Big Government= No growth, no jobs
Small government= Growth, jobs
Fine Gael=Big Government
FF=Big Government
Labour=Big Government
SF=Bigger Government
ULA=Bigger Government
http://www.house.gov/jec/growth/function/function.htm

Sinead, as an australian citizen I mind this kind of whinging hard to take. Many real ‘economic migrants’ from closer to Australia find themselves imprisoned on pacific islands in never ending hell away from your family, friends, etc. So you had a trip to Oz without checking out the rules before leaving. That’s a shame but put it in perspective. Why is it that you think you have a right to easily switch your life between 2 countries without any impact? Get real. Stop whinging! you had a gap year, you didn’t emigrate, you’re back and things didn’t work out like you planned. Harden the f*** up.

I encountered a number of people recently who were affected by HRC, physical evidence of this can be seen every night on the streets in Dublin where it’s estimated there are now over 200 people sleeping rough. Many of these are either returning emigrants or migrant workers who weren’t here long enough to get help. I fully understand why HRC is there but there needs to be guidelines to deal with people who are in dire need or had no choice but to leave to get work elsewhere.

I wish you the best of luck. You have described the sort of conflicting bureaucracy that can only happen when government is conflicted in it’s goals. We want you back, we want you educated but we don’t want to pay for it.

My daughter was in the same position as Sinead, which came as a total shock to me. After obtaining her primary degree, she had gone abroad to get experience and to decide what she wished to do. She loved it, but after three years she came home to take up an offer to do an LLM. She said to me that she was worried about not getting the grant as she had been outside the country for over two years. I told her not to be stupid, that that regulation was to ensure this country did not have an influx of students seeking free third level education. I was wrong and she was right! (I also believe that the fact that I had moved house, away from Dublin, where I could no longer afford to live, and was now living in a different County Council area, had a bearing on the fact but I may be wrong there. I just felt that Dublin would have had her record of past grants, and the C.C. where I now live, treated us as blow-ins but as I said……). In the end I got a bank loan for her; amazingly, she also had a problem in getting a loan from the bank. Well, maybe not so amazing. She is now working in the UK, and feels that unless she has a job lined up, she will never be able to come home, even to look for work as she will not have been a fully-paid-up-resident of this great-? country and will not be entitled to anything. I absolutely still cannot believe that this is how returning emigrants, or exiles, who hold Irish Pass-ports, are being treated. It is heart-breaking. Prime Time, I am sure it was, covered this over a year ago, looking in particular at the hardship endured by persons who returned home to look after ill or dying relatives.

What strikes me immediately reading this, is why on earth anybody who had presumably being doing OK in Australia would return to Ireland at this time. And then to find out that there is red tape in applying for benefits! I’m not feeling the sympathy here, anybody coming home from a booming country like Australia right now needs their heads examined!

It could be loneliness that made her return. Homesickness can be a terrible thing. I have lived in London for 12 years now and although I am happy and settled I still get pangs, for the scenery, the people, the chat, cabbage and bacon, floury spuds, you can’t get bacon like home in London. If you can someone tell me where?!
No in all seriousness, it should not be that difficult to return, but I suppose there has to be rules in place to monitor immigration and to prevent benefit fraud. Off to book a flight home me thinks!

Perhaps if you had said you were seeking asylum or were a refugee you may have been treated better ?

Alternatively had you come from Eastern Europe….

Nobody drove you out so the whole piece is set up rather dramatically from the word go. Last time I checked the great famine was over so the days of people being driven out belong in movies like The Field!

It’s always been suggested that 3rd level education should be overhauled ….. I believe a higher degree should have the last 2-3 years paid for in full ….. When you enter employment a tax relief scheme for the full amount should be in place but only if it’s in this country ….. If someone wants to travel or to work in another, no refund …. They would have their degree in they’re pocket at no expense to the Irish tax payer

Another country ….apologies

I think the truth here is that we Irish do not like dealing with bureaurcy in Ireland but we deal with it ourside of Ireland because we have to. One of the the effects of partnership process over the last 10 years is that bureaucry has increased. If what we are being told is to be beleived a significant amount of a TD’s work is made up of helping constituents to navigate the Bureacratic nightmare and similar examples that are described in this article and a lot less time is spent on matters of national importance and we wonder what they do? I have to deal with the various arms of our government appratus on a regular basis and it needs patience and a bit of luck in hoping that you find a sympathic official at the end of an e-mail or telephone call.

I am a returned Irish exile, as it happens, although I was out of the country between 1994 and 1999. The sense of entitlement pervading this piece is almost overwhelming.

Did the option to study geography and politics exist for you when you left to go to Australia, or are you coming back now because you thought you could get support for it because you’re a couple of years older?

You’re not an exile. You were, at best, an economic migrant and at best I’d question even that – you wouldn’t be coming back here to go to college if you were that stuck or an exile.

As a general note – as it happens – we have 14% unemployment here and a lot of people need to be reskilled. I’m absolutely in favour of supporting mature students but in so saying I’d like to see the support targeted to courses which will collectively improve the economic situation of both the student and the country. I wouldn’t have featured geography and politics amongst the top priorities. What exactly do you plan to do when you’re finished then?

Hard article to read purely for all the moaning, I’m the same generation as the writer and it really annoys me when I hear people my age talk like this. We seem to expect everything handed to us on a plate – use to nothing else and when it doesn’t happen all too easy to blame others. The country gave you many things before you left like a free primary degree – which does not entitle you to a job like some may think. You then freely left no one was running after you with pitch forks at the terminal, you left for something better, then after paying no income tax in the country of your birth you expect another degree to be paid for you as well while you ride out the recession. Being a holder of an Irish passport does not carry the rights you think it should

I was in England at the Bloc music festival this year and I met loads of young Irish who had emigrated to the UK, they were all happy, the ones I asked had good jobs and said they were glad they left.

You know what I’m most sickened by out of all of this? The begrudging, chip-on-their-shoulder people in this country who say: “Good enough for you for leaving the country and wanting to come back.” Yes, you few people who commented on this article to make it clear you have no empathy for the many, many people like the writer. Just because some of us stayed behind and stuck it out here, doesn’t mean we deserve better treatment by our government; be it educational, in health or yes… even trying to find a job. Anyway, those with the chips are more than likely the over-paid, under-worked teachers. Can. Worms. Opened.

Stop moaning!!! You got 2 great years in oz and I assume you had to return coz your visa ran out. Why didnt u just go to an EU country instead of oz , no visa required!!!

There is no point claiming civil servants for your mis fortune they are just doing their jobs. They don’t make the rules and you should have checked them before applying.

Ah yes THE RULES! How IRISH of us, we must obey THE RULES. How pathetic that so many young irish are quick to criticise the messenger rather than listen to the message. The general tone of the comments here is one of “hand rubbing glee” great, here is some fool that dares to stick their head above the parapet and highlight an issue, quick, put them back in their box before we are forced to listen understand and then be forced out of our comfort zone on the moral high ground to do something that might make a difference. For those people who prefaced their comments with “I assume” dont you know that to assume is to make and ASS of U & ME………..and for the thick amongst you (and there seems to be a high proportion) that spells assume :)

…we all need to stop looking at the politicians and the banks etc to help us because you know what, dont hold your breath !! Just get on with it yourself, however that may be, and STOP WHINGING !!!!

Aw poor you! You spent years in Oz, contributing zero income tax in Ireland, swan back and want benefits? You SHOULD have a hard time getting them. It was your decision to leave. End of.

The writer is Irish, should she not expect something from her country? If she was earning bucket loads of cash the country would surely be expecting something from her.

Well done Sinead. You summarised very clearly the problems with our fragmented state institutions and how they affect people trying to access public services.

Mary Ellen (Wise?) are you sure?

calling people thick is not wise

Thank you Sinead, for creating more awareness around this issue.

I am a poet, film-maker and teacher. On my return in early June of 2005 after working abroad for six years, having completed a lecturing contract, I was informed that I could not prove that Ireland was my centre of interest. ‘Come back to us in two years’ was the general response. As a result I was rendered homeless for eight months, and unable to apply for work, spent much of that time sleeping on the streets of Dublin while I appealed my situation. I made seven HRC (Habitual Residency Condition) appeals in all during that time: to the Homeless Unit; to the HSE Chief Appeals Officer; a re-application made on my behalf by TD Michael Higgins; the Ombudsman; the European Commissioner; again to the Homeless Unit; and finally to the Department of Social and Family Affairs, Habitual Residence Section. Although I offered every form of proof imaginable, I was flatly denied assistance. After eight months on the streets of Dublin (through winter) my health had deteriorated to the point of not being able to walk properly. Then finally, in the eighth month of my return, three days after being arrested for spitting on the plaque of the Ministry for Justice (then Michael McDowell) on St.Stephen’s Green, an event which was published in the Evening Herald, I was informed by the Homeles Unit that I could claim assistance.

I am now well on my feet, and the director of Ó Bhéal, a successful poetry organisation in Cork.

Return by Paul Casey

When finally
he made it back
to wet land

Fell to kiss
the long wept for
sweet green

You were waiting
in your brand new fish tank
pen in one hand

to weigh
his exhaustion
in virgin legislation

as the other
tightened
around his throat

I totally sympathise with you Sinead. I encountered exactly the same wall of bureaucracy when I returned home after living away for three years. I find the negative comments here to be frankly disgusting! As an Irish citizen, you should not have to go through this type of experience.

The negative comments here is just a sign of the times ,I lived away from Ireland a place I call my homeland for 4 years teaching English missing my family friends ,nephews and nieces growing up as well as my mothers passing it was a difficult time.I returned here in October and am just so run down by the negativity of people and the constant doom and gloom being peddled in the media I just feel like leaving again.I wish the Irish people would show more empathy to their fellow Irishmen/women and to those who decided to leave because they were sick of the dole line,sick of being underpaid and undervalued .I know I am not entitled to everything in life but I should at least have the oppurtunity in my own country and most of all freedom of choice.

Yep, just as I expected the working class who still have jobs and the ones who don’t are after being pitted against each other.
Sad to see so much bitterness on either side while the ruling elite who, lets be honest about it were largely unaffected, sit idly by.
A work for dole scheme should be introduced immediately, whereby anyone fit and able should work for their benefits in whatever capacity they are experienced, and we should not fill posts which are after being vacated in the public sector, i.e council workers and such for five years(barring exceptional circumstances).
This would serve to give the non workers a greater sense of self worth, and the workers the peace of mind that they are not carrying freeloaders.
For Gods sake though lets not bicker amongst ourselves, it’s getting us nowhere.
If anywhere we should be venting at those ruling.

I hope the negative comments from people, who haven’t a clue. I so hope that this happens to them one day. only way ignorant comments like this will stop. if your Irish you should be aspired in some way. after all, the people creating these silly obstacles are the very ones that forced people out of their own country!

well i lived in uk for 40 years, a few years back i was diagnosed with parkinson’s disease and came HOME, yes, HOME is where the heart is. still coming to terms with how this country operates. two tier medical services. one tier lives and lives well when ill, the other just about lives but in misery. families don’t help, professionals are incompetent, in other words, the right hand does’nt know what the left hand is doing and we are screwd! maybe there should be an association for ‘returned Irish people rejected by their country! my english friends say “hope you are enjoying retirement in the Emerald Isle”…emerald???? more like a rusty nail.

If I got seriously ill and left the uk for Ireland and the HSE I think I would miss the NHS too

I heard this girl on Phantom today. She paid tax from the age of 16 till she left for Australia at 25 and came back 2 years later. Shouldnt she be entitled to some benefit for the years of taxes that she paid before she went away?

This is a country on the brink of financial disaster with little or no work available. Id have to question her timing in coming home at all. Seems a bit foolish to me.

I apologize for referring to some people on here as thick, but sometimes one has to call a spade a spade, and Oran (above) being wise does not mean being perfect, :)

It appears that a number of people here subscribe to the Mary Coughlan school of thought that those who leave Ireland are off on holiday woo hoo lets go party, when the reality is that our people are faced with a “choiceless choice” stay here and in all likelyhood end up on the ever increasing dole queue, or leave in the hope of finding a job in Australia or Canada etc. Tell me what is going to happen when most of these have to return, when their visas expire and they have been unable to secure sponsorship to stay longer, are they to be met with KEEP OUT, not wanted here? I am shocked that so many of the negative comments here are from people who have completely missed the point of the article I suggest that those people would serve themselves and the rest of us better if they re-read the article before venting their vitriol against this girl and those in similar situations.
I am disguted at the people who have given the “thumb down” to Paul Casey above, that this man would find himself homeless in these circumstances is horrendous and then to have the courage to share his story with us only to be met with such disrespect and lack of compassion…. well it speaks volumes as to the state of US as a society. We are so quick to criticise and sneer at anyone who might dare to call our attention to any issues within our society/country.How quickly and easily do we rush to the moral high ground and don our blinkers lest we see the harsh reality of what is happening around us so long as it is not TO us. It is this attitude that allowed abuse to run rampent in our Church, we were so busy sushing doubting and ignoring the cries of help from those affected because we did not want to face the truth. The very same attitude that allowed a serving Taoiseach one Bertie Ahern to publicly and to laughter and applause by those assembled to tell the “nay sayers” those who had the temerity to speak the truth of our impending economic meltdown, to go committ suicide. We, as a nation are a disgrace, we have learned nothing from the mistakes of the past, we stand quietly by while the lifeblood of our country is drained through forced emmigration and we kick the crap out of anyone like Sinead who returns in the hope of bettering herself and perhaps serving her country well .
Dont you all think that we could all serve this country and its residents (us) better if we got out on the streets and shouted loudly at those which we freely elected to govern to implement long term effective policies that address the concerns of us citizens rather than vent our ire at each other.

I would like to Thank everyone who read the article and to those of you who understood that this is not solely about me and what I am “entitled” to. I just want to clarify some points: I was born and reared in this country of Irish parents both of whom have remained in this country and continue to contribute to this country in many ways. Secondly I myself have paid taxes in this state before I left and also when I returned after my first spell abroad. I have never claimed social welfare or college fees until now.

Having borne witness to the deluge of young fellow Irish finding themselves with no choice but to be in Australia, and also finding myself increasingly angry and upset at the crisis facing my country I felt that even though I was among the fortunate few to be sponsored in Australia I wanted to return home, educate myself to a better standard and look to contribute to my country in a more positive and constructive way. In answer to those who feel that Political Science and Geography have no value I enclose the following Course Overview.

In a rapidly changing international economic, political, security and environmental context the tools of political science and geography are becoming increasingly important to analyse global problems and provide policy solutions. This course combines analytical rigour with an understanding of real-world variations and complexities. The two disciplines have been associated through the sub-fields of political geography, which covers geographical differences in voting patterns, for example, and through geo-politics which examines how the great powers influence other parts of the planet. However, in a context of globalisation, interdisciplinary understandings of socio-environmental issues are becoming increasingly key in solving the problems of the future such as political instability in parts of the developing world as a result of climate change.

I have no desire to be part of a political class or system that is reactionary and whose policies are based on winning the next election, I want to be educated enough to have a clear understanding of the “bigger picture” so that real change can be effected in this country through well thought out policy and basic “joined up” thinking.

I also acknowledge the negative comments. While I find it disheartening that many of you missed the point of the piece, I apologize if I came across as “whingeing” or that I have a sense of entitlement, I don’t. I am just frustrated at the unnecessary obstacles and difficulties that I and others like me have experienced. That this article has generated such debate is positive, and I hope that in the future this energy can be harnessed for the good of this country and for all her citizens.
Many Thanks
Sinead.

Good on you Sinead for passing on some very useful information. I moved home from Australia in 2006, by 2010 I gave up and came back to Australia, it was all too hard. Irish society is totally and utterly anti-information, possibly more to their own citizens than other nationalities. You were lucky you were able to get advice from a citizens advice bureau, unfortunately I found the one in Kilkenny to be useless. When I explained I had returned after many years in Australia the only direction I got was to the dole office, and the wrong one at that for my area.

I don’t think the anti-information policy is hostile though, I think there are two reasons for the quagmire that is life in Ireland, one is that the civil service has become extremely convoluted in order to justify way too many jobs for the amount of work to be done, and number two is the “tall poppy syndrome”, no-one in Ireland wants you to “get ahead” of them, hence the lack of information.

It’s an extremely difficult place to live after living in Australia, as you probably have noticed there are checks and balances here and people are generally accountable, not so in Ireland, Irish people consider themselves unaccountable.

I returned recently for a month’s holiday, and after trying to insure a car I had left there and couldn’t as I had one insured in Australia, (and was told by 3 different insurers I couldn’t insure more than one car, I asked them what on earth does Bono do?), I realised at long last that the only way to exist in Ireland is to become a liar. People will tell you that, lie on the forms, lie to peoples faces, you will get places much faster. And if you get caught in your lies? Feign ignorance, you’re get away with it, remember the key word, unaccountable.

signed a disillusioned returned emigre forced to turn back thank god.

Áine Clinton, it makes me sad you had to go back to Oz. You tried hard though, 4 years. I am only across the pond in London but it still seems to me a huge risk to leave the business I have built up with my husband and try again in Ireland especially after reading all the comments. I feel sure I am better off in London, but my heart will always be in Ireland. I hope you are happy in Australia. Sinead Moran I think your article was very informative and helpful to those seeking to return to their homeland, good luck in your studies. Mary Ellen Wise, I am sorry for having a go and you are right in your comments about how vitriolic the responses have been. We are attacking each other when we should support the Irish coming back to work and live in Ireland.

Thank you everybody for an enlightening half hour. I’ve not read such a marvellous ‘debate’ for some time. And, as I’ve realised since returning to Ireland after many many years, the Irish are very aware, especially politically, and have valuable contributions to make. And a lot smarter than they might think! Oscar Wilde said it:: ‘Put an Irishman on a spit and another Irishman will turn the handle.’ Nothing changes. But this is a wonderful country full of wonderful people. And, yes, the crooks, but they must not rule, or continue to rule. We have no choice but to give the Government (voted for) a chance in these shocking times – not only in Ireland – to steer us, and maybe we all can do our bit and mind our own ‘house.’ It’s a major challenge – perhaps the first of such magnitude for many – and let’s prove our mettle by adjusting, responding and dealing with it in whatever ways we can.

Well written article, Sinead. Good luck to you, hopefully the red tape will end soon.

I have to read this later, it’s too long for a bog read.

Hi Sinead,

I am very sorry to hear about your situation. I am a masters student in NUI Galway studying Journalism. I am producing a radio documentary at the moment about the Habitual Residence Condition and I also plan to do a number of articles on the topic too when I complete the documentary. I was wondering if you would like to be involved in either of these projects? If you would like to contribute your story or would like to know more about either project let me know and we can get in touch.

Rebecca