Obama the focus of Irish attention
Thursday, August 21st, 2008The US presidential campaign remains a focus of intense scrutiny in Ireland, and there have been several newsy bits worth noting lately.
First is the news that a Fine Gael delegation will attend the Democratic Party Convention in Denver, Colorado next week. While there, they will raise the issue of the undocumented, says Donegal TD Joe McHugh, who says he is hoping to speak with Senator Obama and his Irish Liaison Officer, Carol Wheeler, who was appointed last month.
“I greatly look forward to the opportunity to raise the vital issue of the Undocumented with the front-running team for the Oval Office.
“Undocumented Irish people in America are in constant fear that they are going to be imprisoned. These people are not criminals; they are hard working people who pay their taxes, many with their own businesses, who just want to live a normal life.
“False hopes have been plentiful for the undocumented in recent years and there is a vital need to keep dialogue open with the Americans. It is unfair to raise expectations for the sake of political gain. Recent visits from Bertie Ahern and Brian Cowen offered hope to the Irish immigrants but little in the way of progress.
“Brian Cowen went to the US in recent months, promising to work on behalf of the undocumented Irish in America. I would like to know what follow up has been made by the Taoiseach. Undocumented Irish are becoming more and more disheartened as more and more false dawns pass by.
“We need an agreement and it must be bi-lateral. We need to work with the Americans, but we need political leadership from everyone on this island, North and South. This convention gives me a major opportunity to champion the cause of the Irish in America and I intend to make the most of this opportunity.”
Second, there have been two interesting analyses of Obama and the Irish Vote. The first was by activist Tom Hayden, writing in the Huffington Post earlier this month. He says that Obama is in danger of losing the Irish-American vote.
The second was an analysis by Irish Voice publisher and Hillary Clinton supporter Niall O’Dowd on Obama and the Irish-American vote, published in the Irish Times this week.
See the articles:
- Huffington Post: O’Bama and Irish-America
- Irish Times – Is the anointed one about to blow his chance to make history?
Commentator says GAA stats show rise in emigration
Wednesday, August 20th, 2008David McWilliams uses an intriguing index to attempt to chart emigration statistics: the number of international GAA club transfers as compared to domestic transfers. He says that for the last few years, the number of club transfers mostly reflected young players moving around the country; this month, however, there has been a huge increase in the numbers moving to clubs in London and New York.
The article is fascinating as he discusses the way demographic changes are reflected by the GAA.
But the analysis is flawed: he needs to compare transfers in the summer months, as it’s an annual tradition for players to go abroad to play for the summer.
The montly stats are available in Excel files under “club transfers” at http://www.gaa.ie/page/archives.html. I just checked July 07 and July 02 and it looked like well over three-quarters of the transfers were international for both of those months. A comparison of January and July stats just doesn’t put the situation in its proper context.
Read the article on David McWilliams’ website.
Emigration increasing, says CSO
Wednesday, August 20th, 2008Emigration increased slightly in the year ending April 2008, with 45,300 people leaving Ireland.
The figure is the highest since 1990, when 56,300 people left the country, but there are a couple of factors making a difference between then and now.
First, it is likely that there are number of immigrants who had been temporarily in the country who are now returning home or moving on to a third country. The CSO statistics do not reveal nationality of those leaving, but 9,000 are moving on to the accession countries of the EU, while 7,400 are moving on to other parts of continental Europe.
Second, immigration continues to outpace emigration, as it has been doing consistently since 1996. There were 83,300 people who came into Ireland last year; while this is a four-year low and a fairly dramatic decrease from the 109,500 who came in the year ending April 2007, net migration is still significantly inward.
The figure for net migration now stands at 38.5 – although this is nearly half its peak of 71,800 in 2006, it’s still a far cry from the situation twenty years ago. 1988 was one of the peak years for emigration – at that time, net migration stood at -41.9.
The trends, however, are toward increasing emigration and decreasing immigration. The figures also date to April, and as such wouldn’t show any acceleration in emigration that may or may not have occurred this summer.
Where are the outward migrants going?
- 7,000 went to the UK, down from 10,100 in the year ending 2007.
- 7,400 went to the pre-accession countries of continental Europe, up from 3,200 the year before.
- 9,000 went to the 12 countries of the EU accession states, up from 7,000 last year.
- 2,200 are reported to have gone to the US, down from 2,900.
- 19,800 went to the “Rest of the World”, with 11,300 of those going to Australia and Oceania.
The CSO also released statistics today showing that the unemployment rate has risen to 5.1%. There are now 115,000 people unemployed.
Benefits to New Zealand highlighted by company
Tuesday, August 19th, 2008The Sunday Tribune is carrying an article on the benefits of migration to New Zealand. Much of the recent media coverage of migration to Australia and New Zealand seems to be the result of a media campaign by MigrationAbroad.com, a for-profit organisation that handles visa applications to Australia and New Zealand. They are actively promoting such visas through monthly clinics.
The company is promoting New Zealand’s cheaper property, falling unemployment and cultural similarities with Ireland as reasons for a move.
Read the article: “A different opportunity down under”
Tuesday, August 12th, 2008
The Minister for Foreign Affairs has announced grants of more than 8 million euro to 130 Irish community groups in Britain – an increase of 13% over 2007.
Most of the funding will go to welfare projects, with significant funding going to projects dealing with the elderly and vulnerable.
The funding allocation reflects a new emphasis on heritage and cultural projects:
“While the primary emphasis of funding continues to be on supporting projects that promote the welfare of the elderly and vulnerable, I am pleased that additional funding has also made it possible to support a number of heritage and cultural projects which are vital to the development of community networks and which help to foster community spirit. These grant allocations are a clear reflection of the Government’s strong commitment to the welfare and enhancement of our community in Britain. We are determined to maintain and develop this substantial level of support in future years.â€?
See the press release from the Department of Foreign Affairs.
DFA increases grant to Prisoners Overseas Hardship Fund
Tuesday, August 12th, 2008The Department of Foreign Affairs has approved a grant of €30,000 to assist Irish citizens in overseas jails. This figure is a twice that approved last year to the Irish Commission for Prisoners Overseas Hardship Fund. The money is used to provide assistance to Irish prisoners serving time or awaiting trial abroad.
Estimates of the number of Irish prisoners overseas varies: the official estimate is around 800, but it may be as high as 1,200, as many prisoners do not alert Irish authorities. Most of those are in Britain; others are in the US, Spain, and further afield.
Read the Sunday Business Post article.
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