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BBC on mass immigration to Ireland - we have messed it up basically

1246

Comments

  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 458 ✭✭SubjectSean


    HollyB wrote: »
    After the Citizenship Referendum, there is hopefully far less incentive for people to do this. The child won't be an Irish citizen. They'll be a <Whatever country/countries their parents are from> citizen who happened to be born in Ireland.

    And of course some big fat rich Irish American born in Chicago with a great granny from Skibbereen they will still be classed as Irish and entitled to a passport. Seems really fair:rolleyes:


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 458 ✭✭SubjectSean


    If, as you say people die every day trying to get into our fortress, that’s their decision. We didn’t ask them to risk their lives.

    Jesus Christ man! Have a heart. Your ancestors too risked life and limb to get to where the good life was.


  • Registered Users Posts: 361 ✭✭HollyB


    And of course some big fat rich Irish American born in Chicago with a great granny from Skibbereen they will still be classed as Irish and entitled to a passport. Seems really fair:rolleyes:

    It goes back to great-grandparents? I thought that proving a claim to citizenship could be difficult if it depends on an ancestor that far removed.


  • Registered Users Posts: 361 ✭✭HollyB


    smccarrick wrote: »
    Public sector employees since 1995 are compulsarily required to contribute to their pensions- when you factor in the different schemes that contributions are made to- it comes to about 9% of gross income. Those prior to 1995, do not make PRSI contibutions, and had the option of opting out of some of the contibutory schemes, but still had to pay towards their superannuation entitlements. Its a common misconception perpetuated by the media that they're all getting a free ride- its not actually the case though. Its such massive news these days because the government are required to make actuarial declarations (known as FRS17 declarations) detailing the costs of pension rights and entitlements. In some semi-state bodies with fewer than 2,000 employees- this can be a deficit valued at up to a billion Euro (as per annual published accounts).

    As well as that, the pension they're getting takes the Social Welfare pension they are entitled to as PRSI contributors into account - if somebody's pension is €500 a week, they're not getting €500 a week plus their Social Welfare pension. They get their Social Welfare pension, then a top-up to bring them up to €500.


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 12,382 ✭✭✭✭AARRRGH


    darkman2 wrote: »

    I just listened to that and at no point did I get the impression the BBC was saying we've messed things up.

    There are problems due to there suddenly being lots of people here, but these can easily be fixed with a bit of effort (just like the charity was able to get a school up and running within a few days.)


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  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 458 ✭✭SubjectSean


    HollyB wrote: »
    It goes back to great-grandparents? I thought that proving a claim to citizenship could be difficult if it depends on an ancestor that far removed.

    Basically if your great-grandparent was Irish born and your mother or father used that relationship to register as Irish then you are also eligible to be Irish.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 6,721 ✭✭✭Otacon


    Giblet wrote: »
    Next person to post rolleyes as the only response gets banned. If you can't make a point, don't post.

    Oh thank CHRIST! I was about to pull my eyes from their sockets in frustration!

    I am Irish, currently working in England. In my team at work, out of 12 people, there are three native English people. From day one, I have been welcomed wholeheartedly and though I have only been here a short time, I can see myself staying here.

    Immigration, for the most part, helps economies but like everything, there are those out there who will exploit it. Immigration laws should be used to punish them, not all immigrants.

    What worries me is when I come home, I see communities being sectioned off, so there is a 'Polish area'. This is what is going to lead to trouble.


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 14,277 ✭✭✭✭Rb


    dublindude wrote: »
    There are problems due to there suddenly being lots of people here, but these can easily be fixed with a bit of effort (just like the charity was able to get a school up and running within a few days.)

    Easily fixed?

    Lol. How naive.


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 410 ✭✭johnathan woss


    SubjectSean will you get real the people trying to get into Ireland are not subsistence farmers from Sub-Saharan Africa !

    If you were arguing for the right of people from Commonwealth countries to emigrate to Britain you would at least have the semblance of a logical argument (although you would still be incorrect) but as it is you are talking wishy-washy nonsense.


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 410 ✭✭johnathan woss


    Even if this is a risk it pales to insignificance when seen beside the risks of remaining. Oh we who are spoiled rotten, without any conception of how hard life can be. Every day people die trying to get into our fortress where all the wealth in the world is.


    I mean honestly what is your argument here ?

    Ireland is a rich nation so we should give carte blanche to people from the third world to emigrate here ?


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  • Registered Users Posts: 361 ✭✭HollyB


    Basically if your great-grandparent was Irish born and your mother or father used that relationship to register as Irish then you are also eligible to be Irish.

    And if your mother or father chose not to register as Irish citizens, are you still eligible to claim citizenship through your great-grandparent?

    If not, then I would have said that the "big fat rich Irish American born in Chicago" is claiming citizenship through a parent who is an Irish citizen.


  • Registered Users Posts: 361 ✭✭HollyB


    I mean honestly what is your argument here ?

    Ireland is a rich nation so we should give carte blanche to people from the third world to emigrate here ?

    If we are foolish enough to do that, we will quickly become a poor country again. Our resources are not unlimited.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 6,844 ✭✭✭RobbieTheRobber


    HollyB wrote: »
    If we are foolish enough to do that, we will quickly become a poor country again. Our resources are not unlimited.

    Well isn't Ireland's greatest natural resource now skilled personal and are we not lacking in that, hence the need for immigration of skilled migrant workers to continue or even stabilise the rapid growth of our economy?


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 12,382 ✭✭✭✭AARRRGH


    rb_ie wrote: »
    Easily fixed?

    Lol. How naive.

    Yes, easily fixed. More investment in schools. Stricter immigration control. Etc. These are hardly rocket science.


  • Registered Users Posts: 361 ✭✭HollyB


    Well isn't Ireland's greatest natural resource now skilled personal and are we not lacking in that, hence the need for immigration of skilled migrant workers to continue or even stabilise the rapid growth of our economy?

    There is a huge difference between granting work permits to skilled, essential migrant workers and allowing every person who happens to want to come to Ireland to come in, no questions asked.

    Some degree of immigration is unavoidable, but strict controls are necessary.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 458 ✭✭SubjectSean


    SubjectSean will you get real the people trying to get into Ireland are not subsistence farmers from Sub-Saharan Africa !

    Most sub-Saharan Africans are subsistence farmers. The dead Africans who wash up on the shores of Europe are therefore actually what according to you?
    If you were arguing for the right of people from Commonwealth countries to emigrate to Britain you would at least have the semblance of a logical argument (although you would still be incorrect)
    but as it is you are talking wishy-washy nonsense.

    Again the economic system that underpins your well being, and that of your family, is entirely dependant on people in the 3rd world having to suffer. You fail to understand this properly I think.
    I mean honestly what is your argument here ?

    Ireland is a rich nation so we should give carte blanche to people from the third world to emigrate here ?

    Our brothers and sisters have nothing and are dying in the dirt. We are living with an excess of wealth, a quarter of the food we buy just gets thrown in the bin. Human decency is my argument here but it seems to be sadly lacking in many of my compatriots.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 458 ✭✭SubjectSean


    HollyB wrote: »

    If not, then I would have said that the "big fat rich Irish American born in Chicago" is claiming citizenship through a parent who is an Irish citizen.

    Ya a parent who wasn't even from here and who may never even have so much as visited. I fail to see how you think being Irish this way is just fine but so far as you're concerned a child who is born here, schooled and brought up here is not Irish unless its parents are.


  • Registered Users Posts: 361 ✭✭HollyB


    Ya a parent who wasn't even from here and who may never even have so much as visited. I fail to see how you think being Irish this way is just fine but so far as you're concerned a child who is born here, schooled and brought up here is not Irish unless its parents are.

    The 2004 Citizenship Referendum removed the automatic right to citizenship for children born in Ireland. As I understand it, it is not necessary for both parents - or even one parent - to be Irish, as long as one parent has been lawfully resident for the required length of time prior to the child's birth. Therefore, under the law, a child born here and raised here may not be Irish if they do not satisfy the qualifications for citizenship.

    At present, the Nationality and Citizenship Act allows any person with an Irish grandparent to become an Irish citizen. If you feel that this is unjust, you can always lobby the Minister for Justice for another change in citizenship law to restrict the rights that they enjoy at present, although I wonder how much support it would get.


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 111 ✭✭williambonney


    A question, (a silly question but none the less a question). If we were to hold a referendum “Any African who wants to, can come and live in Ireland for as long as they want and be entitled to social welfare payments” what do you think the out come would be? I would guess 99% NO. We Irish are not idiots, only the people in government.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 458 ✭✭SubjectSean


    HollyB wrote: »

    At present, the Nationality and Citizenship Act allows any person with an Irish grandparent to become an Irish citizen. If you feel that this is unjust, you can always lobby the Minister for Justice for another change in citizenship law to restrict the rights that they enjoy at present, although I wonder how much support it would get.

    If I could bear to talk to a politician I'd rather lobby for our consitution to be put back how it was when our forefathers first drafted it. Kids with Irish accents who aren't Irish? It's a bloody stupid notion and patently unfair given the courtesy extended to our American cousins.


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  • Closed Accounts Posts: 4,048 ✭✭✭SimpleSam06


    I don't know why that might be, that certainly isn't my experience and I was there on my own also. Eitherway, all men are brothers whether they recognise the fact or not.
    Hey hey, guess what. All the charity and compassion in the world isn't going to help them. Throwing open the borders to them isn't going to help them. UN resolutions, live aid, celebrity sponsorship, none of this is going to help them. Nothing short of a violent, thorough invasion and enforcing free and democratic elections, with draconian punishments for corruption, will help them.

    Or, they could sort it out themselves.
    Frankly this is nonsense. The economic system that underpins your well being, and that of your family, is entirely dependant on people in the 3rd world having to suffer. On behalf of us our Government here and in Europe, conspires with the other developed countries to keep the status quo. What this boils down to is more dead babies in Africa and elsewhere. You can wash your hands all you like but the grieving mothers know of your guilt.
    Dead babies, grieving mothers, the economic system depending on sub saharan africa, what the living christ are you burbling on about. You've edged from rabidly bleeding heart into just plain rabid at this stage.
    So you think flying in luxury on a plane is more risky than trying to scratch a living in sub-saharan Africa for instance? Get real and have a heart.
    You need to think very carefully about what you just said. Tell me, what sort of subsistence farmers can afford a ticket on a luxury plane? Wait, so you mean that the people coming in aren't subsistence farmers, but relatively well off middle class types? :eek: This little fact comes as no surprise to many people, althoug it will probably be a big surprise to you.
    Even if this is a risk it pales to insignificance when seen beside the risks of remaining. Oh we who are spoiled rotten, without any conception of how hard life can be. Every day people die trying to get into our fortress where all the wealth in the world is.
    Lets change your statement to oh we of the really, really short memory. Back in the 80s Ireland was as badly off as many African nations are today, and plenty of people remember those days and worse just fine.

    Knock off the Oprah soap box, you aren't preaching to a shower of Americans with white guilt syndrome.
    Jesus Christ man! Have a heart. Your ancestors too risked life and limb to get to where the good life was.
    So what? They didn't risk life and limb to get into Africa. They were also going to a place which could accommodate them very comfortably - which is not the case for Ireland, a very small country recovering from decades of grinding depression.
    Most sub-Saharan Africans are subsistence farmers. The dead Africans who wash up on the shores of Europe are therefore actually what according to you?
    Bad gamblers.
    Again the economic system that underpins your well being, and that of your family, is entirely dependant on people in the 3rd world having to suffer. You fail to understand this properly I think.
    Once again, would you care to elaborate on this remarkable statement.
    It's a bloody stupid notion and patently unfair given the courtesy extended to our American cousins.
    For a man who is constantly pointing out the actions of our ancestors, you seem to have a real problem with us reciprocating the favour to the one country which did receive us more or less gladly.
    Our brothers and sisters have nothing and are dying in the dirt. We are living with an excess of wealth, a quarter of the food we buy just gets thrown in the bin. Human decency is my argument here but it seems to be sadly lacking in many of my compatriots.
    Human decency has nothing to do with it. We have only very very recently attained any sort of wealth, and the first thing that happens is those with none seem to feel that they are owed something. They are not.

    Your type would sacrifice this country and its future on the altar of politically correct received sentiments. Go away.


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 11,909 ✭✭✭✭Wertz


    If I could bear to talk to a politician I'd rather lobby for our consitution to be put back how it was when our forefathers first drafted it. Kids with Irish accents who aren't Irish? It's a bloody stupid notion and patently unfair given the courtesy extended to our American cousins.

    How is it patently unfair? The old system, which was drawn up in different times with a different ideal, was in our modern age wide open to abuse, and abused it was, if only by the citizens of ceetain foreign countries. People arriving here 7 and 8 months pregnant as a means to try and get the whole family in the door after the child was birthed here, was a regular occurence. That loophole has been closed....sure, it's tough for those that didn't abuse the system but again, we can't just discrimintae against the nationals of certain countries with legislation like this; it has to be all encompassing.
    Your scenario about the fat American is grand but the difference is that their parent(s) or grandparent(s) have got Irish citizenship and so their offspring are entitled to it as well should they so wish. That is not an exclusive right of Americans AFAIK. It applies to the children of Irish expats born in any country, even African one I'd imagine... edit;(I'm open to correction on this)
    That part of the whole system is to try and draw some of our indigenous populace that left in hardier times back to the fold and has merit IMO.


  • Registered Users Posts: 361 ✭✭HollyB


    If I could bear to talk to a politician I'd rather lobby for our consitution to be put back how it was when our forefathers first drafted it. Kids with Irish accents who aren't Irish? It's a bloody stupid notion and patently unfair given the courtesy extended to our American cousins.

    Even after almost 80% of those who voted opted to change it?


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 458 ✭✭SubjectSean


    HollyB wrote: »
    Even after almost 80% of those who voted opted to change it?

    Votes to change the constitution should be compulsory, there was something like a 40% turnout if that. The constitution was in this instance actually changed by a small minority of bigots.


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 11,909 ✭✭✭✭Wertz


    So how on earth do you force people to vote then?
    Gunpoint?
    Handing out sweets?

    Do tell.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 458 ✭✭SubjectSean


    Wertz wrote: »
    How is it patently unfair? The old system, which was drawn up in different times with a different ideal, was in our modern age wide open to abuse, and abused it was, if only by the citizens of ceetain foreign countries. People arriving here 7 and 8 months pregnant as a means to try and get the whole family in the door after the child was birthed here, was a regular occurence. That loophole has been closed....sure, it's tough for those that didn't abuse the system but again, we can't just discrimintae against the nationals of certain countries with legislation like this; it has to be all encompassing.

    What you are calling "abuse of the system" is merely people trying to escape crushing poverty and an early death. You would do the exact same if you were in their shoes. We actually have a history of it.
    Wertz wrote: »
    Your scenario about the fat American is grand but the difference is that their parent(s) or grandparent(s) have got Irish citizenship and so their offspring are entitled to it as well should they so wish. That is not an exclusive right of Americans AFAIK. It applies to the children of Irish expats born in any country, even African one I'd imagine... edit;(I'm open to correction on this)

    Funny enough when the Irish emigrated they generally went where the money was so much so that those who benefit from this entitlement are generally well off and in the least need of it.
    Wertz wrote: »
    That part of the whole system is to try and draw some of our indigenous populace that left in hardier times back to the fold and has merit IMO.

    So we have space and enough food to share with them?


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 458 ✭✭SubjectSean


    Wertz wrote: »
    So how on earth do you force people to vote then?

    Same way as Australia.


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 4,048 ✭✭✭SimpleSam06


    What you are calling "abuse of the system" is merely people trying to escape crushing poverty and an early death. You would do the exact same if you were in their shoes. We actually have a history of it.
    Yes all those subsistence farmers who managed to afford a plane ticket on a "luxury" plane, and fly right over the rest of Europe to dock up at Ireland.
    Funny enough when the Irish emigrated they generally went where the money was so much so that those who benefit from this entitlement are generally well off and in the least need of it.

    So we have space and enough food to share with them?
    Once again, for a man who is constantly pointing out the actions of our ancestors, you seem to have a real problem with us reciprocating the favour to the one country which did receive us more or less gladly.

    What's your problem with Americans, are you a racist against them?


  • Registered Users Posts: 361 ✭✭HollyB


    Votes to change the constitution should be compulsory, there was something like a 40% turnout if that. The constitution was in this instance actually changed by a small minority of bigots.

    Turnout = 59.95%
    Yes = 79.17%
    No = 20.83%

    Yes votes as % of electorate = 47.46%
    No votes as % of electorate = 12.49%

    Looks to me as though the 'No' voters were the small minority.


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  • Closed Accounts Posts: 410 ✭✭johnathan woss


    SubjectSean was qualifies you to speak as such a high moral authority on the world economic system and the motivation of others ?

    (it didn't take you very long to play the bigot card btw)


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 2,528 ✭✭✭Sgt Hartman


    Well isn't Ireland's greatest natural resource now skilled personal and are we not lacking in that, hence the need for immigration of skilled migrant workers to continue or even stabilise the rapid growth of our economy?

    The economy, the economy, it's always about the precious economy. It seems to me that quite a few Irish people no longer see Ireland as a country but as an economy that absolutely, positively MUST THRIVE, even at the cost of our national identity.

    Regards immigration, we unfortunately have completely failed to learn from the mistakes made by countries such as France, Holland and the UK. As a result we have had a massive influx of immigrants in a very short period of time. This is inevitably going to lead to serious problems for us further down the line, especially if the "all-precious" economy starts going into recession.

    The truth is, there SHOULD be a limit to the amount of immigrants coming into Ireland. Also, immigrants and asylum-seekers should be properly screened. This is so that criminal gangs, scumbags, chancers and also serious diseases are not introduced into the country. Unfortunately, these measures were never properly introduced at the start and now we will see the consequences of it. And those who find that "racist" really need to take their blinkers off and wake up to reality.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 458 ✭✭SubjectSean


    Hey hey, guess what. All the charity and compassion in the world isn't going to help them.

    How can you say? it hasn't been extended to them. Maybe if they even managed to get a tiny fraction of it then that would do them.
    Dead babies, grieving mothers, the economic system depending on sub saharan africa, what the living christ are you burbling on about.

    Clearly in explaining the reality on the ground I have moved beyond your simple powers of comprehension. Don't worry yourself about it, people like you are in a majority and have the vote.
    You need to think very carefully about what you just said. Tell me, what sort of subsistence farmers can afford a ticket on a luxury plane?

    Ones whose whole extended family has saved for years to be able to send that one single person out into the West as a lifeline to their community.
    Wait, so you mean that the people coming in aren't subsistence farmers, but relatively well off middle class types? :eek: This little fact comes as no surprise to many people, althoug it will probably be a big surprise to you.

    Who are these 'relatively well off middle class types'? People here sat on their arses on the dole get paid more than the doctors, teachers and politicians of most third world countries. Maybe this is a big surprise to you?
    Lets change your statement to oh we of the really, really short memory. Back in the 80s Ireland was as badly off as many African nations are today,

    Please this is absolute bollocks, try going back to the 1840's and you might be somewhere close. It's no wonder you have the stinking attitude you do if you think the worst conditions people are facing are on a par with those here in the 80's.
    and plenty of people remember those days and worse just fine.

    I remember the 80's well and at no point did the situation look anything like that of sub-saharan Africa.
    So what? They didn't risk life and limb to get into Africa. They were also going to a place which could accommodate them very comfortably - which is not the case for Ireland, a very small country recovering from decades of grinding depression.

    We recovered from the depression and now have more than we possibly want for. Did your parents not ever teach you about sharing?
    Bad gamblers.

    :rolleyes:
    Once again, would you care to elaborate on this remarkable statement.

    OK I'll give you one example to be going on with. Farmers here in Europe, but also America and Japan are subsidised to the hilt by our taxes in order to produce food that could be produced with far less expense in third world countries. However because of the stranglehold the West has on organisations such as the WTO third world farmers are prevented from competing. However, the surplus of subsidised foods produced in the West finds its way to third world countries and undercuts the local producers. Because development of an agricultural sector is what underpins the development of an industrial sector countries in the third world are held back.
    For a man who is constantly pointing out the actions of our ancestors, you seem to have a real problem with us reciprocating the favour to the one country which did receive us more or less gladly.

    Rather I have a problem with us extending a helping hand to a nation of warmongering overweight gluttons whilst turning our backs on the poor and dispossesed.
    Human decency has nothing to do with it.

    If you have none then I guess not.
    We have only very very recently attained any sort of wealth, and the first thing that happens is those with none seem to feel that they are owed something. They are not.

    Nobody 'feels' they are owed something, they are just stuggling hard to get something.
    Your type would sacrifice this country and its future on the altar of politically correct received sentiments. Go away.

    Your type would hurt all mankind just to save their own, and have already done so. You should hang your head in shame.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 458 ✭✭SubjectSean


    HollyB wrote: »

    Yes votes as % of electorate = 47.46%

    This is not a majority and should not have been treated like one.


  • Registered Users Posts: 2,705 ✭✭✭Nermal


    HollyB wrote: »
    If we are foolish enough to do that, we will quickly become a poor country again. Our resources are not unlimited.

    What resource is running short at the moment, exactly?

    In fact, the only resource we are short of is people.

    We are 114th on this list http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_population_density

    We are actually grossly under-populated, and should institute a open-door policy until we get on a level with say, the UK, and have about 20 million people.


  • Registered Users Posts: 361 ✭✭HollyB


    This is not a majority and should not have been treated like one.

    So the 12.49% No vote should have been treated like a majority, then?

    If people choose to abstain from voting (other than because they are unable to do so) then it is unlikely that they feel strongly about the issue.

    Only 12.49% of the electorate chose to vote No.

    An election is decided based on the votes of those who actually voted.

    With regard to those who chose not to vote, are you familiar with the principle of "qui tacet consentire videtur" ("he who is silent is taken to agree")? If they chose not to vote, then surely it may be taken that they would have found either result acceptable, that they were content to allow others to make the decision and accept the decision of the majority?

    The majority of those making the decision chose "Yes".


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  • Registered Users Posts: 361 ✭✭HollyB


    Nermal wrote: »
    We are actually grossly under-populated, and should institute a open-door policy until we get on a level with say, the UK, and have about 20 million people.

    I would be utterly opposed to any open-door policy, with the exception of free movement for EU citizens between EU countries. If non-EU nationals are needed to fill vacancies that cannot be filled by EU nationals, then, by all means, issue work permits but immigration must be strictly controlled.


  • Registered Users Posts: 2,705 ✭✭✭Nermal


    HollyB wrote: »
    If non-EU nationals are needed to fill vacancies that cannot be filled by EU nationals, then, by all means, issue work permits but immigration must be strictly controlled.

    What's the point of controls when we need 15 million more people simply to be as populated as our nearest neighbour? We need to encourage people to come here, not place obstacles in their way.

    By the way, you never answered my question, what resource are we short of?


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 458 ✭✭SubjectSean


    HollyB wrote: »

    The majority of those making the decision chose "Yes".

    Yes and what I am saying is that 'those making the decision' should constitute the entire electorate rather than just those members who had an opinion or could be bothered on the day. In an ideal situation this would hold for any referendum.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 458 ✭✭SubjectSean


    HollyB wrote: »
    I would be utterly opposed to any open-door policy, with the exception of free movement for EU citizens between EU countries. If non-EU nationals are needed to fill vacancies that cannot be filled by EU nationals, then, by all means, issue work permits but immigration must be strictly controlled.

    Holly I don't understand how you think free movement for Europeans is fine but not for anybody else.


  • Registered Users Posts: 361 ✭✭HollyB


    Holly I don't understand how you think free movement for Europeans is fine but not for anybody else.

    Free movement within the EU is the right of all EU citizens. Ireland is part of the EU, and therefore EU citizens can come here freely. We cannot prevent immigration from EU countries.

    We can, however, control immigration from non-EU countries and I believe that we should.


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  • Registered Users Posts: 361 ✭✭HollyB


    Yes and what I am saying is that 'those making the decision' should constitute the entire electorate rather than just those members who had an opinion or could be bothered on the day. In an ideal situation this would hold for any referendum.

    So if someone doesn't have an opinion or hasn't read anything about the issue at hand, what are they supposed to do - flip a coin? Ask their friends/parents how they should vote? Ensure that their vote will be marked as spoiled and not counted?

    Without compulsory voting, there will be some who decide to opt out of the decision, and that is their choice. Those who actually do vote will determine the result.


  • Registered Users Posts: 11,692 ✭✭✭✭OPENROAD


    Unless they physically invade us, we most certainly can make and enforce our own laws. I'm not saying there wouldn't be other consequences, but we could do it. I wonder, would that mean we get our fishing grounds back? :D


    I think that you will find that a lot of our laws are EU Laws, so although you are technically correct, it is not going to happen, so lets keep the points realistic.So invalid point mate.


  • Registered Users Posts: 11,692 ✭✭✭✭OPENROAD


    Basically if your great-grandparent was Irish born and your mother or father used that relationship to register as Irish then you are also eligible to be Irish.


    To be fair I think a kid born in Ireland of any non EU parents should have more of a right of citizenship than an American whose grandparents were Irish, just my opinion, mind.


  • Registered Users Posts: 361 ✭✭HollyB


    Nermal wrote: »
    What's the point of controls when we need 15 million more people simply to be as populated as our nearest neighbour? We need to encourage people to come here, not place obstacles in their way.

    And why exactly do we need to be as populated as the UK?
    Nermal wrote: »
    By the way, you never answered my question, what resource are we short of?

    You're confusing "not unlimited" with "short of".


  • Registered Users Posts: 11,692 ✭✭✭✭OPENROAD


    HollyB wrote: »
    There is a huge difference between granting work permits to skilled, essential migrant workers and allowing every person who happens to want to come to Ireland to come in, no questions asked.

    Some degree of immigration is unavoidable, but strict controls are necessary.



    I think you will find that many skilled workers end up in so called low end jobs cleaning etc.. that many Irish/Europeans will not do.

    While we should hae stricter controls for non-eu workers, get used to the fact that other EU workers are here to stay.


  • Registered Users Posts: 361 ✭✭HollyB


    OPENROAD wrote: »
    To be fair I think a kid born in Ireland of any non EU parents should have more of a right of citizenship than an American whose grandparents were Irish, just my opinion, mind.

    And if one of their parents has been lawfully resident in Ireland for three of the four years prior to their birth, they'll qualify for citizenship.


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 410 ✭✭johnathan woss


    SubjectSean what qualifies you to speak as such a high moral authority on the world economic system and the motivation of others ?

    (it didn't take you very long to play the bigot card btw)

    .


  • Registered Users Posts: 361 ✭✭HollyB


    OPENROAD wrote: »
    While we should hae stricter controls for non-eu workers, get used to the fact that other EU workers are here to stay.

    In a nutshell. if there are jobs that cannot be filled from the pool of EU citizens, then it is time to look to non-EU citizens to fill the vacancies. Not before.


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 111 ✭✭williambonney


    Nermal wrote: »
    What resource is running short at the moment, exactly?

    In fact, the only resource we are short of is people.

    We are 114th on this list http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_population_density

    We are actually grossly under-populated, and should institute a open-door policy until we get on a level with say, the UK, and have about 20 million people.

    Are you on some sort of illegal substance? You would allow an open door policy? You would allow 15 million, say, Africans into the country? The mind boggles indeed.


  • Registered Users Posts: 11,692 ✭✭✭✭OPENROAD


    A question, (a silly question but none the less a question). If we were to hold a referendum “Any African who wants to, can come and live in Ireland for as long as they want and be entitled to social welfare payments” what do you think the out come would be? I would guess 99% NO. We Irish are not idiots, only the people in government.

    Lets not assume that all Africans or non-Europeans are just coming here for social welfare. Many,actually I would say the majority are making a financial contribution to this country.


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