A working abroad expo this weekend shines a light on the high number of young people being forced to leave Ireland to find employment. BRIAN O'CONNELLspeaks to six people preparing to emigrate
IN THE first four months of this year, 65,000 people emigrated from Ireland. Approximately half of these were Irish people moving abroad to seek work.
We now have the highest rate of net emigration in the EU, almost double Lithuania, our nearest country in statistical terms.
While voluntary emigration can be a rewarding and personally fulfilling experience, forced emigration can carry with it deep psychological wounds. The sense of disenfranchisement comes from a country no longer able to promise a future, yet still supplying a past.
This weekend at Dublin's RDS, a working abroad exhibition will showcase employment options in several industries overseas.
Mainly the countries looking to hire at the expo are Canada and Australia and hundreds of jobs will be on offer. Organisers expect interest to come from a more diverse demographic than ever before.
Expo organiser Stephen McLarnon says: "There has been some scepticism about whether Irish people are in fact emigrating, with many believing that we are simply losing our surplus of non-national workforce.
"This year we've seen not alone a marked increase in the numbers of Irish looking to relocate, but a broader demographic mix than ever before. Some people are selling their homes to restart, others are retraining to meet visa criteria, while graduates are looking for a first step on the career ladder."
Next year, it is expected that 50,000 more may leave Ireland for work abroad. For a generation not yet born when mass emigration last visited this country in the 1980s, there is a growing sense of frustration and bewilderment at being forced from home to secure a future.
Some of those preparing to emigrate share their thoughts here.
The Working Abroad Expo is at the RDS Concert Hall tomorrow and Sunday from 11am to 4pm. For more information, see workingabroadexpo.com
CONOR MOONEY (22) from Dublin, moving to Canada
‘I’M A cabinetmaker by trade, but at the moment there is no work at all for people in any trade really. I was working until last week and was then told that’s the end of it. My girlfriend is going to Canada tomorrow and I’ll follow her in early January. We have friends over there and they rave about how brilliant and beautiful it is and the fact that there is loads of work. There’s plenty work for cabinet makers.
“I’ve been looking online and I am very optimistic. I’m basically assured a job there already. My grandad was cabinetmaker and he is the one who got me into the wood.
“I always had it in my head to travel some day. I never thought it would be this early in my life. I’m a bit of a home bird, but I had to take this decision. There are no jobs around here.
“The problem is that even if you set up your own company, by the time you’re done you’d be so far into debt. My grandad thinks it’s a great move and he’s happy I’ll be able to carry on the trade.”
MATTHEW MCMAHON (30) based in Galway moving to Canada
‘IN THE good times, I was putting up plasterboards and I was also a painter. I’m out of work and I can’t get it anywhere in this country. It’s a financial famine. Last time I worked was during the summer, but there will be no work there until next summer again, I’d say. It’s gone that bad. When I did have work, you’d do overtime or work on a Saturday. Everything was rosy.
“The country is gone to absolute pot, and there are no prospects. If you don’t go to Canada, you’re going to Australia. It’s ruining a generation in this country.
“I’m leaving because there is no point looking at the four walls at home and crying. There is a local paper every Thursday and I’m scouring that and the jobs online. There are no construction jobs.
“I had my own place in Galway, and when things came to crunch I had to move home. Before the boom I was about to get a mortgage and I was advised by an auctioneer friend who said not to. I have a few contacts in Canada who will offer me work soon as I get over there. There are opportunities over there and I’ve been told there is plenty of work. To be honest, I’ll be glad to be away from everyone’s sad stories.”
DANIEL McDONALD (40) lives Co Meath moving to Australia
‘I LOST my job earlier this year, back in January, and I haven’t been working since. I was never out of work bar a week or two weeks in my life. I was an apprentice in the last recession and I am a chef by trade.
“I’m lucky that my wife, Celine, is still working. If she wasn’t we would be in real financial trouble.
“I have now decided to emigrate to Perth in Western Australia permanently. I’m trying to sell the house, but it’s 12 months on the market this month. We’ve dropped the price by €40,000. We’re not too far away from negative equity.
“We chose Perth because the Western Australia government sponsored my visa, as they need chefs. I was over there last month and I picked up newspapers and hotels and restaurants were advertising jobs.
“I don’t see any long-term prospect of employment here for many years to come. Anything that’s out there now is part-time or contract. I know it’s a big move, but if I want to have a better life, it’s the only option.”
EIMEAR REIHILL (20) based in Dublin, moving to Australia
‘WHEN I’M finished college I don’t think there will be much work in Dublin. I’m thinking about going to Australia. I think they have a need for solicitors there.
“If worst comes to worst, I will just come back and do another degree, maybe in media or something. Most of my friends have gone on overseas work placements this year. What they want is to try and set up their own businesses, as there are no jobs for them in Ireland at the moment. Lots of them will move away to Australia or America.
“I would love to remain in Ireland but I probably will end up moving away. I know a few of my friends have got experience but I haven’t been able to get any work experience. Our college tried to get us some, but it’s not available. I think it is getting better in Ireland from what it has been, but it is not as good as it could be.
“Hopefully things will get better and more of us will be able to stay in Ireland. But at the moment I don’t see that happening before I am finished in two years’ time.”
YVONNE GAULE (22) based in Cork, moving to UK
‘I STUDIED for a BA in social care in Cork Institute of Technology. I had no intention of moving abroad. I felt that if I went to college and studied hard enough I would be okay. I got a first-class honours degree and so felt I would have a reasonable chance of getting a job.
Since the middle of May I’ve applied for 70 jobs and have gotten about seven replies. I’ve applied mostly for jobs in social care. There’s an embargo at the moment within the HSE, so most of the jobs are maternity cover and part-time jobs. I’ve applied for other jobs including supermarkets. I have had four interviews since I graduated. It’s very disheartening. In the past week I have slowed down my search and started looking at the UK. I’m hoping to get a job there and then go on to Australia to get some practical experience.
“I’m disappointed. I love Ireland and love living here. Moving abroad was a last resort for me personally. I have really, really tried to get work.”
LAURA O'REILLY (22) from Cavan, moving to America
I HAVE just finished college and was looking for a job for the summer and picked up a waitressing job. I studied English, media and cultural studies in college. I am now thinking of emigrating.
I want to save up some money and then get out and go somewhere. I have American citizenship so I might go back there. In America, it doesn’t seem to be as gloomy as here. That’s the feeling I get from it.
We moved back to Ireland in 1999 as a family and now my Dad hates to see me considering emigration. He said he didn’t think it would come around to his children. He was a carpenter. Now that we are all so educated the Government has nothing in place for us.
I applied to Fás and found them to be very unhelpful. I went into the office and thought they were looking down on me. Also, I found their website very difficult to use.
A bunch of my friends have gone to the States, and are going again after our graduation. Two are going to Australia and another friend got a teaching job in Thailand. About 12 of my friends are emigrating.
