Emigration?

declanobrennan

Hey there.

sorry about the multi posts but I'm fairly stuck. I'm a journalist and I'm working on a feature about the growing amount of economic emigration from Ireland and the increasing number of young people moving abroad because they can't get work at home.

I think it's important to keep this issue on he news agenda here especially now coming up to Paddy's day and especially given some rather clumsy comments by enterprise minister Mary Coughlan. She recently told the BBC that young people are leaving Ireland in droves to "have fun" and "isn't it great that they are getting jobs abroad".

So if you know someone who has had to leave Ireland in the last year because they had no hope of a job and they would like to tell their story perhaps you can forward on my details. Or if you fit this description yourself maybe you'd be up for talking to me. I need to speak to somebody before Wednesday.

To get in touch you can send me private message here or email me at gmail - declan DOT brennan AT gmail DOT com

Thanks again,

Declan

dr.fuzzenstein

I know people who had to leave in the 80's, it would be interesting to compare the situation now and then.
As for Mary Coughlin, what can I say other than thick cnut.
Really, what else can you say to that kind of ignorant and arrogant comment?
She is Irelands Sarah Palin, but rather tellingly, here she's made it as second in command in government.
While the yanks (who are rather far from thick) saw that putting a stupid, ignorant bitch into government was a rather bad idea.
Some people might say she's an intelligent, capable politician who got to where she is through her intelligence and hard work, but clearly anyone who says that is either a moron or a liar.

LadyTBolt

My sisters boyfriend got a call today that there is 2 months work for him in Germany with the possibility of a years contract. He starts Tuesday.
He was made redundant over a year ago and has been seeking work since. He is an electrician. Fair play to him for leaving just so he can work, even if it is only for 2 months. STraight down to the dole office to sign off.

MonkeyBone

I wish I saw this post sooner as I may have been able to help. I graduated last year with an MBA with a large class and as the class rep I remained in touch with many of my classmates during their FYP/Thesis and out of 36 students only myself and one other are in the country at the moment. I was abroad in Manchester for a few months working as a trainee consultant because there simply was no jobs in this country. Many of the graduate programmes were pulled and a few of my colleagues from the course stayed to gain unpaid work experience for many months after the course finished. However, they were all told that once their contracted time was up, that that was it. they didn't receive any extention of job offers from the companies they were working for.

The problem now (in my opinion), is that organisations in Ireland know how desperate graduates are for experience and they are offering unpaid work experience as it is free labour and they do not have to extend the contracts to a more permanent payed role. Government bodies like FAS think that these are excellent opportunities but I have it on good authority from people I know (one whom works for a large employer union and the other works at a multinational here in Ireland) that this is effectively slave labour for businesses to use as they see fit. I am sorry if this is off topic but it may be an angle to the story to look at.

As I stated before, only two of my class remains in this country at the moment and both of us are unemployed and trying very hard to find a job. I returned to Ireland due to family matters and have been trying to find work since. Many of my other classmates abroad are finding it difficult to find work that is career building and going abroad to place like Austrailia are in once sense "for the fun of it". Having said that though, they are finding it hard and some even wish they could be back in Ireland but hold little hope in doing so. Those who are planning on coming back are intending on going back to college towards the end of this year for an add on Masters as they are of the opinion (as am I ) that come the summertime things will be a lot harder then last year because of the near 60,000 graduate coming out this year.

Many of them are upset, as am I, that organisations like FAS seem to be of little help to graduates above level 7 and 8. And they seem to cause more frustration then motivation.

I am not sure of how much help I have been in writing this. It may just be "my two cents" worth as the Americans say but I have been in touch with most of my class and this is the overall opinion. For me, I will stay in the country as I still hold some hope of getting a job (though, this may be a fools hope).

Again, I am sorry I didn't see this post sooner as I may have been able to help you get in touch with some of my classmates in Austrailia, Canada or England.

But I am glad you are writing about this because in one respect you are speaking for a generation that are being driven from this country because of the mistakes of the prior generation.