^{The success of the Repeal the 8th campaign is a neon sign blinking at politicians with the message that parking issues of national interest does not work. It becomes politically productive to grasp the thistle, endure the short-lived pain and be a catalyst for creating a political legacy.}

^{With the scent of political reform in their nostrils, politicians should now tackle the issue of legalised cruelty. The existence of legal baiting and killing of wild animals for entertainment shows that Irish society is still handcuffed to a past decomposing within its midst.}

^{A tragic situation in a Galway hospital was the driver for politicians to take their finger out of the political dyke and act on the issue of female reproductive health. Will it take a fatal situation on the Irish hunting field for our politicians to finally consign bloodsports to history?}

^{Given the vicious nature of those who engage in bloodsports and their easy use of violence, can it be only a matter of time before this human rubicon is passed?}

^{Mortuary politics is not the way to legislate for a country’s moral standards. In Ireland, it seems one has to die to create the catalyst for political reform. A high price fixed for eternity on a granite headstone.}

^{John Tierney}           

^{campaigns director,}

^{Association of Hunt Saboteurs}

^{Coffee cups are a litter epidemic}

^{Our country is now heavily littered with paper coffee cups, which appear to be the most commonly littered items found in cities, suburban and rural areas. It is nothing short of an epidemic in terms of rubbish.}

^{There is hardly a place you can go where you cannot see them indifferently thrown away, in addition to their long-lasting plastic caps.}

^{Our caffeine addicts have no problem slyly disposing of their cup anywhere that suits their convenience. There is absolutely no need for it. Such items can be binned, compressed into anyone’s pocket and brought home, or left where purchased — instead of creating an environmental hazard and a disincentive for tourists to come.}

^{We hear so often of the ‘dirty Irish’ — who could dispute this, given the blanket of paper coffee cups littered nationwide as testament to contempt, indifference, and irresponsibility for our environment?}

^{Maurice Fitzgerald}

^{Shanbally, Co Cork}