We meant to have this report out a while back, but you know, things just keep happening. It seems we've been pounding the roads of Aghoos and surrounding areas quite a lot at the moment and trying to keep warm by hugging trucks – our, not so new, favourite sport. And there are a lot of trucks to be stopped. They are coming up to every five minutes, so we don't even have to get up that early.

Hello! In Spain there is a very bad situation with the Free Radios in Asturias. We need your support !! ;) Can you send this Comunicado to the Jefatura Provincial de Telecomunicaciones de Asturias and help to make international presion? Please speak about this in the Assembly. And if you can send this Manifiesto to other people much better. Thank you!

Achi

This is the address

Teachers from Dublin DEIS schools have welcomed the publication by the Department of Education & Skills and the Educational Research Centre of a report which shows that “…the DEIS programme is having a positive effect on tackling educational disadvantage…” and that “…improvement is taking place in the learning achievements of pupils in DEIS primary schools…”

Press Statement from Dublin INTO Districts

Quinn ‘Review’ not enough – Complete Reversal of DEIS Cuts Needed

Thousands of parents and teachers from disadvantaged schools to protest at Department of Education and Skills against staffing cuts

Campaigners against staffing cuts to DEIS schools have said that the Review ordered by Minister Quinn is a move in the right direction but not enough and that the cuts must be completely reversed.  Teachers and parents from Dublin DEIS schools have announced that they are to continue with their plans for a major protest outside the Department of Education and Skills, Marlborough St., Dublin1 on Thursday 19^th January from 3:30p.m.

GAAW have published a communique from the group that sabotaged a US war plan at Shannon airport on 20 Dec 2011. This action has been only briefly mentioned in the Irish media as the 'vanadalism' of a plane, we reproduce the communique in full below and encourage others to do likewise.

The association representing Irish Landlords have urged their members to pass on the new Household Tax and the Second Homes Tax to their tenants (see statement below). This will amount to an increase of 25 euro per month. No doubt this is part of the "sharing the burden" that the government go on about so much. It gives the lie of course to the government claim that the less well off will be exempt from the household tax.

The changes to fees and the maintenance grants system for new postgraduate students in Budget 2012 comes as no big shock. The €250 increase in the student contribution charge means students will pay €2,250 from next September, with other increases likely to come in 2013 and 2014. In relation to the future of the postgraduates, no maintenance grants will be paid for new entrants from the 2012/13 academic year.

These changes come into effect, after months of campaigning by the grassroots student campaign group Free Education for Everyone (FEE) and the Union of Students Ireland (USI).

New Beginings a group of lawyers and professionals who have been directly helping mortgage holders in legal battles with lenders, are planning a series of meetings across the state to sign up hard pressed householders to a national campaign.

On November 30th the Derry Trades Union Council have called on workers to rally in Derry's Guildhall Square at 1pm. Many Public Workers will be holding pickets outside their place of employment then marching to the Guildhall Square. 

Friday 25th November saw over 5 hours of Shell’s peat and stone haulage completely blocked by campaigners in the ongoing struggle against Shell's experimental gas pipeline & refinery. No arrests were made.   Solidarity camp member Grainne Clancy said of the ongoing disruption of Shell's construction, “We are doing all we can with the numbers we have at the moment, but we really need more people up here right now. Sometimes there’s only a couple of us blocking, if we had even a few more people we could be doing a lot more to disrupt Shell’s peat removal.”