Thumped's "non-nationals" thread (2 Viewers)

[snakybus]

Today the European Court of Justice in Luxembourg said setting such a condition was not acceptable and was a wrong interpretation of the EU rules.

yey, feckin deadly

 

[Lili Marlene]

haha, jokes on us, bunch of filthy racists

 

[jane]

Yay indeed.

Still can't believe they thought they could do it in the first place.

I always have that fear that when the downturn happens, people will 'protect Irish jobs' by voting to rescind the rights of foreign spouses to work. It would eventually be overturned, but not before a lot of careers and lives were ruined.

Did anyone see Brian Cowen's fucking lame suggestion regarding the undocumented Irish (whom he insists on calling 'illegals') in the US? He wants them to come back to Ireland and re-apply to go back to the US. That's his solution. And in return, Americans would get....I dunno, he didn't say. Probably a two-year, non-renewable work visa that would still only apply to professions the government deems necessary. In other words, if you've got a degree in English or you went to art school, fuck off.

His plan appears to be based on the idea that everyone in the US is simply on an overstayed J-1 and lives out of a suitcase. Because yeah, people with lives and families and maybe no real connections still in Ireland can just drop everything and come back to Ireland to wait months or years (and what about their American families?) to be allowed to return. The whole fucking point is that the people most vulnerable are those with the most to lose, who can't just drop everything and come back to Ireland.

 

[Cormcolash]

They were able to afford the plane fare over there in the first place, they can't be that vulnerable. You don't see me flying over to America for a holiday.

 

[the strange guy]

I met an Irish couple who were working in bars illegally in San Francisco.
They just had a kid and they can't come home.
I have no idea what kind of education they hope to provide for the kid while they're both off the radar.
If immigration catches them, they'll be turfed out of the country and they'll lose everything they own, their jobs and possibly access to their savings.
Fucking idiots.
It's one thing to live recklessly for yourself and having a goodtimefunbuzz but not when there's a kid involved.

Jane, I'm sure there are nicer places than the Irish immigration office, but just be thankful you're a white American woman and not a Somalian in the same situaton.

 

[jane]

Jane, I'm sure there are nicer places than the Irish immigration office, but just be thankful you're a white American woman and not a Somalian in the same situaton.

I know. Which is one reason why I don't like this 'bilateral agreement' they're talking about. The idea of a multi-tier immigration policy, based on nationality (it's bad enough with its current wonky, unrealistic criteria) freaks me out. I don't want special treatment, especially if it's at the expense of other people who don't deserve to be discriminated against just because they come from countries to which Irish people don't happen to want to emigrate in large numbers.

Not to mention what happens if this new thing, where couples who want to marry have to apply to the Minister for Justice if one of them is from outside the EU. Never mind the fucking ridiculousness, I'm just picturing a huge pile of unread files, and delays that will keep couples apart, or in limbo for years.

I think it's kind of dumb when Irish people end up in the situations in the US where they have families and jobs and lives and are still under the radar, but I still feel for them. The point I was trying to make was that those people can't very easily come back to Ireland and wait for someone to get to their case, by which time, they'll have even more bureaucracy.

If they're gonna help undocumented Irish people in the US, they should do it for everyone. Ditto the situation for people here. It might seem easier and make the right people happy, but it will also be even more detrimental for the more vulnerable immigrants.

The fact that we have the same legal status as someone from Somalia in a similar situation might not make the system fair, but giving us special status just opens the doors to treat the rest even worse.

We had it pretty easy when we went to change my status. I can't imagine it always is.

 

[magicbastarder]

they had someone from fine gael on the radio this morning with the news that 90% of new jobs last year were filled by non-irish. he wasn't saying we should kick them out or anything, more lamenting the fact that FAS, etc., should be doing a better job in training the irish.

 

[frambosenshmak]

...more lamenting the fact that FAS, etc., should be doing a better job in training the irish.

nah apparently they're too busy giving out hugely disproportionate amounts of money to their ad agency and local newspapers and trying to give promotions to people who have been flagged by revenue audits for improper financial practises within the company. maybe they could educate irish people in that. seems to be popular right across irish business especially in rezoning and building sector. Call it the mahon method if you will.

good aul FÁS. best thing they ever did was that jobs fair ad with the well endowed lady plastered all over buses.