Ireland's biggest export

[Maggie]

You might think Ireland's biggest export is Guinness, and you would be right.....

...but it has always been said that Ireland's consistently biggest export is her people.

There have been many times of exodus in Ireland.....monks who fled when the Vikings invaded, to set up
monastic settlements in Scotland, England and elsewhere in Europe.
Another exodus of course was the Flight of Earls in the 17th Century, when lands were confiscated from
the Earls and Barons, and their lives were threatened.
The biggest exodus was at the time of the Famine 1845-52, when more than a million people starved to death,
and more than a million emigrated.

Then came the Celtic Tiger years......when Ireland got subsidies from the EU, and for a few years the Irish Economy
was one of the strongest and fastest growing in the world.
But due to over-spending, over-confidence, greedy politicians and poor planning, the Celtic Tiger died a long slow death.
It was also due of course to the Worldwide recession.

Unemployment in the Republic has risen to a 16-year high of 13.7%, and it is even higher in Northern Ireland.

In times of high unemployment, some young people turn to Law Enforcement and the Defence Forces for a secure job.

Not this time......to save money, there is a hiring and promotion freeze in the Irish Military and Law enforcement.
It has been reported as a 4-year freeze on Military, and 2-year freeze on An Garda Siochána,
although that was temporarily lifted to allow 100 police recruits to start training.

Some people have decided to return to College, as tuition is free to Citizens within the EU,
and a better degree might help.

....and once again, the Irish are emigrating all over the World seeking employment.

This is a bit out of sync, but the Wolfe Tones tell the story:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dAnh1CohMjM

"Our best asset is our best export too."
(from the song "Flight of Earls")

[SusanZ]

Interesting stuff,as always, Maggie!

I remember reading an article that during the recent "boom" years in Ireland, there was a large influx of people from other countries coming to Ireland to seek employment. Did they settle in Ireland or go back to their own countries when things went bad?



Zee

[Maggie]

I remember reading an article that during the recent "boom" years in Ireland, there was a large influx of people from other countries coming to Ireland to seek employment.
Did they settle in Ireland or go back to their own countries when things went bad?
Zee

Along with the advantages of joining the EU (subsidies for infrastructure, industry, open borders for easier trade,
tax breaks for big business)
were the disadvantages (all EU citizens have the right to live, work and be educated in any of the Member Nations,
 including Ireland).

I remember my dear old Uncle and Aunt, up in the mountains of Tipperary in 1982, when for the first time
their new neighbours were not Irish. They did not like the thought of non-Irish people moving into their village.
All their lives they had known and trusted their neighbours.
They had watched out for each other, gone to Mass together.
I remember the sadness and fear in their eyes.....because many "foreigners" were buying property in Ireland,
not to live in but to use as vacation homes. This disrupted Village life, the "strangers" houses were unoccupied
most of the time, or were rented to other non-Irish people, who contributed nothing to the community.

In the following years, thousands of people from the UK, Germany, Romania, Latvia, Poland and other EU countries
came to Ireland. High-tech Industries, Microsoft, Dell, and Pharmaceutical Companies set up Irish HQ's.
Ireland's immigrant population went from 1% to 12% in a couple of years.

Then recession hit in Europe and the USA.....and Overseas Corporations pulled out of Ireland, leaving many locals unemployed.
Now because there are no jobs, many of the immigrants are going home or going elsewhere, some to London trying to get construction jobs on facilities for the Olympics 2012.
For a while those workers were living well.....in fact some of them were travelling between Ireland and their homeland
to claim benefits in both countries.
No, that is not legal, but nobody seemed to be keeping track.

The Irish are usually optimistic...their glass of Guinness is always half full.
So we all hope the good times will return......eventually.

However....if anyone has dreams of living and working in Ireland...
they will probably have to put those dreams on hold for now.