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« Previous Entries Next Entries »Ireland’s success can be model for new EU: McAleese
Friday, May 25th, 2007Ireland’s success in attracting emigrants home emerged as a major theme of President Mary McAleese’s remarks during her visit to Latvia and Lithuania this week.
During her visit to Latvia on Tuesday, President McAleese said, ‘The largest number of Irish migrants left because they had little opportunity at home. We know they would wish to come home, so it’s important to explain to them what’s happening in Ireland now”.
President McAleese told Lithuanians, “As your economy expands, many Lithuanians currently living in Ireland will surely feel the pull of home”. She added, “When they do return, they will bring with them valued skills and experience to help develop your own country as it seeks to reap the full advantages of EU membership.”
Migrant workers disadvantaged in workplace
Friday, May 25th, 2007Migrant workers in Europe are likely to experience disadvantage in the workplace, according to a new report from the European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions.
The report investigated employment conditions of workers who travelled from one country to another for any reason, found that migrants in Europe face segregation into low-paid jobs with little opportunity for mobility. They are more likely than non-migrants to face unhealthy working conditions; work longer hours; and perform night, weekend and shift work. They are also more frequently exposed to discrimination in the workplace.
Migrant workers are often overqualified for the work they do, are exposed to greater job insecurity and are more likely to be unemployed. Despite these additional hardships, migrant workers are often poorly represented by trade unions.
Download the report from the Eurofound website.
Europass offers assistance in qualification translation
Thursday, May 24th, 2007As students finish up their summer exams, they are likely to spot signs for an initiative called “Europass”. Europass.ie bills itself as an initiative that helps make skills and qualifications more easily understood in Europe. It is aimed at job-seekers and those enrolling in education or training. The service makes it easier for employers to understand job-seekers’ competencies, and for education and training practicioners to advice people on suitable learning paths.
The service allows users to create a straightforward CV and complete a self-assessment of language skills, and offers information on mobility, certificate and diploma supplements. The service is free of charge and available throughout Europe.
Visit www.europass.ie.
Galway migrants’ views sought
Tuesday, May 22nd, 2007Galway City’s Writer-in-Residence programme is seeking the experiences of immigrants and returning migrants for a publication it will produce later in the year.
An ad placed in yesterday’s Galway First newspaper notes, “Galway means “Town of the Foreigners”. The ad says they are looking for “your experiences, good, bad, funny or sad. Or just something strange that you may have encountered, or a story about something strange that happened to you, or perhaps to somebody that you know. We welcome stories in any language, but please do not make them any longer than 500 words.” They note they will guarantee anonymity if desired.
Poet Michael O’Loughlin is the writer in residence this year. Contact him by email.
Cannes features Irish migrants on film
Tuesday, May 22nd, 2007A story of Irish immigrants in Kilburn will be shown at the Cannes Film Festival. “Kings” was adapted from Jimmy Murphy’s play “The Kings of the Kilburn High Road” by Irish filmmaker Tom Collins. The film tells the tale of six men who move to London for work in the 1970s; they are reunited for a funeral thirty years later.
The filmmaker said in the London Evening Standard:
“Our aim was to make a ‘ foreign’ film in England because I’m no longer sure England as we knew it exists. Our characters still talk in Irish in an attempt to accentuate their personal and national bond and their language is, to them, their last act of solidarity.
“This is an untold story of immigration and loneliness which continues today with migrants from Lithuania, Poland and China.”
The story is told in Irish. Micheál O Meallaigh, Senior Commissioning Editor of TG4, told the Derry Journal: “This is a story told for the first time in our own language but it is also particularly relevant to the growing immigrant population who will be exposed to the same pressures and alienation that the emigrant Irish experienced in foreign territories.�
See the film distributor’s website.
Diaspora now the ‘buyaspora’?
Monday, May 21st, 2007“The Irish diaspora has become the Irish buyaspora”, Alastair Adair, a professor of real estate at the University of Ulster, has told the Chicago Tribune. Professor Adair was commenting on the career of Garrett Kelleher, the returned emigrant who is building North America’s tallest skyscraper.
Professor Adair also noted that last year, Irish real estate investors poured $18 billion into property deals, mainly in Europe and the US East Coast.
He added, “It’s a new era in which Irish developers are seeking a global profile by identifying opportunities to own iconic buildings. ”
As for Mr Kelleher, the 45-year-old real estate developer began his construction career in London as a labourer, before moving to New York and then Chicago; he returned home in 1995 with a “substantial amount” of money. He started his Dublin company, Shelbourne Development Ltd, that year, and is now worth about $1 billion.
He is currently building the 150-story Spire in Chicago, a $1.5-billion project. He expects half the buyers to be foreign.
Read the full article on the Chicago Tribune website.
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