Over the last three months Ethan’s blood sugars have been dangerously low and high resulting in seizures and several hospital admissions. The seriousness of these hospital admissions is that every time Ethan has seizures or drops to low/high it is having an affect on his organs and in come cases these seizures can results in coma and death which we desperately hope to avoid. A team of diabetic specialists have rated Ethan’s case as severe, and after being on a waiting list for months we have recently been told Ethan is thankfully 1 of the 10 children in Northern Ireland that has been awarded access to an Insulin pump, which he will have fitted in July.

This insulin pump will help change Ethan’s life as Insulin pumps are one of the most significant advances in the treatment of diabetes, freeing people from the daily challenges of multiple daily injections, helping to reduce the risks of complications, raising quality of life and freeing up NHS time and resources. However there is always a BUT Ethan starts primary 1 in September and will require an advanced classroom assistant as he will have his insulin pump fitted by then.

This classroom assistant will be administering insulin via the pump, testing blood glucose (blood sugars), understanding what these readings mean, carbohydrate counting and making sure they understand what a hypo and hyper are and how they are treated, this is a serious role for anyone to take on as insulin administration can be fatal if not conducted correctly, and with a case as serious as Ethan’s he desperately needs this assistant and quick…. and here is where the petition begins.

It has provided generations of locals, sports people and visitors the opportunity to learn water safety, life saving and swimming in a unique cold sea water environment. It is a true cross community facility and has attracted visitors to Newcastle town for 100 years!

In a statement, the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Investment (DETI) said it was scrapping the Northern Ireland Tourist Board (NITB) events fund 2015/2016.

Time to lobby for a reversal to what is a short-sighted decision. The return on investment for all of these events is proven , in fact it is mandatory to show a positive effect on the economy before funding is granted.

HURT is the only Holistic Drug & Alcohol Support group in Derry which provides a listening ear service, Auricular Acupuncture (which helps the client with cravings, detoxification and relaxation), Complimentary Therapies (Swedish massage, Indian head massage and reflexology) and also Counselling Sessions.

HURT also provides accredited evidence based Lifeskills programmes in schools for younger people covering drug and alcohol issues, self-esteem, anger and personal development.

HURT has expanded significantly over the past 11 years to meet an ever increasing demand on services throughout the North West. The services provided to the majority of our clients are not currently in receipt of funding and therefore we are very much dependent on donations to provide this free service to all clients.

HURT has been refused vital funding to work in partnership with Foyle Search & Rescue to provide critical intervention to vulnerable people at risk on or near the river.

Many of our clients are worried about the future; we work with them to create a future worth looking forward to!

It provides seawater for the adjacent Queens University Marine Laboratory. While Exploris does not make money and has substantial running costs, it delivers a footfall of 100 000 people a year to Portaferry, which has a tremendous impact for local businesses in an area already suffering from high unemployment and rural deprivation.

The loss of Exploris will have a devastating effect on Portaferry and the surrounding area.

Having recently returned to the the area where I grew up I was delighted to be sending my son the the local primary school I attended 30 years ago. The school is a mere 3-4 mins walk from our new home along a scenic country road but there is no footpath to allow safe travel and we are forced to walk on the actual road surface where cars pass at speed with a speed limit in place of 60Mph!

I approached the local District office for Roads Service NI and requested they trim and maintain the road side verges and bushes therein to at least allow pedestrians to use the amble space available to make the short journey to the school safely AND to allow approaching traffic a full unobstructed view of the road in both directions for both their own safety and the pedestrians.

To date Roads Service NI have refused to carry out this simple task and having lobbied several members of the local department responsible as well as local elected council members, NI Assembly members and even MP Roads Service still to date have refused to carry out the work requested. Other factors that need to be addressed beyond the simple upkeep of this short stretch of road are the urgent requirement for a footpath and speed restrictions and traffic calming measures to ensure the maximum possible safety of all road users be they pedestrians or drivers.

With this in mind please sign this petition - we have yet another site meeting with roads service scheduled of May 17th 2013 and I want to present them with this petition to pressure them into taking immediate action.

A sonar was borrowed from England in order to locate Joby's body. This was on loan for 2 days but was unable to locate him. We then were able to get one from Mallow, Co. Cork which located him on the day that it came. This encouraged us to raise funds to get a sonar for Northern Ireland, which we have and was handed over to our volunteers at Community Rescue Service who have since used it in Kent and in the river Boyne.

The father of Joby Murphy requested for life rings to be put up on the bridge but was refused. We believe if there had of been a life ring on the bridge someone could have of been able to throw it to him and just maybe could have saved his life.

Clubs where people from all backgrounds gather to enjoy a good game of poker, a friendly safe place, where no drink is served, and people just get along, having fun, good craic, and also places that could employ quite a few good people, are not permitted to operate legally in N. Ireland (unlike the rest of the UK and the Republic of Ireland).

This makes no sense. Poker is a game of skill. Meanwhile, there are bookies in every town, and that's pure gambling, as are the lottery, bingo and fruit machines. These are permitted but poker is not.

Take one Friday night this past October as an example. 70 men and women, ages 21 – 70 or so, Protestant and Catholic, from all different religious, social, economic, and ethnic backgrounds, spent an evening together, all getting along and enjoying a night of poker. All for 30 quid per person. 70 people who were not getting drunk in a pub, or causing trouble on the roads and streets of our towns and cities.

Poker would also bring needed jobs and revenue to N. Ireland if it were legal and regulated.

Poker Rooms are in fact, in a microcosm of what all of N Ireland aspires to be, a place where everyone gets along and just gets on with life. Where Protestant and Catholics don’t merely co-exist, but form friendships that then grow both in and out of the poker club. Why would anyone want to prevent this?

This goes against a longstanding agreement with management were Royal hospital workers could use the visitors’ car park due to the concerns over risks to their personal safety. It is evident that senior management no longer care about staff security as they attempt to force through car parking proposals that will raise charges by 300% and move hundreds of hospital staff to Broadway outside the hospital site.

Broadway residents are also angry that they will be forced to pay for residential parking. While this residential area full of children and families will be opened up to potential health risks due to increase traffic flow.

The trust has begun the process of implementation of their car park proposals without discussion or consultation with staff; in what will be another stealth cut for all health workers. The issue of car parking in the royal must be addressed for staff, patients and visitors alike, but not at expense or punishment of the staff, patients and visitors.

It is essential that all trade unions in health firmly oppose this attempt to make health workers pay for the cuts in health through stealth.

PLEASE SIGN THE PETITION TO SHOW YOUR ANGER AT THIS ATTACK ON HEALTH WORKERS, PATIENTS AND VISITORS.

It is just across the road from the cinema and in the middle of an area where there are numerous pubs and restaurants.

Would you like your child, sister, brother, niece, nephew etc to be out and about this area when these animals are lurking about?