Tens of thousands still migrating to Ireland, figures show

(...cont’d) If everyone was a millionaire, then no one would be a millionaire, if you get my drift – it’s all comparative. It’s a bit like saying if everyone was ugly- or beautiful-looking, then no one would be ugly- or beautiful-looking; so it is appropriate that all workers be paid for what they can contribute to their country, working by way of their talents, learned or “unlearned”, or by qualification or by expertise in the prevailing market. For many years, I have said that Irish Trade Union demands have been pricing Ireland out of "the market". That’s one of the reasons that IT companies like Dell and HP decided to move some of their operations out of Ireland to India and Eastern Europe where an equally-capable workforce is now readily available (thanks to, and based on, the Irish model of a decade or two ago) but at lesser rates of pay. If everyone in Ireland took a 50% reduction in pay, then relatively we’d all still be on the same levels within the same Irish market – but that’s not the way the external markets works... and so you know the rest. Of course migrant workers, Irish and non-Irish, are going to chase what they think is a pot of gold at the end of the Irish rainbow. We Irish know it doesn't exist, so why people, Irish or not, bother to chase it at all leaves me flummoxed.

Eamonn12 – In my job I am a kind of an economist, so I have been through enough economics classes - though I was never stupid enough to go into so-called pure economics; in my mind there is no such thing. I do see and accept your point of view re masses of people at minimum wage possibly bringing down wages – but only in a general way. In Ireland there is an agreed structure in place (under a thing called the National Wage Agreement) for different grades of jobs and job qualifications of which the minimum wage for “menial” work of about $10/hour is set legally. No worker can be paid less than that without breaking the law. Under national wage and salary negotiations in Ireland, qualified Tradesmen (pardon the expression: it is common to men and women – e.g. a Painter is a Painter, man or woman) get about $24/hr and Labourers about $21/hr. Professional salaries (Technical and other Engineering, Scientific and such grades) are above these figures but still have a ‘norm’ in practice, in reality. However, those who work in legal, medical and real estate fields charge way more than is necessary or appropriate to their talents and are by far the greediest of people in Ireland and have massively contributed to Ireland’s financial woes (Cont’d...)

Jacersagain - I think you might want to invest in an economics class. Immigrants do lower wages by bringing in a huge pool of labour willing to work for the minimum. Why would an Irish employer hire an Irishman for a job at a reasonable wage if a Pole will do it for the legal minimum?

Not so Pitsburghkid – immigrants do not lower the wages. By law in Ireland, there is a minimum wage or rate per hour payable to employees. Immigrants to Ireland (esp Poles and Latvians) come here for two reasons: the legal minimum wage in Ireland is three times what they’d get in their own countries for doing the same jobs (mainly as shop and store attendants, hotel workers and waiters/waitresses) and secondly because the social welfare benefits are much higher than they’d get in their own countries (including “almost-free” social housing). Now that East Europeans are fully integrated into the EU, they also have full equality of jobs and housing rights in our country. If another European country offered me three times my Irish salary, then I’d surely look to availing of those opportunities... so why should these so-called immigrants not do the same? Most African immigrants here are asylum seekers or refugees, which is why you see so many. In the West of Ireland, it is mostly Brazilians you see and in Dublin City centre you see a lot of Chinese people.

Immigrants to Ireland can get their hair braided at the expense of the taxpayer.

The migrants lower the wages, so the Irish have to migrate to other countries. The Irish are not wanted in the American Diversity Lottery for Green Cards. I have to explain what Diversity means. In America too many whites have jobs, so it is necessary to discriminate against whites. Discrimination is too direct, and a bad word. So you need a back door word, which is Diversity. The goal in America is to make America mirror the world through Diversity. This is done by hiring immigrants of color, instead of white. So why should they permit, white Irish to migrate?

100 K New blood that should help deepen the gene pool and eleviate the in-breeding problem

@sirpeter: Is that the best you can do? Its probably better that you do not display your lack of skills on the world wide web.

LoyalCitizen.Shut the fu*k up!!

@LilPaddy: Maybe you should learn to be a Loyal Irish Citizen and speak out about corruption in Ireland, rather than telling me to spare the rest of you.

Hey LoyalCitizen and sirpeter... Why don't you guys just exchange phone numbers so you could tell each other exactly how you truly feel... And spare the rest of us!!

So it appears George Dillon is correct again..not that any walk down Grafton St wouldn't tell you everything in this article. Socialism and useless government at its finest...

@sirpeter: You must be a retarded civil servant who has something to hide.

LoyalCitizen.Shut the fu*k up!!

LoyalCitizen.Shut the fu*k up!! You're like a long playing record that never stops.Saying the same thing over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over AND OVER.