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« Previous Entries Next Entries »More families emigrating, say Australian visa companies
Monday, September 8th, 2008Young families are emigrating at an increasing rate, claims an article in the Irish Independent. While it cites no official statistics to back up this claim, companies specialising in immigration assistance say they are seeing more families making the move.
Immigration consultant Nathan Brennan says most of his clients are in their 30s and have families:
“There has been a tendency for the Irish to travel for a year or two to places such as Australia and New Zealand, and of course there is a big history of the Irish settling permanently in America. But the vast majority of people we see – over 80pc – are people aged 30 to 40 with a family. They are looking for a complete change of life and career.â€?
Liz O’Hagan, similarly, says that people are moving with children:
“People are telling us that they have lost their jobs here, are going to be made redundant and have been given two months’ notice or that their partner has lost their job. People are also worried about their children’s future. These are real families looking to move because of the economic environment in Ireland.
“People who contacted us in 2003 or 2004 with the idea of moving to Australia are coming back to us saying they now want to go ahead”.
There is no way to judge whether those who visit such immigration consultants, who charge for their services, are representative of those interested in migrating to Australia. It is probably safe to assume that those contracting immigration consultants would be among the more financially well-off. The report notes expanding opportunities for tradespeople and professionals in Australia. In an accompanying article, the newspaper profiles a family who has left Dublin for Brisbane, Australia to raise their young family. Read the articles on the Irish Independent website:
- Young families emigrate as brain drain grips economy
- “We love being outdoors and feel it’s a better life”
Obama and McCain’s Irish stances: Irish Times features debate
Monday, September 8th, 2008The Irish Times today has a “Head to Head� feature on whether an Obama presidency would be best for Ireland, with opposing opinions written by Democrats Abroad president Kate Fitzgerald and national co-chair of the Irish-American Republicans (and former Irish Lobby for Immigration Reform president) Grant Lally.
One point the two articles do not highlight: the contrasting immigration policies of the parties. Immigration continues to be a powerful issue in US politics, and it appears that the subject has become even more polarised in this campaign.Â
The 2008 Democratic Party platform supports comprehensive immigration reform. The platform says:
We need comprehensive immigration reform, not just piecemeal efforts. We must work together to pass immigration reform in a way that unites this country, not in a way that divides us by playing on our worst instincts and fears. We are committed to pursuing tough, practical and humane immigration reform in the first year of the next administration.
The platform is specific about the steps that should be taken to reform the current situation:
For the millions living here illegally but otherwise playing by the rules, we must require them to come out of the shadows and get right with the law. We support a system that requires undocumented immigrants who are in good standing to pay a fine, pay taxes, learn English and go to the back of the line for the opportunity to become citizens. They are our neighbors and we can help them become full tax-paying, law-abiding, productive members of society.
This stance is similar to what immigration advocates in the US have been calling for: a chance to regularise the status of the estimated twelve million undocumented, including an estimated 50,000 Irish.
The Republican Party platform does not support a path to legalisation for the undocumented, although before his presidential candidacy, Senator McCain had strongly supported and even sponsored legislation that would have have provided for this.
The platform expresses support for a reversal of immigration through stronger enforcement of existing legislation:
Our determination to uphold the rule of law begins with more effective enforcement, giving our agents that tools and resources they need to protect our sovereignty, completing the border fence quickly and securing the borders, and employing complementary strategies to secure our ports of entry. Experience shows that enforcement of existing laws is effective in reducing and reversing illegal immigration.
It rejects comprehensive immigration reform that would be aimed at regularising the status of the undocumented:
We oppose amnesty. The rule of law suffers if government policies encourage or reward illegal activity. The American people’s rejection of en masse legalisations is especially appropriate given the federal government’s past failures to enforce the law.
See the two platforms:
See the Irish Times feature: Head 2 Head: Would an Obama presidency be best for Ireland?
Migration features in Limerick exhibition
Friday, September 5th, 2008Emigration features prominently in an exhibition by Michael McLoughlin at the Limerick City Gallery. McLoughlin is a Dublin-based artist with an interest in travel, migration and movement, and his latest exhibition, “I only come here ‘cos it’s free”, focuses on an aging community.
The centre piece of the exhibition is a new film-work I Don’t See The Lads That Much Anymore, developed in collaboration with critically acclaimed actor and comedian Jon Kenny and writer Michael Finn. The film re-visits a previous character, a London-based Irish emigrant, exploring displacement through an individual’s struggle but also the multitude of changes experienced in Irish culture in the past 20 years.
The exhibition runs from September 12 to November 16.
See the release from the Limerick City Gallery of Art.
Jobless rate jumps to 6.1%
Wednesday, September 3rd, 2008The unemployment rate rose to 6.1% in August. The adjusted live register count is now at 235,100, the highest since March 1998; this represents a 45% rise in the number of jobless since August 2007 – the steepest jump since record-keeping began in 1967. The rate of 6.1% is the largest since December 1998.
Construction is the hardest-hit sector, while manufacturing and services are also contracting.
Nursing rep raises spectre of emigration
Tuesday, September 2nd, 2008Hundreds of newly trained nurses will be emigrating due to a lack of jobs in Ireland, warned the Irish Nurses Organisation this week. INO general secretary Liam Doran says that only about 25-30% of newly trained nurses are being offered jobs, after being trained in four-year training programmes funded by the taxpayer. Doran told the Herald newspaper,
“It’s probably the worst scene that has existed for the last decade in the health service. Hundreds will be emigrating”.
He noted in the last 13 months the number of nurses employed in the health service has declined from 39,000 to 37,700.
Meanwhile, Doran said, other countries are working to hire more nurses. “America has said that they’ll employ 600,000 more nurses in the next six years. You could be working in the morning in America.”
The INO is trying to increase the number of posts for nurses employed by the HSE; the HSE had a hiring freeze, which was lifted in January.
The Herald also asserts that “Irish medical doctors are being lured to Australia by more flexible rosters and less onerous hours by recruitment agencies”, but offers no figures.
Read the report on the Herald.ie website: “No jobs in Ireland for our new nurses“.
Silicon Valley expats working to enhance tech links
Tuesday, September 2nd, 2008The Irish Technology Leadership Group, a California-based business network, has announced it will visit Ireland to encourage Irish start-up companies interested in doing business in the US. The ITLG, which was launched last year, is comprised of Irish and Irish-American technology leaders in Silicon Valley. They are committed to helping Ireland address the challenges of embracing new technology opportunities.
From November 19 to 21, the group will host the ITLG Venture Capital Forum at Trinity College in Dublin. The event will include a series of workshops and networking opportunities for a selection of promising Irish technology start-ups. President Mary McAleese will host a reception for the group at �ras an Uachtaráin.
John Hartnett, senior vice-president of global markets at Palm in Silicon Valley, told the Silicon Republic news service earlier this year that the group intends to use their experience in Silicon Valley to inform Irish policy-makers.
“The guys sitting around the table are a who’s who of technology in Silicon Valley and therefore we’ve got our finger on the pulse of what’s happening in areas like semiconductors, Web 2.0 and social networking. What we see on a day to day basis will be invaluable in helping the Irish education system gear up for future opportunities.
“We will also work with IDA Ireland in terms of understanding what it takes to compete here and land the big projects. Ireland has had a tremendous track record in attracting top technology companies across the US and we need to be really smart in how we continue to do this going forward. We’re not going to win deals the same way we did for the last 15 years.�
He noted that the group has attracted attention beyond Silicon Valley:
“It’s like we put a giant Irish flag on the moon. A lot of success stories of Irish business people living and working in places like San Diego, Boston and New York are being revealed to us and it’s very impressive.�
Further reading:
Irish giants of Silicon Valley to save knowledge economy – Silicon Republic
Giants of Silicon Valley to descend on Dublin – Silicon Republic (1 September 2008)
The Greening of Silicon Valley. Irish America Magazine (April/May 08)
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