Grants given to groups in South Africa and Zimbabwe

The Minister for Foreign Affairs, Dermot Ahern, has announced €40,000 worth of funding for Irish organisations in South Africa and Zimbabwe - the first-ever fuding to those regions.

Mr Ahern noted that the funding is part of a total package of grants worth €12 million being distributed to Irish communities abroad this year, twelve times that of 1997. Funding was granted this year for the first time to organisation in Canada and Argentina, along with the continued support given to Irish community organisation in Britain, the US and Australia.
He added,

Today's announcement concerning Irish associations in South Africa and Zimbabwe represents a further welcome development. We deeply appreciate the strong and unifying focal points which the Irish associations in South Africa and Zimbabwe provide for our community there, many of whom – including members of religious orders – live some very considerable distance apart from each other. Today's grants will help these Irish associations to sustain their valuable community support structures into the future.

The grants announced by the Minister were:

South Africa

• Cape Town Irish Association - €10,000
• Durban Irish Society - €10,000

Zimbabwe

• Mashonaland Irish Association, Harare - €15,000
• Irish Association of Bulawayo - €5,000

See the full press release at the Department of Foreign Affairs website.
See the full list of grants at the Department of Foreign Affairs website.

Minister proposes US-Ireland visa exchange

Tony Killeen, Minister of State at the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment has said he supports the idea of establishing a programme that would legalise undocumented Irish workers in exchange for giving Irish work visas to Americans. Mr Killeen was speaking after returning from the FAS Jobs event in the US. He said he would raise the idea with his colleagues in the coming weeks.

Mr Killeen supported his idea with the fact that there were 4,300 Americans who immigrated to Ireland in search of work in 2005, while only 1,700 Irish recieved work visas. The government estimates that there are 30,000 to 40,000 undocumented Irish workers in the US. Mr Killeen said, "There is clear evidence to support the establishment of some form of bilateral agreement between the US and Irish governments". He added,

“A large percentage of those in attendance at the FAS Jobs Ireland Exhibition in New York were American. The interest expressed by Americans to come and work in Ireland was so great that a queue more than two and a half blocks long formed outside the Exhibition venue. In less than 15 years Ireland has gone from being the sick man of Europe to one of the most dynamic economies in the developed world. Irish incomes now exceed the European average, resulting in emigration being replaced by immigration. It is perfectly feasible to suggest that some form of working agreement can be pursued where the status of the undocumented Irish is regularised while work permits are offered to Americans seeking employment in Ireland. I hope to raise such a proposal with my colleagues over the coming weeks.”

Mr Killeen also announced the details for a new "Green Card" system for entry into the Irish labour market. The two-year visas will apply for an extensive list of occupations paying more than €60,000, and a smaller list of jobs paying between €30,000 and €60,000. Sectors involved include IT, healthcare, construction, financial services, and biotechnology.

Read the press release for more information.

Minister invites emigrants home at FAS NY event

Minister of State for Labour Tony Killeen spoke at the launch of the FAS Jobs Ireland New York event. He gave a background of Irish emigration and told the story of Ireland's economic success in recent decades. He declared:

If you are an Irish person who emigrated to the United States ten or fifteen years ago you will find that the Ireland of today is dramatically different from the country you left. To Irish people who are thinking of returning to Ireland we say: Now is the time to come home. Instead of the depressed country you left behind you will find instead a wide range of jobs and opportunities. There has never been a better time to live and work in Ireland.

His entire speech is on the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment's website.

FAS NY event a success

The Irish jobs fair being held by Fás in Manhattan on October 20 and 21 turned out to be a success, with about 6,500 attendees, double the expected turnout. Exhibitors included the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment, the Revenue Commissioners, the Department of Foreign Affairs, the Department of Health and Children, the Department of Social and Family Affairs, and the Department of Education and Science. It also included the Western Development Commission, Enterprise Ireland, VHI Healthcare, and the Public Appointments Service, among others. Éan member Safe Home also exhibited. The exhibition, initially aimed at undocumented immigrants but which attracted a far wider audience, gave information on such issues as taxation, healthcare, employment rights, education and visas and permits.

The event attracted the attention of the New York Times, which noted that many American citizens were drawn by the lure of Ireland’s booming economy. The report also noted that nearly three times more Americans moved to Ireland last year than Irish moved to the United States: 4,300 Americans on the move vs 1,700 Irish in 2005.

Emigration the subject of Belfast-Liverpool play

Belfast playwright Marie Jones (Stones in his Pockets), and Liverpool playwright Maurice Bessman (Hollyoaks), have teamed up to write a musical play about the experiences of Irish emigrants circa 1969 taking the Liverpool Ferry to find a new life. Theatre company Red Lead Arts notes that it is the first time that playwrights from the two cities have collaborated and “the first time we have had an opportunity to celebrate our ‘connected’ cultures through shared stories of emigration and immigration”.
The play explores why the characters left Ireland and what happened to them until the present day, and includes reflections, says the company, on “some of the reasons and experiences that still force people to leave Ireland today.” The play is directed by Carol Moore of Red Lead Arts and plays at the Dockers Club in Belfast from October 13 to November 4.
http://www.redleadarts.org.uk/Index.asp?ID=95

Australia targets Ireland in global campaign for workers

Australia is holding an event in Dublin as part of a global campaign to attract 100,000 skilled workers to the country. Similar events are being held in Britain, the US and South America. The are targeting workers who are under 45, have good English, and have qualifications and/or work experience in several occupations in demand; occupations on that list include a wide variety of professions and trades. http://www.immi.gov.au/skillexpos/

Diversity Visa lottery accepting applications

The application period for the 2008 Diversity Visa Program begins today, and extends until noon on December 3, 2006. The program is a random lottery open to applicants with a high school education or equivalent, or who can show two years of work experience in an occupation requiring at least two years of training or experience within the last five years.

The programme selects 50,000 winners, divided among six geographic regions with a maximum of 7% available to people born in any single country. In last year's lottery, there were 160 visa winners from Ireland and 42 from Northern Ireland.

Many of the local Irish immigration centres in the US are running workshops to help people apply for the visa lottery. Visit the US Department of State website for official instructions.