Australia
« Previous Entries Next Entries »Agency reports increase in Australia visas
Monday, August 20th, 2007A business that assists would-be migrants to Australia claims that there has been a large jump in the number of workers moving to Australia.
Migration.ie spokesperson Barry Dowling told the Irish Independent, “We deal with about 350 applications a month and we probably deal with about half the market for Australia”. The newspaper reports that the company is dealing with an increasing number of construction workers who are looking for jobs as the industry slows down.
He says that people are leaving for economic and lifestyle reasons. “Most people leaving for Australia are looking for a better standard of living and Australia consistently beats Ireland hands down in terms of both cost and standard of living.”
Australia is actively encouraging immigration to deal with a skills shortage. The recruitment efforts include efforts to attract a wide range of workers, including medical professionals, cooks, hairdressers, accountants and construction workers.
The newspaper also reports that the number of students taking up the J-1 visa has also increased substantially.
Is construction slowdown increasing emigration?
Wednesday, July 4th, 2007Irish tradespeople are moving to Australia and New Zealand in increasing numbers, according to a report in the Irish Examiner.
Migration.ie spokesperson Edwina Shanahan says that about 4,000 Irish people moved to Australia and New Zealand in 2006. “There has been a steady overall increase, but particularly among tradespeople. For most, the main reason for moving is better job prospects and quality of life”.
While Migration.ie says the increase in tradespeople leaving is a result of a slowdown in the Irish construction industry – a claim disputed by the Construction Federation of Ireland.
The CFI acknowledges that the housing sector has slowed in recent months, but says the commercial and public sector has grown, resulting in static employment in the construction over the last six months. There are about 290,000 employed in construction currently, up from 260,000 two years ago.
 The Economic and Social Research Institute says the economy will slow down this year, and says that employment growth will fall to 58,000 next year, down from 87,000 new jobs in 2006.
 Read the report in the Irish Examiner.
Australia celebrates Paddy’s Day – without a government representative
Friday, March 16th, 2007The Irish in Australia will not be hosting a government minister this Saint Patrick’s Day. First Secretary Aidan Cronin of the Irish Embassy in Canberra said, “This year, for a variety of reasons, it has not been possible to send a minister to represent the Government. We would expect that there would be ministerial representation in future years”.
One country that will be celebrating St Patrick’s Day in style will be China – Shanghai, the largest city, has been hosting a major week-long festival. Events include the largest exhibition of contemporary Irish art ever held in China as well as Shanghai’s first St Patrick’s Day parade.
Australian groups awarded grants
Wednesday, January 3rd, 2007Minister for Foreign Affairs Dermot Ahern has announced over €100,000 in grants to several groups in Australia. The money is going to three Irish welfare centres and to Melbourne Comhaltas Ceoltóirà Éireann.
The Minister said:
The Welfare Centres in Sydney and Melbourne are now taking on staff to develop their services. I am delighted to increase funding to these groups that do such invaluable work to support our communities in Australia. The centre in Woolongong, for instance, is engaged in community care to older Irish people who travelled to Australia some 50 years ago to work in the mines and factories of this industrialised area which has since experienced significant economic decline.
While the focus of our efforts is inevitably in support of our vulnerable citizens in Britain, and also in the US, we must never ever forget that there are older and vulnerable Irish people elsewhere in the world who need our help, including as the present grants show in Australia.
Australia targets Ireland in global campaign for workers
Tuesday, October 17th, 2006Australia is holding an event in Dublin as part of a global campaign to attract 100,000 skilled workers to the country. Similar events are being held in Britain, the US and South America. The are targeting workers who are under 45, have good English, and have qualifications and/or work experience in several occupations in demand; occupations on that list include a wide variety of professions and trades. http://www.immi.gov.au/skillexpos/
Newspaper makes claims of prostitution in Australia
Monday, August 14th, 2006The Sunday Tribune reports that some Irish students have turned to prostitution to fund their travels. The papers claims that brothels across Australia, where prostitution is legal, are hiring Irish women under the age of 25. The paper featured an interview with a student from Galway who said that she turned to prostitution after learning how much money prostitutes made. An agency working with prostitutes, the Scarlet Alliance, said, “We have a lot of girls who come to us for assistance. Some of these girls may have industrial concerns; they may want to improve their work conditions or they could have faced unfair dismissal.� Geraldine Rowley of Irish organisation Ruhama was quoted highlighting the dangers of prostitution.
« Previous Entries Next Entries »