CATU Waterford Statement on Horrific Mount Suir Incident: The tragic news about the injuries suffered by 2 young children as they fell out of a 2nd story balcony has shone a spotlight once again on the issues facing those living at Mount Suir Apartments. Just weeks after we organised a meeting of residents at the nearby library, this incident clearly highlights the issues around safety and maintenance which residents have been raising for many years. Reacting to the horrific event, a Mount Suir resident who we have been in contact with had this to say: “I live in Block B. I wouldn't leave my cat out on the balcony, never mind my daughter. The place is a death trap. I hope those 2 children will be okay.”

In recent years, momentum for a campaign to improve conditions has grown, as residents increasingly push for improvements to the dangerous conditions at Mount Suir. Reaching out to councillors achieved no tangible changes, and various residents also previously spoke with print media and on the radio. We have in recent months been building support for collective action in order to improve conditions and safety. CATU Waterford members have been speaking to Mount Suir residents for months before this, highlighting the conditions publicly and only recently held a public meeting in recent weeks due to the conditions there.

A horrible event like this does not happen in isolation. This is due to years of neglect, despite repeated calls from residents for their concerns about safety and conditions to be acknowledged and acted upon. It should not have to take something as terrible as this to happen in order to get those in charge of maintenance to act. In our various engagements with residents as a union, we have seen and heard first-hand the impact that this decaying building is having on the lives of everyone living there. It is past time that residents come together to finally achieve what we all deserve, a safe home.

At CATU Waterford, we plan to keep updated with residents on the situation, and again urge everyone at Mount Suir Apartments to join CATU in order to fight collectively to improve conditions before any more tragic incidents occur: https://catuireland.org/join/

CATU Waterford Statement on Horrific Mount Suir Incident:

St Patrick's Day Steam Sale Brings Irish Games to a Global Audience — Imirt Imirt - The Irish Game Makers Association is proud to present the Games from Ireland Steam Event , a week-long digital showcase celebrating games made in Ireland or shaped by Irish creative talent an...

Really excited for our game 'Grow Big (or Go Home): Ultimate Edition' [now 100% free] to be featured in the 'Games from Ireland' Showcase!

Thanks to @imirt.bsky.social for leading on this, and make sure to check out the other wonderful games made with Irish input! 🇮🇪

www.imirt.ie/news/2026/3/...

CATU poster about the info session on new rent rules

We'll cover what the new rent rules mean, how they will affect you and your neighbours, and how we can fight back.

With guest speakers from tenants unions in Scotland and Catalonia who will talk about how they've won real rent controls.

See you tomorrow!

#HousingCrisis #TenantsRights #Ireland

CATU - Info Sessions on Rent Pressure Zones/LRC CATU will be hosting online information sessions regarding planned changes to legislation on Rent Pressure Zones, as well as on LRC Group, the major corporate landlord LRC that is responsible for wide...

👉Info night on what new rent rules mean for you on tomorrow night - *Tuesday 24th, 7pm online*
Register here to receive link forms.gle/UaqCf456gB4u...

If you're renting anywhere in the 26 counties this info night is for you!

#HousingCrisis #Ireland #IrishNews #TenantsUnion #TenantsRights

Join CATU – Community Action Tenants Union

If you are a resident of Mount Suir Apartments and are interested in getting involved, please reach out to us!

Or join at catuireland.org/join

#HousingCrisis #Waterford #MountSuirApartments #TenantsUnion #Homes

It was decided that only collective action could resolve these issues and a group chat of tenants an CATU members was created to progress this.

CATU Waterford plans to conduct further organising efforts with the tenants to build a bigger and stronger group capable on taking on the landlords.

Mould, damp and structural issues were common across all tenants, many experienced severe flooding during this winter and are suffering health damages.

It was decided that only collective action could resolve these issues and a group chat of tenants and CATU members was created to progress this.

Another photo of Munster Organiser explaining how CATU functions while leading a meeting with residents of Mount Suir Apartments

The meeting started with an explainer about CATU and the work done in Mount Suir so fair by the branch.

The floor was then opened up to residents to speak on how they’re being impacted.

#HousingCrisis #Waterford #MountSuirApartments #TenantsUnion #Homes

A photo of Munster Organiser explaining how CATU functions while leading a meeting with residents of Mount Suir Apartments

Recently, CATU Waterford held a public meeting with Mount Suir Apartments residents about the outrageous conditions they face.

#HousingCrisis #Waterford #MountSuirApartments #TenantsUnion #Homes

Would a Waterford Luas line work? - News - Waterford News & Star Admitting that he is "not an engineer", he said he created his proposal in order to generate discussion and promote the idea of better public ...

Thank you to Waterford News & Star for writing about my Waterford Luas proposal!

www.waterford-news.ie/news/would-a...

#Waterford #Ireland #PublicTransport #IrishPolitics #WaterfordCity #Luas #WaterfordLuas #WaterfordTram #Tram #Trams #Sustainability #Decarbonisation #WeAllThrive #Transport

We are WLR FM | WLRFM.com WLR is Waterfords biggest radio station, delivering up-to-date news and sport, discussing current affairs, playing the best mix of music

I'll be on Déise Today with Damien Tiernan on WLR FM tomorrow, Wed 18th at 11:15am to speak about my proposal for a Waterford Luas if anyone wants to listen in! 🔊

www.wlrfm.com/player

#Waterford #Ireland #PublicTransport #IrishPolitics #WaterfordCity #SouthEast #WaterfordLuas #Decarbonisation

Zoomed in map of Waterford city with proposed tram route including stops

Full map of proposed Waterford tram route including catchment area

With the recent update about the scrapping of the shuttle bus across the new bridge in Waterford City, I decided to make mockup of what a better transport solution could look like!

The Waterford Luas:

#Waterford #Ireland #IrishPolitics #WaterfordCity #WaterfordLuas #Sustainability #Decarbonisation

A lot of this opposition comes from the fact that residents feel ignored when decisions are made by an unelected local government ('Council CEO' and Directors of Services who form the executive) - and I completely agree with Cllr Adam Wyse's recent appeals to improve democratic accountability. Changing Section 38 wouldn't be enough, as it still encourages elected councillors to oppose everything (as every councillor is effectively forced into being in opposition due to our undemocratic system of local government where they are blocked from being decision-makers), denies them any ability to form a democratic executive, and allows the Council CEO and Directors of Services to ignore public feedback without any cost. Every other democracy in the world has 1 of 3 forms of democratic government structures: A cabinet system with an executive formed of elected councillors - a Local Mayor and Local Ministers (like we and most other European countries have at national level, a parliamentary system) A committee system with a series of cross-party executive Local Committees for Housing, Transport etc - this works really well in Scotland especially as it encourages cross-party collaboration and includes all democratic representatives. A mayoral/presidential system, with a directly-elected executive mayor and Local Commissioners that they appoint, all held accountable by elected councillors. This system has been implemented in Limerick (to a minor extent, with the Council CEO renamed Director General and still retaining a lot of power without any democratic accountability).

We currently have one of the most centralised countries in both the OECD and the EU, and are one of the only countries in Europe where votes trust their local government less than their national government (which generally holding relatively higher levels of trust for both due to our brilliant proportional and preferential STV-PR electoral system). Our unique lack of democratic accountability due to our undemocratic system of local government (which, once again, is distinct from every other democracy in the world, which has autonomous democratic local governments of one form or another) is a major reason for this. Until the system changes to one where local councils can choose a democratic structure where they are elected to make decisions as part of an accountable executive, we will continue incentivising councillors to oppose any changes (because of a few vocal voters drowning out the majority with our individual objector planning instead of a majority participative planning system) and an unelected Local Government which is encouraged to ignore voter concerns and input.

I hope that everyone reading this can support local government reform to allow us to join the rest of the democratic world in having local executives which face democratic accountability. The UK has had a bad history of underfunding local government and centralising things, but implemented successful structural reforms in their local government reform of 2000 [full legislation here], which allowed each council to choose 1 of 4 structures (cabinet, committee, mayoral, and council CEO - similar to our current system but with the council CEO appointed by councillors instead of national government to improve local democratic accountability; this was later removed as an option because not a single council in the UK chose this worse system when given the choice). Please consider expediting the creation of new safe and segregated bike infrastructure (inner ring road, urban Greenway to Tramore, and Cork Road) before there are any more casualties of cyclists and e-scooter users due to lack of safe infrastructure. People are always against roadworks and upheaval, but so rarely complain about infrastructure once it's completed and they see the results in terms of improved traffic levels, more freedom of travel, and better wellbeing. And please consider putting pressure on your parties and other councillors to support local government reform into one which is more democratic and trusted, alongside holding more decentralised powers.

And all of this could be improved with a democratic local government instead of the undemocratic/unaccountable Council CEO system we have now:

#LocalDemocracy #Ireland #LocalGovernmentReform #Democracy #Irish #Community #Waterford #Democratic #LocalGovernment #IrishPolitics #Cycling #WaterfordCity

I hope you're doing well. I recently came across a Waterford News & Star article about yet another delay to what would be only the 2nd example of proper segregated bike infrastructure in Waterford City (after the embarrassingly-small 25 meters of bike paths on the Cork Road near Railway Square). Alongside the national Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael government giving us much less active travel funding per capita than the other regional cities (Waterford got just €9m, while Cork got €47m, Limerick got €19.35m, and Galway got €14.46m) - those in power are allowing Waterford to fall further behind while Cork/Limerick/Galway race ahead. I honestly don't know how Waterford City can ever get better when any changes are constantly delayed as young people continue our mass exodus out of the city, to cities which provide a better quality of life (which includes more active travel infrastructure to reduce traffic, reduce cost of living - through not requiring ownership of an expensive car - and improve wellbeing). This latest delay seems to come from the uninformed perspective of current Mayor Seamus Ryan, who said: “Why would we have cycle lanes going on the wrong side of the road? That, to me, just does not make any traffic sense,” Mayor Ryan said. “It's going to be unsafe for cyclists, it's going to be unsafe for motorists, and it's going to be unsafe for pedestrians.”

I am currently temporarily based in Valencia, a city famous for its great cycling infrastructure; please see below some photos I took the other day showing the 2-way segregated bike paths on one side of the road, as is the norm here and in many cities across Europe: To put a finer point on this, a 2-way segregated bike path is the safest option, and is implemented as best practice by experts all across Europe.

As I highlighted in my submission at the time, the main issue with the plan is that it is not segregated enough at roundabouts, with such junctions being very cyclist-unfriendly without necessary adjustments - especially a raised zebra crossing giving constant priority to cyclists and pedestrians, as is the norm in cities across Europe. In Dublin, there was a recently approved plan for a cyclist-friendly roundabout, which follows best practice - of course, with a 2-way bike path on 1 side of the road the exact same design wouldn't work, but is illustrative of good urban design - Swords to Malahide route gets two walking and cycling-friendly roundabouts - 1st is the current inner ringroad active travel plan which clearly prioritises continued car access with sudden turns for bikes and pedestrians, and 2nd is the newly-approved cyclist-friendly roundabout in dublin:

Top diagram showing the recently-delayed bike roundabout plan for Waterford inner ring road. Bottom diagram showing the better recently-approved bike roundabout plan in Dublin.

More delays to Waterford City's Inner Ring Road Bike Path, supposedly due to safety concerns from those who haven't cycled for decades.

Apparently, a 2-way bike path is 'unsafe', despite being best-practice all across Europe.

So I decided to email councillors:

#Waterford #Ireland #IrishPolitics

Opinion: Banning under-16s from social media is a half-measure. We should ban toxic algorithms Australia is trying to ban teens from social media, but that only scratches the surface as a solution to the problems tech companies are causing us, writes Killian Mangan.

Please support the ban! @fine-gael.bsky.social @fiannafailparty.bsky.social @greenparty.ie @aontuie.bsky.social

www.thejournal.ie/prev/6901718...

#Ireland #IrishPolitics #Algorithms #RecommenderSystems #ToxicAlgorithms #SocialMedia #EUPolitics #Democracy #MentalHealth #Tech #TechRegulation

People Before Bill targets 'toxic' algorithms harming children

Great to see parties taking this issue seriously!

We must force private, for-profit social media companies to turn off their recommender systems - so we can regain freedom to choose what we see online, like we had until 2014 when the doom spiral began!

www.fm104.ie/news/fm104-n...

@pbp.ie

5) More decentralisation (community councils and local governments run by democratically-accountable councillors instead of unelected 'Council CEOs')

And all with one hand tied behind their back after decades of British austerity due to lacking the independence that we in Ireland can enjoy.

2) Universal free public healthcare (including prescriptions & u25s dental)
3) More access to nature (right to roam, decades-long reforestation programme, widespread public trails with culture of hiking/camping)
4) Abundant renewable energy (113% of electricity consumption vs just 39.6% in Ireland)

Scotland often reminds me of what Ireland could be without @fiannafailparty.bsky.social and Fine Gael in power.

Incredibly similar cultural and legal system, but with:

1) Much better public transport (especially electrified trains)

A photo of 2 of our members holding up CATU leaflets while out doorknocking.

A photo of the damaged walls/ceiling in Mount Suir Apartments.

A photo of the damaged walls/ceiling in Mount Suir Apartments.

A photo of the damaged walls/ceiling in Mount Suir Apartments.

Yesterday, our members spoke with residents at Mount Suir Apartments about our upcoming meeting today, Thursday 29th at 6pm in Carrickphierish Library - if you're a resident, come along!

Join CATU and help end bad-quality housing!

catuireland.org/join

#HousingCrisis #Waterford #TenantsUnion

CATU call for Mount Suir Residents Meeting - News - Waterford News & Star Issues with mould, damp and anti-social behaviour have all been cited by residents in the past

Mount Suir Apartments Residents' Meeting tomorrow, Thursday 29th at 6pm in Carrickphierish Library!

If you are a resident, please attend!

Thanks to Waterford N&S for writing this article:

www.waterford-news.ie/news/catu-ca...

#TenantsUnion #Waterford #HousingCrisis #WaterfordCity #TenantsRights

A photo of the news article from Waterford News & Star about the upcoming meeting.

Thanks to Waterford News & Star for writing about our upcoming meeting for residents of Mount Suir Apartments at 6pm this Thursday 29th January at Carrickphierish Library.

Please attend if you are a resident, and spread the word!
#TenantsUnion #Waterford #HousingCrisis #WaterfordCity #TenantsRights

If you live in Mount Suir Apartments, please attend the meeting and/or reach out to us.

If you know anyone living there, please share this post with them and encourage them to attend!

Nothing will change without all residents working together ✊

#Waterford #HousingCrisis #Housing #Ireland

Our members have been going door-to-door to invite residents to this meeting.

The conditions in Mount Suir Apartments are appalling and it's about time we came together to fight for improvements!

#Waterford #HousingCrisis #TenantsUnion #Housing #Ireland

RESIDENT’S MEETING Thursday 29th January 6pm Carrickphierish Library, X91 YK12 All residents of Mount Suir Apartments welcome! CATU Waterford

Meeting Focus: Discussing issues with Mount Suir Apartments [A photo of Mount Suir Apartments] Actions to take in order to improve conditions CATU Waterford

Come to our open meeting next Thursday 29th at 6pm in the Carrickphierish Library in Gracedieu!

#Waterford #HousingCrisis #TenantsUnions #Housing #Ireland

(I've been trying to improve my Spanish by writing Spanish versions of my posts too) Me he dado cuenta que conozco/sigo a tantos Venezolanos y he dedicado un tiempo para escuchar sus perspectivas y tratar de entender sus opiniones. Algunos de mis pensamientos - solo mi punto de vista pero creo que está más pensado y tengo en cuenta más información que muchas de las declaraciones que se han visto en los últimos días. No será corto pero esta no es una situación sencilla tampoco. 1) Muchos venezolanos están (comprensiblemente) increíblemente felices de que la dictadura horrible de Maduro se haya terminado. Maduro destrozó Venezuela y cometió varios crimines contra la humanidad, incluido tortura, asesinato en masa, y otras formas de represión severa. Robó varias elecciones y *nadie* que esté informado (sea de izquierda o de derechas) debe apoyar a Maduro o su gobierno en cualquiera manera. 2) Muchos Venezolanos están furiosos (comprensiblemente) con los de la izquierda en la UE/los EEUU cuyas críticas de las acciones de Trump se convierten en apoyo tácito a Maduro o a su gobierno represivo. Echar la culpa de esta situación exclusivamente a las sanciones de los EEUU es demasiado simplista y muestra una falta de entendimiento de la situación (países como Cuba han afrontado sanciones por décadas pero aún así hay mucha mejor calidad de vida allí). Muchos países Sudamericanos y España han encontrado una mejor balanza en sus declaraciones, pero deben condenar mucho más las acciones de EEUU - y en verdad deberían haber hecho más para arreglar la situación antes de que está situación llegara a este punto, ya que son los países vecinos. Igual que Europa asistió a Ucrania, dónde estaban los demás países de Sudamérica y América central para ayudar a mantener la paz y la justicia en Venezuela? Aparte de acoger (de mala gana) 8 millones de refugiados? 3) Por mucho que algunos venezolanos que viven en el extranjero quieran hacerte creer que cada venezolano está completamente de…

4) Maduro no es de ninguna manera socialista. He aprendido muchísimo al hablar con los socialistas venezolanos tras los últimos años y la imagen que pintan es de esperanzas frustradas y desilusión, sobre todo después de la muerte de Chávez cuando Maduro llegó al poder. En mi opinión, cualquier socialista que apoye a Maduro (como los que apoyan a la URSS o a China) hace un flaco favor a los ideales de la izquierda que debemos apoyar - igualdad, democracia, comunidad, empoderamiento, y autonomía. 5) Se nos está empujando a todos hacia un binarismo que ya cansa, cuando la realidad es que Maduro era horrible para millones de venezolanos, y además para el movimiento más amplio de la izquierda democrática en Sudamérica (Lula en Brasil, Petro en Colombia, y antes Boric en Chile). Se puede estar contra el imperialismo de los EEUU sin demostrar apoyo a las dictaduras sudamericanas. Las declaraciones de paz hechas por el gobierno de Venezuela me parecen absurdas, ya que vienen después de una campaña sostenida de su propio imperialismo - ellos estaban a punto de invadir y anexar media de Guyana recientemente solo porque tienen petróleo (te suena familiar?) 6) La gente de venezuela está entendiblemente más procupada por su país y su pueblo, pero a mi me preocupa lo que un Trump envalentonado va a hacer, ahora que el Reino Unido, Francia, Alemania, y casi todo del Norte Global (y muchos latinos viviendo afuera y en los EEUU en particular) han fallado en condenar sus acciones ilegales de bombardear la capital de Venezuela (incluso provocando daños a edificios civiles y el asesinato de civiles (muchos venezolanos dirán que no es verdad pero hay muchos vídeos que muestran bombas dañando casas y unas compañías grandes de noticias en los EEUU han identificado unos muertos de civiles) y el secuestro del líder del país y su esposa en el medio de la noche (aunque él sea un líder impugnable). 7) Tengo miedo por los millones de Colombianos, Panameños, Canadienses, y Groenlandeses que a…

Pensamientos en las acciones ilegales de los EEUU en Venezuela:

[I've been trying to write in Spanish more often in order to practice]

#Venezuela #VenezuelaLibre #venezuelalibrededictadura #Venezolanos #Trump #Democracia #DerechosHumanos #Maduro #MaduroPresidente #Izquierda #UnionEuropea

Since Trump's illegal bombing and kidnapping of the head of state in Venezuela, I've taken time to reach out to many Venezuelans I know from living in Spain and also those I know from Ireland and the UK, and wanted to share some thoughts: 1) Many Venezuelans are understandably incredibly happy that the horrible dictator Maduro is gone. He ruined Venezuela and committed countless proven crimes against humanity, including torture, mass murder, and other severe repression. He stole multiple elections and *nobody* who is informed (whether Left or right) should in any way support him or his government. 2) Many Venezuelans are understandably incredibly angry at those, especially us on the Left in the EU/US, whose criticism of Trump's actions veer into tacit support of Maduro or his repressive government. Exclusively blaming US sanctions for Venezuela's problems is overly simplistic and shows a lack of understanding (countries like Cuba have faced severe US sanctions for decades yet manages to provide a much better quality of life for people there). Many South American countries and Spain have struck a better balance, but must go further in condemning US actions - and really should have done more to resolve the situation before it came to this, as neighbouring countries. As Europe came to the aid of Ukraine, where was the rest of South and Central America to help bring peace and justice to Venezuela, apart from reluctantly taking in much of the 8 million refugees? 3) As much as a few vocal Venezuelans abroad might want you to think that every one of them is supportive of Trump's illegal bombing and kidnapping, opinions are more mixed on his actions, especially once you include those living there still and disaffected socialists (though Maduro is near-universally unpopular due to his repression). It's important to keep in mind that those who have been forced to leave will tend to be the most right-wing, and are melding valid opposition to Maduro's repression with simplis…

4) Maduro is not socialist in any positive way. I learned so much speaking to Venezuelan socialists over the past few years and the picture they paint is of dashed hopes and disillusionment, especially after Chavez died and Maduro came into power. In my view, any socialist who supports Maduro (like those who support the USSR or China) is doing a disservice to the ideals of Leftism we should hold - equality, democracy, community, empowerment, and autonomy. 5) Everyone is being pushed towards a boring binary, when the reality is Maduro was and is awful for millions of Venezuelans, plus the wider democratic Left movement in South America (Lula in Brazil, Petro in Colombia, previously Boric in Chile). You can be against US Imperialism without supporting South American dictatorships. Messages of peace from the Venezuelan government are laughable, as they come after a sustained campaign of their own imperialism, almost invading and annexing half of Guyana recently just because it had oil (sound familiar?) 6) Venezuelans are understandably most concerned with their country, but my concern is focused on what an emboldened Trump will do now that the UK, France, Germany, and much of the Global North (plus many Latinos abroad and in the US specifically) have failed to condemn his illegal actions of bombing the capital of Venezuela (including damaging civilian buildings and killing some civilians - many Venezuelans will tell you that's not true but there is multiple videos showing evidence of bombs damaging homes and even US outlets have highlighted civilian deaths) and kidnapping the Head of State and his wife in the middle of the night (even if he is a contested head of state). 7) I fear for the millions of Mexicans, Colombians, Panamanians, Canadians, and Greenlandic people who are now correctly terrified that Trump will similarly invade and colonise their countries. Since the US illegal actions in Venezuela, Trump has already again threatened Colombia, Mexico, and Green…

Thoughts on US illegal actions in Venezuela:

#Venezuela #VenezuelaCrisis #Trump #Oil #Democracy #Freedom #Ireland #IrishLeft #IrishNews #Socialism #EcoSocialism #Left

Considering how vocal our Irish Gov have (correctly) been on Russian imperialism and Israeli imperialism, I'm expecting the same response to US imperialism any moment now!

#Venezuela #US #Imperialism #Invasion #Kidnapping #Maduro #Trump #Fascism #Oil #UnitedStates #Dictator #USDictator

The democratic world must immediately condemn this. Just as we must continue to condemn Putin doing the same in Ukraine. Just as we must continue to condemn Netanyahu doing the same in Palestine.

If any country makes an exception to international law and the rules based order, we all lose out.

Trump says Maduro 'captured and flown out' of Venezuela US President Donald Trump ⁠has said that the United States had captured ‍Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife, and flown them out of the country.

These are the actions of a US dictator and it is the responsibility of the US people to do more to resist the growth of fascism as it takes over their country.

www.rte.ie/news/world/2...

#Venezuela #US #Imperialism #Invasion #Kidnapping #Maduro #Trump #Fascism #Oil #UnitedStates #Dictators