relation to this question. In response to question 3, requesting copies of the information where Mr Holmes states that you have informed WHA not to modify any of its practices. I can confirm that HSENI holds no information in relation to this question.

Every child deserves to go to school with a full stomach. But with prices increasing and more and more families struggling, more and more children in Northern Ireland are going to school hungry because of strict rules on who can receive free school meals. If every child in primary school received a free meal everyday here, it could make a huge difference for parents and children across Northern Ireland - meaning they can focus in class, and remove the stigma when only some children are eligible. Free school meals are a lifeline for families. Providing them for all children would improve nutrition and engagement in class. And it’s doable. In London and Wales, every primary school student automatically receives a free school meal. We, the undersigned, demand that Minister Paul Givan provides Free School Meals for All, so no child goes hungry in our classrooms. 

60,000. That’s how many properties in Northern Ireland that are STILL without power four days on from Storm Éowyn. Northern Ireland Electricity (NIE) - the private company in charge of maintaining our electricity infrastructure - are telling some homeowners that it will be ANOTHER week until their homes are reconnected. This isn’t good enough for a company that has been raking in the profits over the years - in 2023, NIE recorded a profit of £91.5 million. Many people, including our politicians, are calling for NIE to provide compensation to those still without power.  Stop sitting on your hands to protect your profits and compensate those affected today!

Public trust in our political institutions is at an all time low, and telling people that this information is “not in the public interest” disregards accountability & is condescending. We also fail to see how releasing the evidence informing a decision like this “has the potential to damage the concept of collective responsibility”. It may be argued privately shared opinions within discussions do, but certainly not the evidence which informed those discussions. So, therefore, we demand that, in the interest of full accountability, the NI Executive releases all evidence they used in relation to this decision.

The Public Inquiry into the proposed goldmine in the Sperrins was suspended on the 15th January 2025  because the Department for Infrastructure breached their planning regulations in respect of a Transboundary Consultation with the Republic of Ireland.  The Commissioner said “the Inquiry has been besieged with difficulties from the start - in relation to Abstraction licences, EIA Regulations & Roads department didn’t engage at all….The planning department of Department for Infrastructure failed to follow its own legislative procedures. I have no option but to accede to the request to suspend the Inquiry, in view of Access to Justice and Right to Participate.” With no live stream, nor access to online recording or an option to contribute remotely as an expert witness, this inquiry has been anything but public. As a result, many people cannot properly engage with the inquiry because they cannot be present every day due to work commitments, illness, childcare or other caring responsibilities. Compounding this exclusion, adults are not permitted to bring children into the public inquiry in order to attend. Given that women are, in general, the primary caregivers of young children, this restriction disproportionately affects them and smacks of misogyny. All Public Inquiries in England are recorded and available online for 5 years. Why is this not the case here? A precedent was set at the Doraville Inquiry (2019) in N.I. when expert witnesses were allowed to contribute online. When the goldmine inquiry resumes, we demand that the Planning Appeals Commission implement the aforementioned measures. 

For weeks now, we’ve been reading and listening to the horror stories coming out of our emergency departments. Just last Sunday, a leading surgeon said that delays in moving patients into emergency departments from ambulances is leading to a loss of life. No matter if you are a hospital worker or a patient, we all deserve a well-run and fully-funded healthcare system. We, the undersigned, don’t accept the current state of our healthcare system and demand that the Executive works towards fixing it.