Emigration as a policy?

An Diabhal

Hi, I am new to the site so I hope I get this right. Anyhow I wonder what others think of the push going on at the moment to get people to emigrate out of the country? I'm unemployed at the moment and went to my local FAS office and the lady there told me my options were to either get a postgrad (which I cant afford to do) or to emigrate. I was shocked to be honest that she was saying that I should consider emigration as a real option. I was checking the web and came across this statement form a galway councillor http://www.rsfgaillimh.com/localnews.htm and have to say it pretty much sums up how I percieve it at the moment. I didnt do a degree here just to benifit some other country, I want to play an active part in this country and it seems as if young people are considered excess baggage at the moment. Just wondered what others think about it.

danbohan

An Diabhal wrote: »

Hi, I am new to the site so I hope I get this right. Anyhow I wonder what others think of the push going on at the moment to get people to emigrate out of the country? I'm unemployed at the moment and went to my local FAS office and the lady there told me my options were to either get a postgrad (which I cant afford to do) or to emigrate. I was shocked to be honest that she was saying that I should consider emigration as a real option. I was checking the web and came across this statement form a galway councillor http://www.rsfgaillimh.com/localnews.htm and have to say it pretty much sums up how I percieve it at the moment. I didnt do a degree here just to benifit some other country, I want to play an active part in this country and it seems as if young people are considered excess baggage at the moment. Just wondered what others think about it.

i was an emigrant in the 1980s myself , was it policy then ? defiantly , brian lenighan said its too small an island for us all , what he meant was it was just big enough for him and his crooked cronies ,, get out and stay out my friend this place will never change !

imme

@OP I was quite surprised to find out that Republican had a councillor anywhere in the country. They don't seem to have one on Galway City Council. Maybe they've one on Galway County Council. There are a few Independents, but no one is identified as RSF.

Anyway back to immigration. I don't think the government has a de facto policy of immigration. Any government that were to have such a policy is a government that has failed, a government that has given up.

sceptre

Side note: the local news/press release clearly says county council:) Tomas Ó Curráoin is apparently a councillor on Galway county council representing the Connemara electoral area. He's RSF's only elected councillor.

FTA69

RSF also aren't a registered political party (not recognising the Free State and whatnot) and as such any representative or candidate they have is listed as an independent.

bigwormbundoran

Bad and all as it may be now, imagine what it would be like if the blue shirts do get in, with Varadkar and his whole paying of the unemployed immigrants to buck off scheme that he proposed, it scares me that this type of state of mind as a whole does exist in this day and age.

djpbarry

An Diabhal wrote: »

I'm unemployed at the moment and went to my local FAS office and the lady there told me my options were to either get a postgrad (which I cant afford to do) or to emigrate. I was shocked to be honest that she was saying that I should consider emigration as a real option.

Maybe the lady in question was having a ‘disillusionment day’? I don’t think there’s anything wrong with presenting emigration as an option; anyone (anywhere) will recognise that perhaps they may need to leave their home country to fulfil their potential/ambition.

An Diabhal wrote: »

I didnt do a degree here just to benifit some other country...

Maybe you should be putting yourself first instead of a particular country? Emigrate if needs be – it beats sitting here and rotting on the dole queue. It may be the case that at some point in the future, what’s best for you (and yours) also happens to benefit Ireland, but personally, at this early stage of your career, I don’t think you should be straitjacketing yourself with patriotism.

thebman

Emigration as a policy is ridiculous TBH. The government certainly shouldn't be pushing but then the unemployed with qualifications are unlikely to vote for them so best get rid. Party before country and all. Who cares that the state and so the taxpayer has paid to educate these people or that the government was elected with one of their responsibilities being to manage the economy so that people shouldn't need to emigrate to find a job.

By all means emigrate if you think you have no other option but it shouldn't be part of government policy unless that government has failed catastrophically to manage the country.

SLUSK

In the short run you save money not having to pay welfare for people if they all emigrate but in the long run the country will suffer because there will not be enough people left to work and pay taxes to finance the welfare state...

rasper

Its been fairly obvious this has been their plan with their attacks on the under 25s, unfortunately it is the only way they'll get the headlines such as rate of unemployment dropping, by forcing workers out of the State and eventually cling onto a global upturn. Fianna Failure economic policy alright.

An Diabhal

bigwormbundoran wrote: »

Bad and all as it may be now, imagine what it would be like if the blue shirts do get in, with Varadkar and his whole paying of the unemployed immigrants to buck off scheme that he proposed, it scares me that this type of state of mind as a whole does exist in this day and age.

Now there's a scary thought.

An Diabhal

djpbarry wrote: »

Maybe the lady in question was having a ‘disillusionment day’? I don’t think there’s anything wrong with presenting emigration as an option; anyone (anywhere) will recognise that perhaps they may need to leave their home country to fulfil their potential/ambition.

If it were one of many options then i would say fair enough but given that she knew I couldnt afford to do a postgrad she was pretty much saying it was my only option. I have no problem with the idea of emigrating if it is by choice rather than forced upon you as the only option available. The politicians keep saying the country is broke and yet they can pay over 3 million to do up the embassy in canada? I know there is financial difficulties but why should I have to leave my home because of it? I own no house (not even a car), I have no debt. I am not responsible for the financial situation the country is in, despite people trying to tell us "we are all responsible".

djpbarry wrote: »

Maybe you should be putting yourself first instead of a particular country? Emigrate if needs be – it beats sitting here and rotting on the dole queue. It may be the case that at some point in the future, what’s best for you (and yours) also happens to benefit Ireland, but personally, at this early stage of your career, I don’t think you should be straitjacketing yourself with patriotism.

I hear what your saying, but it annoys me to think that I would have to emigrate because of something that is not my fault, I worked for a number of years prior to returning to college, paid all my taxes and now when I need assistance the state cuts social welfare and seems hell bent on reducing costs by dumping its citizens overboard rather than tackle the real problem in the economy.

An Diabhal

imme wrote: »

@OP I was quite surprised to find out that Republican had a councillor anywhere in the country. They don't seem to have one on Galway City Council. Maybe they've one on Galway County Council. There are a few Independents, but no one is identified as RSF.

Well whatever the story is with him he is getting my vote from now on.

Zambia

I left Ireland In 2006 (jesus I never added it up before thats almost 4 years). Anyway emigration has always been a option for anyone its never been a policy. I never saw a billboard saying "Migrate Now! Sure its great". From my knowledge of playing "Rome" the more happy people in your city the richer you become.

So why would a goverment encourage its people to leave? I think the Op is making the ramblings of a PS worker into a goverment policy.

From trawling the thread here it is clear most people think the Current goverment is crap, they also think the opposition is crap.

So could we have Simon Cowell introduce a show on RTE, "Irelands got Political talent" . And from the winners a political party will be created.

Hopefully in time for a Christmas election.

However this is never going to happen, but to the OP you are young educated,unemployed and disillusioned. You can either stay that way or join a party you think can make things better. Even if it is RSF.

bmaxi

An Diabhal wrote: »

Well whatever the story is with him he is getting my vote from now on.

Hmmmm.

djpbarry

An Diabhal wrote: »

If it were one of many options then i would say fair enough but given that she knew I couldnt afford to do a postgrad she was pretty much saying it was my only option.

There are always alternatives. They may not be the most attractive options and they may involve doing something unrelated to your degree, something you don’t want to do for a while, but there are always alternatives.

An Diabhal wrote: »

I own no house (not even a car), I have no debt.

So you’re totally free to do whatever you want, right? Would you rather have a house and a great big mortgage weighing you down, limiting your options for you?

An Diabhal wrote: »

I hear what your saying, but it annoys me to think that I would have to emigrate because of something that is not my fault…

I don’t really get what you’re saying here? You chose to do law, now, unfortunately, you can’t get a job – where’s the ‘fault’?

An Diabhal wrote: »

I worked for a number of years prior to returning to college, paid all my taxes and now when I need assistance the state cuts social welfare and seems hell bent on reducing costs by dumping its citizens overboard rather than tackle the real problem in the economy.

The ‘real problem’ is a huge deficit in public finances – that’s going to take a while to sort out.

anymore

An Diabhal wrote: »

Hi, I am new to the site so I hope I get this right. Anyhow I wonder what others think of the push going on at the moment to get people to emigrate out of the country? I'm unemployed at the moment and went to my local FAS office and the lady there told me my options were to either get a postgrad (which I cant afford to do) or to emigrate. I was shocked to be honest that she was saying that I should consider emigration as a real option. I was checking the web and came across this statement form a galway councillor http://www.rsfgaillimh.com/localnews.htm and have to say it pretty much sums up how I percieve it at the moment. I didnt do a degree here just to benifit some other country, I want to play an active part in this country and it seems as if young people are considered excess baggage at the moment. Just wondered what others think about it.

Surely she would .have told you of other options such as placement with a firm !

cheesehead

First time poster here. As a first generation Irish-American, this topic caught my eye. Also, in yesterday's Irish Times, I read with interest Paul Bradfield's article, "Turn the lights off, Brian, the people are leaving", that speaks to the topic of this thread.

Slightly off-topic question: Why no talk of emigration to the US?

As a first generation Irish-American, I'm obviously biased regarding the opportunities America affords, especially to the educated, hard-working people alluded to in Paul's article and this thread.

Is it safe to assume the decline in the US as a destination is due to multiple practical reasons: US economy/jobs market, post 9/11 restrictions, weakened dollar, etc.... or is there some deeper political/philosophical opposition to the US I'm missing?

FTA69

Slightly off-topic question: Why no talk of emigration to the US?

Because it's a pain in the arse to get into. If you're qualified in a job such as nursing or teaching you are required (and I could be wrong in this but I've looked into the issue myself) to have practiced for five years in your own country. This is in contrast to countries such as Canada or Australia which is actually crying out for such jobs and will actually facilitate your immediate emigration in many cases. Similarly England is an attractive destination because 1) it's close to Ireland and 2) you don't have to worry about visas and residency and all that lark.

On top of that, the quality of life in countries such as Canada and Australia would be more of an attractive prospect than the USA in many respects.

I'm 22, and will be finished college with a H Dip by the time I'm 24. To be honest it's nigh impossible to secure a teaching job in Ireland now; and it would be a lot less hassle for me to go back to London or chance Australia than it would for me to try and get into the USA. (That having been said I would like to live there for a while, it's a fascinating place.)

cheesehead

FTA69 - thank you for your response. Your very honest "it's a pain in the arse to get into" response cuts to the chase and tells me why more Irish aren't attempting to seek their fortunes in the US.

Unfortunately, as you well know, Ireland's loss is another country's gain, and in this case the US is missing out on some tremendous talent. Some voices within the US are being raised to help facilitate qualified emigrants entry into the country, but I'm afraid for your Celtic Tiger Cub generation, the US opportunity just won't be there, particularly given the current US jobs climate.

The US continues to offer tremendous opportunities and quality of life, despite, at times, contrarian views on this matter from main stream media. The current US two-year down cycle will end (it always does) and the US salmon run will begin anew. Unfortunately, it does not appear the Irish will be part of the next salmon run (unlike prior generations), and this really is to the United States detriment.

Best of luck FTA69, as you begin your journey.