New influx into US, say centres
Thursday, January 31st, 2008Irish immigration centres in the US are reporting that there has been an increase in new arrivals from Ireland, according to a report in last week’s Irish Voice newspaper. The paper interviewed Irish centres in Boston, New York, and San Francisco, and all have reported a rise in the number of recently arrived people seeking their services.
Orla Kelleher of the Aisling Centre called the increase in numbers “a huge turnaround”. The new arrivals tend to be in their early to mid-twenties, and men and women are coming in equal numbers. Most of them are from the north, northwest and west of Ireland. Most of them are arriving with at least one friend, and sometimes in groups.
Kelleher says most of the women have degrees and are looking for work in hospitality, and most of the men are in trades and looking for construction work. She notes, worryingly, that few are worried about the consequences of overstaying their three-month legal stay.
DFA launches charter, registration facility
Wednesday, January 23rd, 2008The Department of Foreign Affairs has launched two new services on its website, aimed at those travelling or resident overseas. The two services are:
- a Consular Services Charter for citizens, called “Travel Safely, Slán Abhaile” – a document setting out the range of services provided by embassies and consulates abroad, as well as advice on steps to take before travelling abroad.
- an online travel registration facility for Irish people resident or travelling abroad – aimed particularly at those travelling to remote or dangerous locations, and at improving the DFA’s capacity to locate Irish citizens caught in a major crisis or family emergency.
In launching the services, Minister for Foreign Affairs Dermot Ahern said,
As people travel more frequently, the demand for our Consular services has increased….This new service will significantly improve our capacity to locate and connect with Irish citizens caught up in a crisis and to get assistance to them. It also will improve our ability to provide timely and accurate information to their relatives in Ireland.
He added that the DFA’s approach to consular assistance
is interventionist and places the welfare of Irish citizens in need at its core. Officers of the Department at home and abroad repeatedly display a willingness to go the extra mile and deliver on that commitment. I know from my own direct dealings with people in difficulty and their families that this is greatly appreciated. Last year alone, the Department of Foreign Affairs provided direct assistance in over 130 cases of deaths abroad.
Irish people made nearly eight million trips abroad last year. ‘Travel Safely, Slán Abhaile’ will be distributed widely through public libraries, schools, universities and colleges, travel agents, citizen information centres and at missions abroad.
See the press release for more information.
See the Travel Registration page on the DFA website.
See the Consular Services Charter on the DFA website.
Irish lawyers heading Down Under
Irish lawyers who are losing their jobs at home are looking for jobs in Australia, according to The Australian newspaper. The report is one more indicator that the recession has hit at all sectors of society.
Australian recruiters are reporting that both Irish lawyers and Australian-trained lawyers working in Ireland have been contacting them for work. The article quotes Anna Murphy who moved from London to Melbourne:
I have friends who are lawyers in Dublin asking me about moving over here and if there are some areas that are easier to move over in than others. Quite a few of my friends have been made redundant and some of them have taken quite serious pay cuts.
Traditionally it would have been London or even New York but they’re gone so we’re looking at other English-speaking common law jurisdictions. I think that because there’s so many Australians working in Ireland a lot of people in their late 20s and early 30s would have friends from Australia and have some knowledge of Australia so there’s that tie as well.
Read the article:
The Australian: Scores of Irish lawyers hoping to land a job in Oz