We should start with halting illegal immigration especially the bogus asylum seekers. Anyone who comes here via the North, by ferry, or by plane from a peaceful country, is not fleeing war or persecution .. they are shopping around for the best deal they can get. We should also make deportation a mandatory part of any criminal conviction a migrant accrues in this country. Everyone needs a place to live regardless of their status in life .. priority should be given to the lawful.
Great writing, as always. I disagree somewhat that there is a big trade-off needed. Three companies pay half our corporation tax. We can keep them happy with whatever immigration they need without having to import tens of thousands. The big one is making our healthcare system self-sufficient.
I agree that Indian immigrants are generally good, but there is no doubt that they contribute to a feeling of foreignness in Ireland. In particular, I have found their customs with regard to body odour most unpleasant. It doesn’t sit well with me that they have become our second-largest immigrant group in the blink of an eye.
Dan O’Brien was interviewed on Morning Ireland this week. He said, “But again, just the scale of these things in recent years. This was the fifth consecutive year that more than 100,000 people emigrated into the country. The past five years have been utterly unique in Irish history…”
Audrey Carville replied, “But net migration was 48,100, which when you consider all the discussion and all the debate over immigration…is a small number,” that last bit said in a tone of exasperation.
48k is over 600k in British terms, which Britain has only ever exceeded twice. It is a huge number in the middle of a housing crisis, and it shows how deluded our establishment is that Carville could be so confidently wrong.
You must have been listening to my thoughts John and Sarah. Multi Nationals can write their own visas (figuratively) which means, instead of Apple moving to India, for example for cheaper workers, the Indians come here, regardless of the consequences for housing, GP’s, hospitals, schools etc. The multinationals don’t care and the government apparently doesn’t care.
Not one politician in Government or in SF, Labour or the SD's will draw the same conclusion or do anything to change the absolute catastrophe that they have brought on this country. I despair! I don't know what to do. I see life draining away from my town and everything changing. I know people feel the same but no one serious seems to be able to rally the people.
If a company desperately needs to employ a foreign national, they must provide accommodation, newly built and paid for by the company, before any visa is granted. Guaranteed that the essential worker visa demand would instantly shrink to zero.
I lived in Singapore during a similar crisis - there was an enormous clamour (by Singapore standards) to reduce the intake of foreigners to fuel the economy. One of the immediate policy responses was to increase the minimum salary requirements for each type of employment visa. In Ireland, I would look to close the language schools - this is a massive weakness and facilitates a flood of low skilled migrants who eventually join the labour market. Also, the govt should set a a cap on university places for international students. Universities should live within their means - they did when I was a student in the early 1980s. These measures would take some pressure off the lower end of the housing market. I think the next employment crisis will be AI induced and it will permanently reduce the demand for I.T. skills which our Indian friends are well endowed with.
We should start with halting illegal immigration especially the bogus asylum seekers. Anyone who comes here via the North, by ferry, or by plane from a peaceful country, is not fleeing war or persecution .. they are shopping around for the best deal they can get. We should also make deportation a mandatory part of any criminal conviction a migrant accrues in this country. Everyone needs a place to live regardless of their status in life .. priority should be given to the lawful.
Great writing, as always. I disagree somewhat that there is a big trade-off needed. Three companies pay half our corporation tax. We can keep them happy with whatever immigration they need without having to import tens of thousands. The big one is making our healthcare system self-sufficient.
I agree that Indian immigrants are generally good, but there is no doubt that they contribute to a feeling of foreignness in Ireland. In particular, I have found their customs with regard to body odour most unpleasant. It doesn’t sit well with me that they have become our second-largest immigrant group in the blink of an eye.
Dan O’Brien was interviewed on Morning Ireland this week. He said, “But again, just the scale of these things in recent years. This was the fifth consecutive year that more than 100,000 people emigrated into the country. The past five years have been utterly unique in Irish history…”
Audrey Carville replied, “But net migration was 48,100, which when you consider all the discussion and all the debate over immigration…is a small number,” that last bit said in a tone of exasperation.
48k is over 600k in British terms, which Britain has only ever exceeded twice. It is a huge number in the middle of a housing crisis, and it shows how deluded our establishment is that Carville could be so confidently wrong.
You must have been listening to my thoughts John and Sarah. Multi Nationals can write their own visas (figuratively) which means, instead of Apple moving to India, for example for cheaper workers, the Indians come here, regardless of the consequences for housing, GP’s, hospitals, schools etc. The multinationals don’t care and the government apparently doesn’t care.
Not one politician in Government or in SF, Labour or the SD's will draw the same conclusion or do anything to change the absolute catastrophe that they have brought on this country. I despair! I don't know what to do. I see life draining away from my town and everything changing. I know people feel the same but no one serious seems to be able to rally the people.
If a company desperately needs to employ a foreign national, they must provide accommodation, newly built and paid for by the company, before any visa is granted. Guaranteed that the essential worker visa demand would instantly shrink to zero.
When the yanks go , we are toast.
I lived in Singapore during a similar crisis - there was an enormous clamour (by Singapore standards) to reduce the intake of foreigners to fuel the economy. One of the immediate policy responses was to increase the minimum salary requirements for each type of employment visa. In Ireland, I would look to close the language schools - this is a massive weakness and facilitates a flood of low skilled migrants who eventually join the labour market. Also, the govt should set a a cap on university places for international students. Universities should live within their means - they did when I was a student in the early 1980s. These measures would take some pressure off the lower end of the housing market. I think the next employment crisis will be AI induced and it will permanently reduce the demand for I.T. skills which our Indian friends are well endowed with.
Just seen a BBC TV program on how AI will steal most white collar jobs.
Your suggestions to remedy the housing and mass immigration crises are pure common sense. This is why they won't be heeded by anyone in government.
Ireland is out of step in being soft on immigration in Europe, can’t see there being much of a political cost in getting tougher
They should tax land values and give tax deductions for Irish babies.