Moving back to Ireland?

Tim2012

Can someone offer constructive honest guidance.
We are Irish Citizens that previously lived in County Galway, I was offered a work Visa in Australia and we as a family of four came over here approx one year ago. My wife and 17 year old son wish to return but my daughter of 10 years old has mixed feelings as they all miss 'Home, in Ireland'.
I have a 4 year contract here in Australia with an option to renew and my wife wants to go back to Ireland.
I do not believe in stopping anyone from doing what they wish, however if going back to Ireland will not be of benefit or could cause them hardships, I would like to know as after all, moving back with no secured job to go to and or maybe expecting the Welfare System to support her worries me.
Please offer honest opinions and guidance as I do not wish my wife and kids to make a bad mistake.

Sleepy

It all depends on your respective industries tbh: if you're a .NET/JAVA developer with a decade's experience you shouldn't struggle to get employment. If you're a tradesman / retail manager / architect / solicitor you'll effectively be coming home to sign on.

Tim2012

Sleepy wrote: »

It all depends on your respective industries tbh: if you're a .NET/JAVA developer with a decade's experience you shouldn't struggle to get employment. If you're a tradesman / retail manager / architect / solicitor you'll effectively be coming home to sign on.

Well if that is the case my family may then be forced to do that.

Sleepy

Sounds like a stupid move to me then. One thing to make sure of is that you'll actually be entitled to welfare here: you say you only left a year ago but it might be worth investigating whether you've enough PRSI contributions made to be entitled to JSB.

zielarz

Tim2012, it's just me but I would never leave a job and apply for a dole. That would be just setting a bad example for my son. If you want to come back, then find a job first.

The Corinthian

To begin with you or your wife would fail the habitual residency criteria, to qualify for any social assistance until you're resident in Ireland for six months. As such, you'll not only need the money to go back, but to financially support yourselves for at least six months.

My attitude to these sorts of situations is that life isn't perfect. She may not like Australia, but you've got a job a roof over your heads, while in Ireland you'll not really have either (relatives and savings aside) - so it's better to suck it up and just make the best of a bad situation. So unless she wants to get a job, to help deal with the financial shortfall, she's making an unfair demand of you.

carpejugulum

Time to explain to your son that money doesn't just pop up in his parents' wallets.

old hippy

This is tragic. Tim, you've got a good thing in Australia - lots of people would give their right arm for. Stick with it.

I'm sorry but I just don't get this "homesick" thing that I've encountered amongst so many Irish people.

HomeBuyer

Don't do it.

Boombastic

If I was you I would stay were I was. If you do decide to come back to Ireland don't do it unless you have employment sorted.

You son is nearly 18. When he is, he is free to come here and work if he so chooses. Your wife is unhappy, but would she be happy at home in Ireland, living off the social?

nice_guy80

plenty of work in Ireland if you can find it and have the right qualifications and experience (key)

too many negative people around here

road_high

Need to honestly evaluate your job options in Ireland if you're serious re coming home. Look at what key skills you have and see what's here. If there's nothing and you still want/need to come back then looking at re-training of some sort maybe something you have to consider.
Would echo the advice of others, coming back to sign on long term is not a good idea.

Scortho

nice_guy80 wrote: »

plenty of work in Ireland if you can find it and have the right qualifications and experience (key)

too many negative people around here

I'd agree with this. But as pointed out if the op is a tradesman it's not really worthwhile.
It all depends on what he's qualified to do.
If it was me, I'd be in the lookout (through family, friends and relatives) for work in my profession and once that's found then come back.

Suppose he finds work in Donegal, but all his wife's friends and family are in cork?
I'd rather be living together in Australia with my gf, than living at opposite ends of the country to each other.

Scrag

Do you know the story of the bird who froze and fell to the ground and was almost dead until a cow **** on it and the warmth
revived it

old hippy

nice_guy80 wrote: »

plenty of work in Ireland if you can find it and have the right qualifications and experience (key)

too many negative people around here

Negativity is in the eye of the beholder. I'd say it's a brave and positive move going out to Australia and the negativity is all this homesick bobbins people trot out. INHO, of course.

nice_guy80

shortage of tradesmen in the country at the moment - few friends are tradesmen and they are flat out. money not as good as back in the day but they are working

some builders doing a lot of work - small jobs such as renovations and extensions.
cannot get good chippies, plumbers and sparkies.

Mr.Wemmick

One year isn't very long and I can understand the homesickness.. What are your wife and son doing to help integrate? Have they joined any clubs, got involved in any community activities? They obviously haven't settled into life there, which is a pity..

You could try and persuade them to stay longer and wait to see if things improve in Ireland before coming home. Could you/your wife re- train to help to broaden your chances to get work in Ireland in the long run?

I have lived in Europe for years (moved back last year) and I can say that one year is too short a time to make a decision to move again. Give it time and if they still want to move back in another year, then, as a family, have a think again..

Voltex

Australia is a funny country..its a bit like Marmite, you either love it or hate it. Its a weird combo of British and American culture and for some people its hard to settle into. Irelands not really that bad so long as you have relevant skills. Iv spent the last 5 years gaining diplomas, degrees and now masters and tbh life is not too bad. I lived and worked in the UK, Switzerland and Australia and tbh Im much happier bringing up my family here.

I loved Oz...but I don't think I would like to have stayed there long term..Christmas out there is a shocker and very hard to get your head round.

n97 mini

Sleepy is actually right. The IT industry here is generally in good health. If your son gets an IT qualification in Oz (or study here, but that costs $$$), he could return here and probably get a job without any great difficulty, especially as a graduate. And maybe even in Galway, though there are 100 times more IT jobs in Dublin.

As for his parents. If you're willing to retrain and possibly live in the greater Dublin area, it might work for you too. You don't say what your occupation is?

_Kaiser_

old hippy wrote: »

This is tragic. Tim, you've got a good thing in Australia - lots of people would give their right arm for. Stick with it.

I'm sorry but I just don't get this "homesick" thing that I've encountered amongst so many Irish people.

+1... I too genuinely don't understand this inability many Irish have of leaving mammy/town/county/country and standing on their own two feet and making their own way in the world. Every week there's a thread like this on this site where someone asks what the options are for coming home while contemplating throwing in a damn good opportunity in the process!

I mean, what's to come home to.. the place is still the same backwards, corrupt, parochial, bankrupt little backwater it's always been - if anything it seems like it's more blatantly so in the last few years.

I don't know how much local news you've kept up with OP, but have a look through any of the major news sites or even this forum and you'll see that:

- Most people are still worse off, not better
- Unemployment is still sky high and domestic economy is still in the toilet
- There may be jobs in IT but there's a lot of people vying for them too, and what will you be left with by the time all the deductions and charges are taken out?
- The Property Tax that Enda said (whilst in opposition of course) he'd never introduce is about to be taken directly from people's wages if they haven't already coughed up
- Rents are on the increase and family homes in short supply in areas of demand while NAMA and the banks sit on property where people have already defaulted/been bailed out, or are hoping for a write-off... though that's about to change as the banks start repossessing in earnest
- Cost of everything is still only going up regardless of all the above (fuel, groceries, public transport etc)
- Another Austerity Budget, Water Charges and the Broadcasting Tax are all on the way too
- The Anglo Tapes have shown how systemic the problems in this country are (as if the dogs in the street didn't know this already) yet no-one has or will see a jail cell several years on
- etc, etc etc....

Honestly OP, you should be thanking your lucky stars you got yourself and your family out when you did and you would be absolutely insane to throw that away to come back to this country.. were it not for my own circumstances I'd be following you!

By all means come home for a visit (The Gathering crowd will love that as long as you bring plenty of cash/credit cards) but again, you would be crazy to move back here in the current climate.. and certainly because of something like "homesickness".

breadmonkey

Kaiser2000 wrote: »

... and certainly because of something like "homesickness".

It's easy to say that when you're living in Ireland steeped in all of the bullsh*t you outlined in your post. If you were to move away for a few years and take a step back from that you might start to appreciate aspects of Irish culture that you simply will not find anywhere else in the world.

I've been away for about three years and have no plans to return any time soon. I also would not advise the OP to return. Having said that, I can fully see how people get homesick despite apparently having a good thing going. Financial stability in a new country is all well and good but the price can be high.

It's a trade-off and you and the OP are on different sides. Everything else being equal, imagine living on the other side of the world away from all of your friends and family. What would you give up to get that back?

I still think moving back would be crazy (the trade is not equal) but I see where he's coming from and it's a bit naive to dismiss the thought outright. IMO

tinyk68

As a lot of people have already said you need to be pretty sure of a job here before you make the decision to come back. My hubby is an electrician and in 2011 the company he worked for closed overnight leaving him unemployed and with no notice or redundancy. At the time we seriously considered leaving the country but we have two teenage children who didn't want to go. So we stuck it out. Hubby spent a year self employed but couldn't earn enough to make ends meet and ended up taking a job offer one hundred miles from home. He now lives away from home Monday to Friday and it's very hard for all of us. I'm pretty much a single parent and he lives on canteen food. Our eldest is now going into leaving cert year and fully intends leaving Ireland at the first opportunity so we'll be left behind until the second one finishes his education. It is possible to find work here but not always where you want to live. I would much rather be together in Australia than apart in Ireland. That's a lonely way to live.:(

_Kaiser_

breadmonkey wrote: »

It's easy to say that when you're living in Ireland steeped in all of the bullsh*t you outlined in your post. If you were to move away for a few years and take a step back from that you might start to appreciate aspects of Irish culture that you simply will not find anywhere else in the world.

I've been away for about three years and have no plans to return any time soon. I also would not advise the OP to return. Having said that, I can fully see how people get homesick despite apparently having a good thing going. Financial stability in a new country is all well and good but the price can be high.

It's a trade-off and you and the OP are on different sides. Everything else being equal, imagine living on the other side of the world away from all of your friends and family. What would you give up to get that back?

I still think moving back would be crazy (the trade is not equal) but I see where he's coming from and it's a bit naive to dismiss the thought outright. IMO

Maybe I see it differently as my family did actually move away for a few years when I was younger and we got on just fine - were it not for my mam becoming ill and worrying about what might happen to us if the worst happened we might still be there.

I'm not sure what "culture" there is to miss unless you're referring to the pub-obsessed, stroke-loving, cute-hoor worshipping, "ah shure it'll be grand"/"it depends who you know"/keeping up with the Joneses (now replaced by the "what are they getting away with that I'm not") carry-on that makes it impossible to get anything done?

Nowadays I still don't think I'd be missing much (aside from the above mentioned shite) - most of my friends are married/settled and living all over the place and we rarely see each other anyway. My family in general isn't very close, so were it not for my own circumstances I'd happily leave this place behind and never look back.

breadmonkey

I'm not sure what "culture" there is to miss unless you're referring to the pub-obsessed, stroke-loving, cute-hoor worshipping, "ah shure it'll be grand"/"it depends who you know"/keeping up with the Joneses (now replaced by the "what are they getting away with that I'm not") carry-on that makes it impossible to get anything done?

No that's not what I mean but I hate that crap as well. I was suggesting that it's necessary to step away for a while to see through/around that. But we're kind of going OT here. I actually agree with almost everything you've said except the idea that "homesickness" is somehow incomprehensible.

Nowadays I still don't think I'd be missing much (aside from the above mentioned shite) - most of my friends are married/settled and living all over the place and we rarely see each other anyway. My family in general isn't very close, so were it not for my own circumstances I'd happily leave this place behind and never look back.

OK that's fair enough but it's not reasonable to take your own situation and apply it broad brush to everyone.

_Kaiser_

breadmonkey wrote: »

OK that's fair enough but it's not reasonable to take your own situation and apply it broad brush to everyone.

Granted, but in this case it seems the OP's (family's) sole motivation and from his reply to Sleepy (3rd post) suggests that it may mean them giving up a decent life and opportunity in Oz to come back here and sit on the dole.

Homesick or not, there are some realities which have to take precedence and I'd agree with carpejugulum that sometimes we have to do things that we don't like/aren't ideal in order to put food on the table and pay the bills.

Of course this is again the wrong country to say such things in as many of us don't "do" responsibility (strategic mortgage defaulting for example, "how can I get out of this speeding ticket" is another).

You make your choices and you make the best of them.. sometimes you get what you want, sometimes you have to wait/work harder for it - that's what being an adult is all about.

periodictable

Don't come near the place. It's effectively one huge welfare state, with most of the population getting a cash "entitlement" or payment of one sort or another, hence their reluctance to protest the rape of the state by those in power.
The politicians are of the same mentality, just different snouts in the trough.
Law and order is a problem-remember the 1980s?
Wait until you can take out citizenship if possible, then try coming back if you wish. I emigrated to the US in the 80s, became a citizen, came back late 90s, and have a good income. I'm fine but leave quite regularly just to keep sane and get a perspective on life. I advise any young Irish to clear out-Ireland sadly is a failed state and we'd be better off either being the 51st state or an integral part of the UK.

lufties

I currently live in hong kong and wrestle with homesickness, lately more than ever for some reason, its strange, but at the moment I miss an awful lot about home. I guess you appreciate you're home more when overseas.

The Corinthian

breadmonkey wrote: »

It's easy to say that when you're living in Ireland steeped in all of the bullsh*t you outlined in your post. If you were to move away for a few years and take a step back from that you might start to appreciate aspects of Irish culture that you simply will not find anywhere else in the world.

I've been away for five years.

Certainly there are things you miss about home; notably family and friends, but my experience of expats is that homesickness affects those who refuse to make an effort to integrate or make new friends, a lot more. Making an effort is very important when you start a life elsewhere and I'm often amazed at how some Irish (the British are worse) expats complain about these things, even though it's clear that they make absolutely no effort to do something about it.

I've seen this issue many times and can say that it really comes down to lack of effort and an inability to open one's mind to different ways of doing things. You'll always miss home, but actually building a life in your adopted country makes a huge difference.

In the OP's (who seems long gone from this discussion) situation, he has no job lined up in Ireland, would have to cover the cost of returning and would not be able to get any social welfare upon his return for at least six months.

It's also principally his wife who wants to return, and this is not unusual with expat couples where one stays at home; they tend to be more isolated (not having a work environment to socialize in) and also tend not to consider the financial consequences of relocation, because that's someone else's problem. He should ask his wife if she's willing to get a job to make up for the shortfall, and this may bring the reality home to her.

Overall, I'd strongly advise the OP to remain in Australia. Returning to Ireland will be financially disastrous for him and his family. Instead, I'd recommend he and his wife make a greater effort to integrate and make new friends; ideally avoiding expats (because many won't stay more than a few years). They're in an Anglophone nation so it's not like there's a major chasm between our and their culture and language - imagine the effort involved if you lived in Russia or Singapore.

cakeisgood

I would strongly advice the OP to stay in Austrailia unless he can arrange to have a job to come home to. Unemployment is rife but yet immigrants are still coming in, so with people coming in, and so few jobs, it is harder then ever to find employment. Competition even for basic paid jobs is intense. So few businesses want to hire people as the economy is so unstable. Schemes like CE and Jobsbridge are also a deterrent for companies to employ people as why pay when you can get it for free? Also, for the lucky ones who do have jobs, they are being taxed to the limit but yet the cost of living keeps going up. There are people who have been unwillingly unemployed for years now.

Tea drinker

The Corinthian wrote: »

Overall, I'd strongly advise the OP to remain in Australia. Returning to Ireland will be financially disastrous for him and his family. Instead, I'd recommend he and his wife make a greater effort to integrate and make new friends; ideally avoiding expats (because many won't stay more than a few years). They're in an Anglophone nation so it's not like there's a major chasm between our and their culture and language - imagine the effort involved if you lived in Russia or Singapore.

We lived in Morocco fr 2 1/2 years, wouldn't say it was all plain sailing, but we made the best of it and had some great experiences.

As regards OP situation, it seems familiar. I now a chap here in Ireland who does all work, all cooking, takes care of the kids. Wife is sterotypical lazy Irish girl. They aren't all like that of course, but they seem to get away with it, wihout a spade getting called a spade as such.

Idbatterim

- Most people are still worse off, not better
- Unemployment is still sky high and domestic economy is still in the toilet
- There may be jobs in IT but there's a lot of people vying for them too, and what will you be left with by the time all the deductions and charges are taken out?
- The Property Tax that Enda said (whilst in opposition of course) he'd never introduce is about to be taken directly from people's wages if they haven't already coughed up
- Rents are on the increase and family homes in short supply in areas of demand while NAMA and the banks sit on property where people have already defaulted/been bailed out, or are hoping for a write-off... though that's about to change as the banks start repossessing in earnest
- Cost of everything is still only going up regardless of all the above (fuel, groceries, public transport etc)
- Another Austerity Budget, Water Charges and the Broadcasting Tax are all on the way too
- The Anglo Tapes have shown how systemic the problems in this country are (as if the dogs in the street didn't know this already) yet no-one has or will see a jail cell several years on
- etc, etc etc....

these are definetly the glass half empty views, let me play devils advocate!

- Most people are still worse off, not better

(for most this is true BUT this is coming from a time where even your average joe soap was living the high life, the standard of living is still very high)

- Unemployment is still sky high and domestic economy is still in the toilet

Unemployment is high, but not what I would call sky high, i.e. the 25% area like spain and greece, also unemployment has been falling and is at its lowest levels in quite some time...

- There may be jobs in IT but there's a lot of people vying for them too, and what will you be left with by the time all the deductions and charges are taken out?

Seeing as we dont know what field you are in, I wont elaborate on this point.

- The Property Tax that Enda said (whilst in opposition of course) he'd never introduce is about to be taken directly from people's wages if they haven't already coughed up

If they dont get it through the property tax, they will get it from cuts or increases somewhere else, its a zero sum game. Deducting it from source I 100% agree with. For once they get something right, with no messing around and people take issue with it?....

- Rents are on the increase and family homes in short supply in areas of demand while NAMA and the banks sit on property where people have already defaulted/been bailed out, or are hoping for a write-off... though that's about to change as the banks start repossessing in earnest

I agree with the rent increases, at least certainly where Im living in Dublin. The Nama thing is pretty complex...

- Cost of everything is still only going up regardless of all the above (fuel, groceries, public transport etc)

this would apply to everywhere Id imagine

- Another Austerity Budget, Water Charges and the Broadcasting Tax are all on the way too -

Yes, but I think its only one more austere budget after this, there is light at the end of the tunnel

- The Anglo Tapes have shown how systemic the problems in this country are (as if the dogs in the street didn't know this already) yet no-one has or will see a jail cell several years on
- etc, etc etc....

Agree with this to be honest...

maninasia

old hippy wrote: »

Negativity is in the eye of the beholder. I'd say it's a brave and positive move going out to Australia and the negativity is all this homesick bobbins people trot out. INHO, of course.

It's not negativity but reality that the OP needs to hear. The points have been made, moving from Australia to Ireland would most likely be the wrong move in terms of his family's living standards and savings.


I sometimes look at moving back, but I'm always put off by the lack of confidence in what would happen. I could probably get a job, but then I might lose it again a year later (heard a lot of short-term contracts now). Also how long would it take me to get a job? Then you've got increased taxes all the time and stagnating pay and a rather high cost of living. Rent in Dublin would be a killer, 3 times what I'm paying now after looking into it. Most of the services and taxes are also 2 times what I'm used to paying. It means you don't have much disposable income even when you have a job, that's probably the biggest concern!

_Kaiser_

Idbatterim wrote: »

these are definetly the glass half empty views, let me play devils advocate!

Sure. Without differing views this would be a very quiet place

(for most this is true BUT this is coming from a time where even your average joe soap was living the high life, the standard of living is still very high)

I'd imagine that's only because a lot of people are living on overdrafts or credit cards or savings and paying off just enough every month to keep the banks off their backs

Unemployment is high, but not what I would call sky high, i.e. the 25% area like spain and greece, also unemployment has been falling and is at its lowest levels in quite some time...

Reduction in unemployment levels is a questionable one as it doesn't factor in the impact of jobsbridge schemes, emigration or training that are used to fudge the true numbers. While yes there are countries worse off, it's still unacceptably high.

Seeing as we dont know what field you are in, I wont elaborate on this point.

I'm an IT manager myself and have done a bit of hiring in the last 12 months. We got a load of applications.. many of which were obviously people throwing darts but they still had to be reviewed, and very few actually were Irish as it happens.

I lose about a third of my net monthly income to the various charges and taxes and if I had a pension plan, property and VHI I dread to think what I'd be left with.

If they dont get it through the property tax, they will get it from cuts or increases somewhere else, its a zero sum game. Deducting it from source I 100% agree with. For once they get something right, with no messing around and people take issue with it?....

I take issue with it not because I think property taxes are necessarily a bad thing, but because the money that's collected won't benefit the local economy or country at all - it'll either be used to pay off socialised private debts or pi$$ed away in The Palace, Amazon/Elara/eBay or the weekly Tesco shop

this would apply to everywhere Id imagine

Maybe but we're starting at an already far higher point in a lot of cases thanks to things like inflated one-way rents, fuel duty, "because we can" greed etc

Yes, but I think its only one more austere budget after this, there is light at the end of the tunnel

Come on.. you don't REALLY think that this will all be fixed in 2 years do you? There's only one more austerity budget because the next general election is in 2016 - expect a not-quite-giveaway-but-vote-buying-nonetheless budget in 2015.

ChrisM

nice_guy80 wrote: »

plenty of work in Ireland if you can find it and have the right qualifications and experience (key)

too many negative people around here

Unroftunately, plenty of people in this country have every right to be negative.

halkar

Home is not where you were born, but where you eat and live.
Stay where you are until you save enough to support you and your family at least a year here if you return.

NoNewFriends

It seems most Irish people move abroad for work with long-term intentions of returning to the auld sod, and this is what prevents them setting down deep roots in their new community. Why? I don't know. As has been outlined in Kaiser2000's post, Irish culture is not one that appeals to me very much (the gombeen who-ya-know culture). I spent 2 years abroad in a non-English speaking country and have only recently returned to Ireland. The job was a 2 year contract with no option for extension, unfortunately. But I come home fluent in a new language, 2 years more experience, some life-long friends made abroad, and a more sophisticated palate It's baffling that Ireland is still accepting uneducated third world immigrants when there are not enough jobs for the natives. National suicide.

old hippy

NoNewFriends wrote: »

It seems most Irish people move abroad for work with long-term intentions of returning to the auld sod, and this is what prevents them setting down deep roots in their new community. Why? I don't know. As has been outlined in Kaiser2000's post, Irish culture is not one that appeals to me very much (the gombeen who-ya-know culture). I spent 2 years abroad in a non-English speaking country and have only recently returned to Ireland. The job was a 2 year contract with no option for extension, unfortunately. But I come home fluent in a new language, 2 years more experience, some life-long friends made abroad, and a more sophisticated palate It's baffling that Ireland is still accepting uneducated third world immigrants when there are not enough jobs for the natives. National suicide.

Interesting post, I was going to say travel broadens the mind, until I read the last bit.

creedp

old hippy wrote: »

Interesting post, I was going to say travel broadens the mind, until I read the last bit.

Maybe that's why so many Irish go to Australia

laffindevil

Where is the OP to provide more information based on the replies people have given to date??

maninasia

old hippy wrote: »

Interesting post, I was going to say travel broadens the mind, until I read the last bit.

Well wait till the Romanians and Bulgarians come in next. They are basically third world countries.

There's also a lot of illegal immigrants in Dublin, but that's a different matter.

old hippy

maninasia wrote: »

Well wait till the Romanians and Bulgarians come in next. They are basically third world countries.

There's also a lot of illegal immigrants in Dublin, but that's a different matter.

I don't know what either country is actually like but I do have some Romanian friends here in London. They are good people. And they love the Irish.

Maura74

old hippy wrote: »

I don't know what either country is actually like but I do have some Romanian friends here in London. They are good people. And they love the Irish.

I am sure there are some good Romanians but they are already in the UK and causing a lot of problems for millionaires that are in government that are in at present.

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/illegal-romanian-migrants-sleeping-rough-cleared-from-londons-marble-arch


http://www.standard.co.uk/news/london/romanian-gypsies-back-at-marble-arch-days-after-raid-cleared-the-area-8727334.html


http://www.lbc.co.uk/romanians-living-rough-at-marble-arch-rising-73088

This the UK way of dealing with illegal immergrants....they are in hot water becasue of it.

http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2013/aug/08/media-immigrant-go-home-van

http://www.channel4.com/news/anti-immigration-home-office-van-campaign-advertising-asa

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-23545955

road_high

old hippy wrote: »

Interesting post, I was going to say travel broadens the mind, until I read the last bit.

And it's just so true. Of course "you can't say things like that" nowadays for fear of offending the PC brigade. These are the questions that need to be asked though.

road_high

maninasia wrote: »

Well wait till the Romanians and Bulgarians come in next. They are basically third world countries.

There's also a lot of illegal immigrants in Dublin, but that's a different matter.

Yep. The flood gates will open, it's shocking. Export our best and brightest. Import some more scrounging Roma gypsies....

robp

old hippy wrote: »

I don't know what either country is actually like but I do have some Romanian friends here in London. They are good people. And they love the Irish.

Being a good person doesn't give you a right to live anywhere you want. A huge proportion of people who desire reduced immigration don't question that they are good people. Of course these decisions are not made by popular vote. If they were things would be very different.

maninasia

road_high wrote: »

Yep. The flood gates will open, it's shocking. Export our best and brightest. Import some more scrounging Roma gypsies....

I don't agree with the focus on gypsies here. Are you a drunken Irishman?

I stand for a rational immigration policy based on a points system just like Canada and Australia, but not a racist immigration policy.

maninasia

old hippy wrote: »

I don't know what either country is actually like but I do have some Romanian friends here in London. They are good people. And they love the Irish.

It's nothing to do with being good people, don't be lazy in your associations.

It's to do with having an immigration policy that is sustainable and advantageous to our nation.

FTA69

maninasia wrote: »

Well wait till the Romanians and Bulgarians come in next. They are basically third world countries.

There's also a lot of illegal immigrants in Dublin, but that's a different matter.

The Romanians and Bulgarians wouldn't come to Ireland because there is no work for them to do. Even in the UK we were told horror stories about floods of Romanians and Bulgarians and it hasn't materialised in any huge sense. There are a good number of those nationalities working away here in London, mostly in the lower levels of construction but there hasn't been a "flood" by any means. Most of them go to Germany anyway.

Why you think they'd come to a country with zero jobs and a flat-lining construction industry is beyond me. They aren't stupid like.

FTA69

Maura74 wrote: »

I am sure there are some good Romanians but they are already in the UK and causing a lot of problems for millionaires that are in government that are in at present.

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/illegal-romanian-migrants-sleeping-rough-cleared-from-londons-marble-arch


http://www.standard.co.uk/news/london/romanian-gypsies-back-at-marble-arch-days-after-raid-cleared-the-area-8727334.html


http://www.lbc.co.uk/romanians-living-rough-at-marble-arch-rising-73088

Jesus this chestnut again. Why are so many Irish people incapable of acknowledging the fact that Romanians and Roma gypsies are entirely different ethnicities. Most Roma don't even come from Romania anyway and the gypsy population here is a tiny percentage of that of the Romanian, Hungarian, Czech and Bulgarian population here.

robp

FTA69 wrote: »

The Romanians and Bulgarians wouldn't come to Ireland because there is no work for them to do. Even in the UK we were told horror stories about floods of Romanians and Bulgarians and it hasn't materialised in any huge sense. There are a good number of those nationalities working away here in London, mostly in the lower levels of construction but there hasn't been a "flood" by any means. Most of them go to Germany anyway.

Why you think they'd come to a country with zero jobs and a flat-lining construction industry is beyond me. They aren't stupid like.

The movement into Britain has already been described as an 'unexpected uptake' and the labour market is not even fully open yet. This only includes those with jobs.

The mainstream German media has not exactly been positive either. Out of Bulgaria and Romania: Wave of Immigrants Overwhelms German System
Interior Minister: Germany to Deport 'Poverty Immigrants'

FTA69

robp wrote: »

The movement into Britain has already been described as an 'unexpected uptake' and the labour market is not even fully open yet. This only includes those with jobs.

And yet they constitute a third of a percentage of those in employment in Britain. Similarly the vast majority of migrants from Eastern Europe work, pay tax and also claim very little on the whole due to the fact they are young, healthy and live in private rented accommodation. In effect, they are net contributors to the economy as opposed to this massive burden they're often made out to be.