Cut emigrant services by €1 million, says An Bord Snip
Friday, July 17th, 2009A group examining public spending in the light of the crisis in the Irish economy has recommended a number of cuts that would affect services to the Irish abroad. The group, popularly known as “An Bord Snip”, released its report yesterday.
The report recommends cuts in emigrant services of one million euro. The Department of Foreign Affairs spent €15 million in 2008 on services to the Irish abroad. Of this, about ten million went to Britain, 3.5 million to the US,163,000 to Australia, 146,000 to Canada, and small sums to South Africa, Argentina, Zimbabwe and China. The government spent 1 million on Irish groups providing information to intending and returning emigrants, as well as other services of use to the Irish abroad.
Additionally, it says the scheme providing free passports to those over 65 should be eliminated. This would save €4.6 million.
The report also recommends cutting the number of embassies and consulates around the world from 76 to 55. It says embassies in lower priority countries should be sold and moved to leased property. Staff assigned abroad should have their tax-fee Foreign Service Allowance reduced by 12.5%, which would save a million euro. Ambassador posts salaries would also be downgraded.
It is likely that in a time of rising emigration, these proposed cuts would make providing services to an increasing number of Irish abroad more difficult.
Related web pages:
- Report of the Special Group on Public Service Numbers and Expenditure Programmes
- RTE.ie: Summary of recommended cuts to Foreign Affairs
- Irish Independent: Pensioners hit if free passport scheme gets axe
- EuropeanIrish.com: Recommendations to cut support for Irish emigrants
- 2008 Emigrant Services Grants
Pets abandoned by emigrating owners, say centres
Wednesday, July 15th, 2009About a year ago, the number of cars being abandoned at Dublin Airport was cited in the media as an indication of rising emigration. A new measure has emerged: the number of abandoned pets.
The Irish Independent reports that charities that look after pets are seeing an increase in the number of owners leaving their pets, with people blaming financial difficulties or their intentions to emigrate to seek work. Last year there were 20,000 dogs that were abandoned or given up, with about half of those put down.
The paper reports that the Dublin Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals “has received a recent influx of calls from people looking to surrender or re-home their pets.” An animal rescue centre in Tipperary has seen the numbers of animals it’s taking in rising by a fifth, while facing slumping donations.
In an editorial, the paper says:
It seems a reasonable guess that people intending to emigrate form a high proportion of those who abandon animals. This in turn draws attention to the increase in emigration among both Irish people and returning immigrants, an inevitable consequence of the recession.
People who are planning to leave Ireland may not be aware that in many cases they may simply be able to take their animals with them. While Ireland has strict regulations that make it difficult to bring animals in, most emigrant destinations allow intending immigrants to move with their pets.
As for the definitive answer on how many people are emigrating, we await the publication of the CSO statistics, due in the next few weeks, to reveal the numbers behind the anecdotes.
Related web pages:
- Irish Independent: Struggling shelters forced to put down 10,000 dogs last year
- Irish Independent: Dogs are yours for a lifetime
- Airsea.ie – an Irish company that moves pets from Ireland around the world
- EU Pet Passport
- Moving pets to the UK
- Moving pets to the United States
- Moving pets to Australia
- Moving pets to Canada
- Moving pets to New Zealand
- Bringing pets to Poland (more here)
- IrishAnimals.ie: Ireland’s Pet Quarantine Laws
Donegal newsletter a splendid example of global outreach
Tuesday, July 14th, 2009The Donegal Diaspora Project has published its latest newsletter online. “Donegal – community in touch” is a Donegal County Council initiative to keep in touch with the Donegal diaspora, and is a splendid model for a county-level global outreach.
Some sample articles:
- Soccer legend Packy Bonner talking about his “Donegalitis”, an illness he has no desire ever to receive treatment for.
- Information on MacGill Summer School
- News of Donegal-born doctor being named GP of the year in Australia
- Donegal participation in Brussels’ first St Patricks Day parade
- Reports on publications focusing on Donegal emigration, the Flight of the Earls, GAA
It’s a lively mix of business, culture, social and community news. Highly recommended.
The Donegal Diaspora Project, a joint effort by the Donegal County Council and Derry City Council, is aimed at people living and working in other parts of the country or the world who wish to return to work or set up a business, or support development in the NorthWest region.
Related web pages:
NY Times reports on recent Irish arrivals
Thursday, July 9th, 2009Irish community leaders and recent immigrants speak out on rising immigration from Ireland to New York in an article in today’s New York Times.
Immigrant activist and bar owner Ciaran Staunton says that he is now seeing four or five immigrants a day coming into his pub looking for work; a year ago, about one a day would come in. Orla Kelleher of the Aisling Irish Center in Yonkers, says that she is seeing ten immigrants a week, double that of a year ago.
Orla says that people are now hoping to find work and stay longer than they had in the past: “Most are saying, ‘Depends on work’ or ‘As long as I can stay,’ � she said. “Before it was kind of like, ‘Maybe three months.’ It was their call, it was their choice, whereas now they don’t have a choice.�
Perhaps more troublingly, Orla notes that this round of emigration is breaking up families:
Another change, she said, is the large number of men who have left their wives and children in Ireland to find work in New York. “The probability is that they have a beautiful four- or five-bedroom house back in Ireland, and that’s probably strangling them now,� she said.
This comment highlights the rather scary effects of post-boom debt and large mortgages. It was possible, if often inaccurate, for people like Brian Lenihan (in the infamous Newsweek interview of October 1987) to depict the emigration of in the 1980s as a way for young people to gain experience and come back better prepared to make a life in Ireland. When people who have already established their lives need to leave their families in order to maintain the family home, it’s impossible to spin it positively.
Related web pages:
- NY Times: As Ireland’s Boom Ends, Job Seekers Revive a Well-Worn Path to New York
- Aisling Irish Community Center
BarCamp Diaspora to focus on global African talent
Thursday, July 9th, 2009Ghanaians living in the US and around the world will be taking part in an initiative called “BarCamp Diaspora” on July 25. The event, taking place in Washington, DC, will allow the African diaspora to exchange ideas on doing business in Ghana, West Africa.
A barcamp is an open, participatory workshop event where the content is provided by the participants; the first barcamp was held in 2005, and in early years were focused on technology. The content is provided by the attendees, who can choose to speak on their own interests.
BarCamp Diaspora ’09 will be focused on “Investing our talent where it counts”. Organisers say, “BarCamp Diaspora ’09 is a FREE event for anyone who is interested in using their skills, talent, and resources to benefit Africa. It will provide a great opportunity for the African Diaspora to network and collaborate on projects.”
They list several possible breakout session ideas:
- Sustaining African NGO’s in the Diaspora
- Opportunities in open source
- Mobile payments; why is Africa leading the world
- African outsourcing; opportunities and risks
- African communications infrastructure; growth, trend, opportunities
- African women and technology
- African ingenuity; building, making and selling African products
- ICT Solutions for affordable health care in Ghana
- Renewable resources, green technology, biofuels and solar energy
- Social media: Where are the Ghanaian or West African bloggers?
BarCamp Diaspora grows out of last year’s BarCamp Ghana ’08, which was held in Accra to exchange ideas on entrepreneurship, innovation and development for the developing nation.
The idea has interesting potential for Ireland – while there have been several diaspora conferences in recent years, their formal organisational structure has limited audience participation. An Irish diaspora barcamp could be an energising way of channeling the power of the grassroots in the world-wide Irish community.
International Conference on Diaspora and Development. World Bank, Washington DC: July 13-14 2009
Wednesday, July 8th, 2009From the World Bank:
The Migration and Remittances team of the Development Economics Prospects Group and the Migration Working Group of the World Bank are organizing an International Conference on Diaspora and Development on July 13-14, 2009.
The diaspora of developing countries can be a potent force for development for their countries of origin, through remittances, but more importantly, through the promotion of trade, investments, knowledge and technology transfers. The conference aims to consolidate research and evidence on these issues with a view to formulating policies in both sending and receiving countries.
The Keynote session will focus on the “Impact of the Crisis on Migration and Remittances”, while there will be other sessions on
- Diaspora as a strategy for the global mobility of skills
- Contributions of unskilled diaspora to development
- Mobilising diaspora investments
- Deepening diaspora ties
- Mobilising highly-skilled diaspora
- Working with diaspora and diaspora associations
- Diaspora actions
- Collective remittances: country experiences
- Circular migration and returns
The agenda notes there will be an (unnamed) representative from Ireland speaking as part of the panel discussion on diaspora ties.
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