Immigration and Ireland - MEGATHREAD *Mod Note Added 02/09/25*

freebritney

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123736713#Comment_123736713

What would you guess in all honesty, 5000 at maximum. Ireland has by every known metric experienced unprecedented population growth mainly driven bi inward migration. It is unsustainable at the current rate.

For Petes Sake

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123736733#Comment_123736733

I'm not guessing anything, I'm simply asking a question.

What's wrong with that?

Where are you getting '5000 at maximum' from? Your hole?

maik3n

Some good news on the housing front perhaps. (Might be just a drop in the ocean but anything's good right?)

http://www.irishtimes.com/ireland/2025/08/19/154-vacant-pubs-earmarked-for-conversion-into-housing-since-need-for-planning-permission-dropped/

Goldengirl

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123734829#Comment_123734829

Your post comes across as blaming women for these decisions ?

If the options are not available for women to settle down and have a family earlier while supporting their continuing education and career progression then it is not their fault or their partner's .

Career progression and earning ability which would be disrupted by the choice to start a family is a big factor in couple's deciding to postpone .

The cost of buying a house and paying for a creche simultaneously is prohibitive and currently requires more than two good salaries unless they choose to be claiming benefits and going on a social or affordable housing list .

Goldengirl

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123734852#Comment_123734852

As my post outlined I am aware of where the fault lies.

I don't disagree with you about what needs to be done but targeting immigration as the main causative factor is where I disagree .

Our first issue is a government who have not addressed these issues over the last 30 odd years and ignored all advice from various expert reports .

2nd is our developer led housing and investor led rental market inextricably linked to the first .

Thirdly our concentration of employment and multinationals in cities especially in Dublin where space and prices are at a premium .

Lack of infrastructure to support housing in areas other than overcrowded cities . .

All of these points have been raised and studied and reported on since the 1990s ,looked at by government , usually FF/ FG led , and then dumped in favour of the present system .

Reducing visa led immigration is a short term solution to housing that would cause shortages of workers in many areas , and the resulting contraction in the economy and services like health may cause more hardship and austerity .

That decision may have to be made but along with sensible changes to how our housing is being developed .

Clamping down on visas alone is not an answer only a sop.

riddles

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123736123#Comment_123736123

If you are coining it off the migrant industry or perched in a cushy number in an NGO it most definitely is a better place than 20 years ago.

Leg End Reject

Mod - @Potatoeman and @For Petes Sake, do not post in this thread again

InAtFullBack

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123733503#Comment_123733503

What has happened to our indigenous industries?

Tourism - Almost a third gone, accommodation handed over to IPAs, and the VAT rate hiked up to 13.5% to help pay for it all.

Agriculture - Next to go as Government clearly has plans to industrialise rural Ireland with turbines and cover the fields with solar panels. Also, farming sector being killed off with over-regulation.

Peat - gone too.

We could stay going all day long on how this and previous Govts has/is actively killing Irish indigenous industry.

freebritney

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123736932#Comment_123736932

https://www.gov.ie/en/department-of-the-taoiseach/collections/migration-the-facts/

30,000 migrants were returning Irish. Maybe 5000 was a bit low, probably 10,000 had children at most. Sorry, just saw you won't be able reply 😂

Mod - warned for trolling

Thelonious Monk

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123737243#Comment_123737243

Pretty sure the beef industry is experiencing strong export growth at the moment.

And peat was never much of an indigenous industry lol.

Leg End Reject

Mod - @freebritney, do not post in this thread again

Mr. teddywinkles

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123736517#Comment_123736517

So growth economically equals never ending population increase. The same muppets will then tell you theres too much people on the planet for it to sustain. What happens if there is a downturn and people still keep coming

Thelonious Monk

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123737327#Comment_123737327

I don't think people who are all about growing the economy at all costs worry about sustainability

TokTik

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123733539#Comment_123733539

Except nursing obviously. 🙄

Thelonious Monk

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123737385#Comment_123737385

Are you saying they wouldn't have the opportunity to work as nurses in ireland when qualified? I was responding to someone saying foreigners will be favoured over his kids, I disagree.

TokTik

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123737389#Comment_123737389

I’m saying qualified Irish nurses were frozen out of the job market, while the HSE hired foreign nurses. Not just nurses living in Oz, nurses who had just qualified were also part of the recruitment freeze. Does that seem right??

enricoh

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123737460#Comment_123737460

Do u think a couple of hundred nurses in oz got together in their free time ,to ask our government to give em a reason to come home for the craic?

goingmadted

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123737493#Comment_123737493

Yes, it just takes one or two kunts to organise something like this. Mostly, those ppl in that picture are happy out with their lot. There will be work for them when and if they decide to come home. Cop on to yourself.

Mod - warned for breach of forum charter

enricoh

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123737524#Comment_123737524

Charming. There will be work for ye when ye come back girls - Well there would be only for the hiring embargo! A minor issue no doubt ted?

goingmadted

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123737571#Comment_123737571

Those girls are happy out where they are. Trained here for free and get to live the life on the other side of the world.

There was an embargo for a reason. The HSE is a bloated mess.

Oh look , ive been given a warning by a power hungry mod for using a bad word i presume. If only the rest of the working world were as quick to react as the mods on here.

Mod - warned for breach of charter

JP Liz V1

Mod - warned for discussing matters before the courts.

Leg End Reject

Mod: @JP Liz V1, do not post in this thread again

I think we’re in a very dark place, when the only sensible policy is to be trying drastically to reduce immigration. It’s very unfortunate and there was no need for it.

Talking about high immigration to drive the economy is very dangerous and shortsighted. Tbh it’s unforgivable given the experience we have had with housing in recent years.

Goldengirl

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123735337#Comment_123735337

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123735824#Comment_123735824

It might be a large number but this has been discussed here only last week. They are filling gaps that have been advertised and left unfilled by Irish people for whatever reason

All jobs have to be advertised for Irish or EEA applicants first for at least 28 days before permission to advertise further afield will be granted .

Health in particular is employing large numbers about 1/5 of nurses are Indian here . Numbers of Irish nurses being trained is increasing every year but it is still not enough to fill all the gaps .

50% of non consultant doctors on Ireland are foreign trained again for reasons as above , not enough trained here or staying here to work after qualifying .

The fact that they have a right to bring their families over once settled is reasonable but I agree that there should be a minimum time period or requirement to be citizens before being allowed to buy houses here .

tom23

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123737780#Comment_123737780

the fact that anyone can come in here and potentially buy a house more or less straight away is the biggest kick in the hole for Irish house buyers / young couple. the fact that four person mortgage is a thing tells you a couple are up against it. if I wanted build in a certain part of the town I live in I wouldn’t get planning permission as it’s local needs.

There should be at least 5 years minimum for a non eu person to buy a house.

Couldn’t make it up.

Goldengirl

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123736628#Comment_123736628

This assumes that the majority working in every company are foreign workers.

What about all the Irish people working and earning good money in these companies ?

What about their families and their children ?

"Sorry we don't want companies who employ foreign workers so find another job , oh those companies have left too , so emigrate ! "

That is basically what happened when we didn't have the employment we have now ..every time .

It might happen again sooner than people think if a certain POTUS gets his way and it might be Irish people looking for work in India !

Goldengirl

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123737829#Comment_123737829

I agree .

It's a restriction that's very appropriate in a housing crisis .but as the government are afraid to rock the corporate boat they allow this buying up.of Irish real estate by non Irish / EU to continue .

5 years / citizenship should be the requirement and for living in not renting or leasing out .

Jack Daw

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123737832#Comment_123737832

I work for a multinational corporation myself.We have virtual full employment of Irish people (who aren't complete wasters) and need to import labour. Any new jobs that get announced in the Irish economy means Irish people who have a job already just move to a new job and we have then have to import labour from abroad to fill the gap.Essentially this doesn't produce much of a net benefit for Irish people as a whole.That is the point I am making.

Basically the last 20 years have produced no net benefit for Irish people in Ireland, we're no richer or poorer as a country than we were then but resources are more stretched, housing more difficult to buy. Nobody wants to see every multinational corporation leave but there is also a point that creating 250k more jobs for example over a decade and having 250k emigrate to Ireland to help fill them doesn't actually benefit Irish people particularly when government planning and improving the country's infrastructure has been so poor.

If the country was run properly we would have far more domestic industry and the economy wouldn't be so dependent on the whims of a few massive American corporations and the whims of the american president.

Goldengirl

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123737960#Comment_123737960

Ah I get you and agree . It's growth for the sake of multinationals and the government with their extra corporation tax.

The problem I have is people thinking we were better off before they all came to town ( multinationals ) . We weren't and nobody except some very deluded or rich people were going around saying "sure we are all Irish here and we are loving it !"

It was pretty miserable from my memory anyhow .

Edit that was the 80s ..😁It got a bit better slowly after that .

Joe 90

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123731675#Comment_123731675

It's a very long time since there has been an actual Conservative government. Since Cameron they've been Lib Dems sailing under a Conservative flag. Wilson's Labour government would have been to the right of them.