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CLASSROOM TO IMPROVE: Why are our children still educated in prefabs?
Ireland
Most students who have come through the Irish primary and secondary school system over the past number of decades will almost certainly have experienced classes in prefabricated buildings.
0 Backers raised €0 of €2035
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Open
ECONOMY CLASS: Why do schools still rely on parents to pay for essentials?
Ireland
Children in Ireland are entitled to free education yet schools continue to rely on parents to help pay for essentials such as heating, lighting, insurance and classroom equipment. This is due to the ongoing funding gap between running costs and State grants.
2 Backers raised €20 of €2770
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Open
SOIL INVADERS: Are invasive plants spreading out of control in Ireland?
Ireland
Invasive alien species represent one of the main threats to biodiversity and related ecosystem services - especially on islands, according to the European Commission.
15 Backers raised €290 of €2940
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VANISHING PAST: Is Ireland's archaeological heritage at risk of disappearing?
Ireland
Protections for newly discovered national monuments have been radically reduced in the past decade and a half, since a 2004 amendment to the National Monuments Act. This change gave extra power to the State to remove them if they were in the way of certain projects such as motorways.
9 Backers raised €296 of €3420
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Open
COVID CONTRACTS: In crisis mode, does the tendering process go out the window?
Ireland
Since the start of the pandemic, there have been issues with contracts and delivery of equipment such as ventilators across the world.
2 Backers raised €15 of €2890
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Open
BEATHA TEANGA: An bhfuil coinníollacha pleanála agus deonuithe á chur i bhfeidhm chun cinntiú go bhfásann ceantracha Gaeltachta?
Ireland
Tá líon na ndaoine a labhrann Gaeilge i gceantracha Gaeltachta ag titm, le níos lú ná aon cheathrú de mhuintir na háite ag labhairt Gaeilge go laethúil, dar leis an daonáireamh deirneach.
11 Backers raised €515 of €3320
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Open
LIGHTS OUT: Why are we facing an Irish electricity crisis?
Ireland
As we face the climate crisis, a key strand of the State’s strategy to reduce our emissions is to electrify our energy, heat and transport systems using renewables such as wind and solar.
32 Backers raised €1200 of €2830
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Open
BUILDING BLOCKED: Where has Ireland fallen down on social housing policy?
Ireland
Ireland has become a country where the idea of social and affordable housing has gone from a near certainty to a vague aspiration for many generations of would-be homeowners in the space of a few decades.
7 Backers raised €140 of €4035
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Open
WAITING ROOM: Why is it difficult for many to get access to a local GP?
Ireland
General practitioner services have been under severe pressure since the pandemic resulting in longer appointment waiting times and leaving many struggling to find a GP in their area.
6 Backers raised €240 of €3190
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Open
CROSSING FOR CARE: Is Ireland using a cross border scheme to export its healthcare issues?
Ireland
Irish patients continue to travel abroad for appointments with consultants and for much-needed surgeries in order to avoid long waiting lists here.
1 Backer raised €20 of €2715
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Open
REHAB WAIT: Why are people waiting up to two years for a drug detox bed?
Dublin
A rising demand for drug treatment is recognised in the current Government drug strategy, yet thousands continue to wait for months, and sometimes years, to be admitted to a detox bed.
5 Backers raised €150 of €2230
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Funded
BREAKING THE BANKS: Are Irish riverside habitats under threat from over-maintenance?
Ireland
Clearing of vegetation from waterways is a regular occurrence across the country as part of the mandated maintenance of over 11,500km of channels and 800km of embankments.
82 Backers raised €3130 of €3100
 Funded 
Open
CITIZENS BE AWARE: Why did the State move away from the grassroots model of local community advice services?
Ireland
Voluntary community information centres began popping up in Ireland from the late 1960s to offer citizens information on a broad range of public services, including housing, social welfare and financial advice.
6 Backers raised €105 of €2080
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Open
GENERATION REGENERATION: Will Limerick city ever get the chance it was promised to eliminate deprivation?
Limerick
Cuts, revisions and delays have resulted in under delivery of housing and controversy over the regeneration of Limerick, over a decade after a plan was launched to transform the city.
10 Backers raised €330 of €3320
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Open
ACROSS THE BOARD: Are rural grants being distributed equally under the LEADER scheme?
Ireland
Since 2014, €220 million worth of rural projects have been funded through the LEADER programme which are administered by Local Action Groups (LAGs).
6 Backers raised €168 of €3120
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Nearly Funded
SYSTEM OVERLOAD: The public health system was creaking before the pandemic - has Covid-19 broken it?
Ireland
At the start of 2021, Ireland had a backlog of thousands of positive Covid-19 tests awaiting validation.
42 Backers raised €1413 of €1840
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Open
FOUL PLAY: Why does dog faeces continue to litter our streets and parks?
Ireland
The problem of dog fouling in Dublin grew so bad that local authorities launched a hotline in 2013 to report cases in a bid to get people to clean up after their animals.
8 Backers raised €130 of €1510
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Open
IN A FIX - Why are people still being exposed to mould, sewage and pests in local authority housing?
Ireland
Social housing in Ireland was found in violation of human rights in 2017 by the European Committee of Social Rights due to the presence of sewage, contaminated water, dampness and persistent mould.
2 Backers raised €70 of €2390
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Open
IN LIMBO: Why are people left in hospitals and nursing homes instead of rehab?
Ireland
Though the National Rehabilitation Hospital (NRH) recently moved into a new building, spinal cord and brain injury survivors remain on long waiting lists for specialist rehabilitation.
5 Backers raised €160 of €1730
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Open
LAST PLACE: Why doesn't every child in Ireland have a place in secondary school?
Ireland
Lack of secondary school places has led to groups around the country campaigning for new schools over the past number of years.
1 Backer raised €20 of €1440
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Open
REVOLVING DOOR: What influence do former politicians have in Leinster House?
National
The announcement in 2020 that former Taoiseach Enda Kenny would front an RTÉ series about old railway routes gained a light-hearted reaction, with many jokes, caricatures and memes.
41 Backers raised €1190 of €2960
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Funded
HOLY LAND: How much money are religious orders pocketing from lucrative property sales?
Ireland
Properties valued at almost €250 million in 2009 - and offered by religious congregations for redress in institutional child abuse cases - have yet to be handed over to fulfil that promise.
43 Backers raised €1640 of €1640
 Funded 
Open
SILENT TREATMENT: Are people with eating disorders being failed by the public health system?
Ireland
The HSE is currently implementing a national clinical programme for eating disorders but there have been significant issues with its roll-out, with just over 3% of money allocated to improve supports and treatment actually spent on this since 2018.
32 Backers raised €990 of €1840
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Open
BIRTH PLACE: Why does the Irish health service offer so little choice for expectant mothers?
Ireland
In 2015, the National Maternity Strategy said “there is a lack of choice for expectant mothers” by international standards. It proposed a model of care that “represents a fundamental overhaul of services” which are currently “largely consultant-led and hospital-based”.
25 Backers raised €880 of €2030
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Open
FOUR IN THE BED: How much are the Big Four consultancy firms profiting from public money?
Ireland
Concerns have been raised on numerous occasions about the vast amount of public money spent on consultancy firms in Ireland, with over €13 million allocated to ‘consultancy services, value for money and policy reviews’ across departments in Budget 2020.
16 Backers raised €325 of €2605
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Open
FUELLING RETIREMENT: Are Irish pensions contributing to the climate crisis?
Ireland
In 2019, Ireland became one of the first countries in the world to remove companies which obtain more than a fifth of their revenues from fossil fuels from the State’s investment fund.
20 Backers raised €637 of €1240
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Completed
FUNDING FERTILITY: Has the delay in publicly funding IVF destroyed people’s chance to have children?
Ireland
Around one in six couples in Ireland experience difficulty when trying to have children and will face thousands of euro in costs if they seek fertility treatment.
28 Backers raised €950 of €950
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Completed
ACADEMIC UNCERTAINTY: How are universities and institutes of technology allowed to employ so many researchers and lecturers on precarious contracts?
Ireland
In Ireland, we hold academics in high esteem but are they being treated properly by their employers and the Government?
44 Backers raised €1300 of €1300
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Completed
WATER UNDER THE BRIDGE: How much did a controversial road scheme in Kilkenny City actually cost and has it delivered what it was supposed to?
Kilkenny
It was one of the most controversial road developments of recent years in Ireland, a plan to build a new bridge across the River Nore in Kilkenny.
46 Backers raised €1371 of €1350
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Nearly Funded
THE CONSTRUCTION NETWORK: Connecting the dots between the government and lobbyists for developers and the construction industry
Ireland
From the nearly 1,900 lobbyists registered in Ireland, many lobby on behalf of the construction industry and property development companies keen to see the Irish property market expand.
120 Backers raised €2900 of €3200
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Completed
LYING IDLE: How many state properties are lying vacant around the country.
Ireland
The Office of Public Works manages over 2,500 properties around Ireland on behalf of the state.
9 Backers raised €360 of €350
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Completed
CUT DOWN TO SIZE: Why are Ireland's local authorities so keen to chop down trees?
Ireland
Across Ireland, locals have been dismayed to see trees and bushes chopped down by public bodies.
47 Backers raised €1100 of €1100
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Completed
POLITICAL PENSIONS: How much is paid out each year in political and ministerial pensions?
National
Until last year, the Department of Finance published details of how much it paid in pensions to former ministers, taoisigh, presidents, judges, and other ex-officeholders.
2 Backers raised €110 of €100
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Completed
COMPO CLAIMS: Does Ireland really have a ‘compensation culture’?
National
The government minister responsible for the insurance industry has said there are 'clusters' for compensation claims in Ireland.
8 Backers raised €1260 of €1250
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