You get the real thing, and you get a great opportunity to learn English as well. You’ll take part in farm activities, eat with the family, and find yourself totally immersed in the English language. You’ll get full board accomodation with your own room, and have English lessons from a private teacher ensuring you get the best from your stay.
Here’s what Johanna, a young German student, had to say…
“It was first journey without my parents to another country and I’ve enjoyed it very much. The house of my family had a very nice garden. In the evening, we had a barbeque in their garden and a few friends came. They were really nice and they told me a lot of their lives. The English lessons with my teacher were good and we had a lot of fun. One day, we went to Fota Wildlife Park and I saw giraffes, monkeys and a lot more animals. Another day, we drove to Galway and went to visit their relatives. While we were driving through the beautiful scenery, my teacher and her two daughters sang Irish songs. I enjoyed my trip to Ireland and definitely I will come back.”
LTI offer a unique and authentic experience, and if you’re looking for a farm stay holiday you should really check them out. Here’s their farm stay programme. Enjoy!
For decades now fear has prevented progress whenever the subject of emigrant voting is raised. Knee-jerk reactions have stopped policy makers in their tracks, concerned they’d be heading down a dead end road.
The reasons for change are more apparent these days:
21st century migration is seeing new generations leave and it’s important they don’t feel excluded. The old times when emigrants boarded the ship and said goodbye no longer exist – technology and cheap travel keeps Ireland close at hand. Exclusion doesn’t fit a modern world.
A vote means attachment, and attachment encourages a sense of belonging, responsibility, and an interest in staying informed. A vote ensures the relationship is fostered and protected.
Ireland is trying to engage with its ‘business elite’ abroad. An emigrant vote removes future hurdles – tomorrows ‘elite’ will already feel that connection with Ireland Inc quite naturally.
Moving our thinking away from being a peripheral European country to a globally connected community (or nation) is a powerful proposition with new opportunities. Approach it as a two-way street with shared responsibilities and we’ll see shared benefits in return.
Here’s some recent articles by others on the subject:
So the question is not really whether Ireland should bring in emigrant voting (in my opinion anyway), but how it can be implemented in a way that allows representation and participation without biasing or slanting the results…
Global Irish constituencies: the UK, Europe, Nth America, Sth America, Australia, Africa, Asia maybe? Time limits on eligibility..?
I’ve kept this simple but what’s your thoughts, what am i missing?
RTE TV can now be watched internationally, with some restrictions, using the online RTE PLAYER catch-up service. It’s free, and you can get a variety of programmes up to 21 days after they’ve been broadcast on RTÉ 1 and 2.
The RTE Player went live in April 2009 but was initially limited to viewers in Ireland. Enabling the service to other countries is a great move. There are some restrictions which prevent streaming of certain programmes, and blocks some territories, however RTE have stated they will continue to add more content as they acquire new rights.
The service is easy to use and well laid out, and you can also catch up with the latest on their rolling news channel. You can use a search box, look for programmes using an A-Z index, or flick through the online calendar, and overall the presentation is quite attractive.
One other thought…
RTE are also obliged to provide an international terrestial service and this has been delayed since 2008. Initially planned for the UK, and latterly Central Europe and North America, hopefully this won’t be put back further as a result of the online presence. There is a large audience out there who are not regular Internet users, and it would be a blow to expectations if there was additional delay, or a switch in direction that excluded many of those who would welcome it.
So, will this be the year that the Irish abroad can also hit RTE TV on the remote?
To the people at the top, a short message to say that the reporting by one of your assets (TV3 Ireland) on the health of Irish Minister Brian Lenihan was perceived by the majority of Irish viewers as cheap, disrespectful, and tasteless.
Irish people on the whole tend to put a high value on life, and using information about someone’s personal state of health to report a so-called ’scoop’ isn’t well received.
One wonders if there is pressure on TV3 to improve financial performance, and whether the UK model of moulding audiences into acceptance of lower standards is part of a strategy. Your address, Pall Mall, London, is historically associated with Gentlemen’s Clubs and Fine Art – that doesn’t sit well with what is perceived as a crude tabloid style.
If Doughty Hanson want to make profit from the Irish market we’d appreciate it if you could ensure your media assets offer consistent value and decent standards to Irish society in return. If you want to be gentlemen you might ask your Director of News at TV3 to issue a sincere apology to Mr Lenihan and his family.
On an optimistic note that starts to put meat on the bone, developments are starting to flow from the Farmleigh conference that took place earlier this year.
The report from the conference is available here, and in a statement yesterday Minister for Foreign Affairs, Micheál Martin, announced that an immediate €2.3 million will be provided towards the construction of a new Irish Arts Center in Manhattan, New York.
It appears the initiative stems from a governmental Strategic Review of Ireland U.S. Relations, published last March, and that further impetus was given to the project following Farmleigh. This moves that occasion beyond what was termed by some as a ‘talking shop’, and into the early stages of a concrete action plan.
In what can be described as true partnership the City of New York is providing a site valued at $12 million and a further $8 million in capital funding, and New York City Mayor Bloomberg, Christine Quinn and Gabriel Byrne were recognised for their support and efforts in helping bring this initiative to fruition.
‘The new Center will project a dynamic image of Ireland and Irish America across the U.S.; it will facilitate extensive Irish-related cultural, business and community programs; will showcase quality contemporary Irish theater and art; and will also provide an invaluable resource for the Irish emigrant community in the U.S.’
Minister Martin indicated this is just a first step in the diaspora programme and that he will be making further announcements in the new year. These may include:
A new Global Irish Network
Establishment of an Irish innovation center in Silicon Valley
A Gateway Ireland portal (promoting Ireland and engaging with our global community)
Expanded educational exchange and scholarship programs
A new Farmleigh Overseas Graduate Program
He said projects being considered by other departments may also be in the pipeline, and that the private sector were also active in formulating initiatives that would have the support of the government.
So, early signs are positive, and we’ll try and keep up to date with developments as they transpire.
This Wednesday Ireland will learn the outcome of one of the most important budgets in decades, and it won’t be pretty.
The talk will be about €4 billion of cuts and €72 billion of national debt, so what about the €420+ billion worth of natural resources off the west coast of Ireland – isn’t that worth another look.
Why?
Because those resources are going to an oil company in what’s described as one of the biggest giveaways in history…
There are a series of gas and oil fields extending along the west coast of Ireland
These include the Dunquin, Porcupine and Corrib fields
The combined value is somewhere between €420 – €540 billion
The value of the Corrib is somewhere between €10 – €50 billion
Shell to Sea will be one of the groups protesting outside the Dail next week, and regardless of perceptions (or portrayal) they have a point. Shell hope to be pumping Corrib gas by the end of 2010 / start of 2011. Ireland will still be suffering from the recession and seeking ways out of debt.
Ireland’s purse will not see a fair reward, so where has it gone wrong?
1967 – Ireland gave the rights for gas and oil in shallow waters to Marathon Oil.
1971 – the licenses to develop the Kinsale field were sub-let to the same company.
1975 – Ireland agreed a 50% tax on profits, a 50% shareholding, and royalties of 6 to 7%.
So far so good, but…
1984 - Minister Ray Burke renegotiates the agreement with Enterprise Oil (a British company headquartered in London), and against Department advice drops the 50% right to shareholding and discards the right to royalties.
1992 - the Government reduces the tax levy from 50% to 25% – the worlds lowest at the time, builds in a 100% write off for capital investment costs, and backdates the scheme for 25 years arguing that the changes will encourage exploration. However international experience shows that oil companies will pursue exploration anyway if the potential for profit exists.
The Corrib field then gets sold to Marathon Oil who enter into a consortium arrangement with Enterprise Oil. The rights for other fields are disposed of, and in 2002 Shell successfully exercise a hostile takeover of Enterprise Oil.
And what does this mean for Irelands Corrib resources now?
Shell will…
Own 100% of the gas
Pay no royalties to the Irish State
Can write off 100% of their costs against tax
Have profits taxed at 25% (the international average is 68% for oil-producing countries)
Be able to export the gas outside Ireland
Can choose whether or not to sell the gas back to Ireland at full market rates
Thus the only apparent benefit to the Irish State is a 25% corporation tax once all the corporations’ exploration and development costs are paid, including the anticipated costs of closing down their operations.
In 2007 Minister Eamon Ryan introduced a new ‘profit resource rent tax’ which will add a maximum of 15% tax on a graded basis of profitability. However this will only apply to the most profitable fields and crucially, as it’s not retrospective, will not in any way increase the potential takes on existing licenses, such as Corrib Gas and the much larger Dunquin and Lough Allen finds.
“No country in the world gives as favourable terms to the oil companies as Ireland”
Mike Cunningham, former director, Statoil E&P Ireland.
It’s fair to say that as it stands, 100s of €billions worth of Irelands natural resources will be inflating energy companies private bank accounts over the next 20-30 years, with very little for Ireland in return.
Can Ireland really afford to be so generous?
Most governments would be upbeat about the benefits of natural resources to their country, but in Ireland this arrangement has turned it into ‘one of those things we don’t like to talk about’.
The government is concerned that any alteration would damage our reputation abroad, however it has been done before. Yep there’d be a big row, but right now we look like a soft touch, and if we want to convince the international community that we’re sorting out our finances then surely getting a fair deal for our natural resources makes sense.
Here’s the Shell to Sea Info Pack – I may even have understated the case and there’s other factors involved (such as siting the refinery on a bog) so it’s well worth a read.
Now focus on the economics for a moment and put the reporting of Rossport to one side. We’re in recession, making cuts, emigration is on the up, and giving away resources so cheaply doesn’t seem right. Shell made €28 billion in profits last year, Ireland didn’t. The Minister of Finance has warned of a possible €160bn of debt by 2013.
This opportunity won’t come round again and we should be looking at a renegotiation, or at least a change in the tax levy, well so it seems to me anyway.
The Dictionary of Irish Biography is the culmination of 12 years work and has been described by Seamus Heaney, Nobel Prize for Literature (1995), as ‘an epoch-making event in the history of Irish scholarship’.
The nine-volume Dictionary catalogues the lives of the country’s most remarkable men and women, and the noteworthy Irish careers of those born outside of Ireland. It is the most authoritative biographical reference work ever to be produced in Ireland, and contains over 9,000 entries documenting the lives of 9,700 Irish individuals ranging from the earliest times to 2002.
Compiled under the auspices of the Royal Irish Academy and edited by James McGuire and James Quinn, the entries vary from short summaries to detailed assessments, depending on the significance of a particular subject.
J.J. Lee, Director, Glucksman Ireland House and Glucksman Professor of Irish Studies, New York University:
“Imaginatively conceived, and meticulously edited, the Dictionary of Irish Biography fills, and fills handsomely, perhaps the most glaring of all gaps in Irish historiography, propelling Ireland into the very front rank internationally for reference works on this scale.”
The Dictionary will be in every major library globally, and on the shelves of countless individuals, and will be especially important in helping to sustain Irish studies courses in universities throughout the world. The set costs £775 sterling with a special introductory offer of £650 for those who purchase before February 2010. There will also be an online version, and new entries will be added to it twice a year starting from May 2010.
This is a fabulous and unique achievement, and congratulations to the editors and the 700 advisors and contributers who worked to bring this gem into the light of day. It will forever be a fantastic resource for everyone interested in Irish humanities, literature, and history.
DICTIONARY of IRISH BIOGRAPHY
- Publisher: Cambridge University Press; 1 edition (December 31, 2009)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 0521633311
- ISBN-13: 978-0521633314
Right now you can send a letter to Michael Regan, Scrahanaleary, West Cork, Ireland, and it’ll drop in our letter box – fairly quickly too.
Ireland is the only country in Europe that doesn’t use a postcode system, and it isn’t really a problem. The only time you might run into difficulty is on websites that insist on a code as part of your address. Then it’s make one up time – I’ve used CO1, CO2 and WC1!
But change beckons and the Minister for Communications has announced the introduction of a national postcode system from 2011. So what format should it be?
Numbers, or numbers and letters unrelated to placenames in any language
Something new, possibly improving on systems in use in other countries
I tend to agree with Conradh na Gaeilge that we shouldn’t base the format on the english spelling of placenames, but not sure how well it would work for Irish placenames either. For example Ballydehob in Irish is Béal Átha Dá Chab (mouth of the two river fords) so would we go with BÁDC or BÁ or similar, and how complex would it be differentiating one area from another?
Personally I like the idea of IE followed by a numeric code (IE 10123), or possibly IE followed by a county prefix, followed by a numeric code, (IE CO123). Whichever way we go it would be good to have something with a national identity.
Update: 31st Jan 2010 – The Department of Communications has issued an invitation to tender for implementation of the system, due in by the end of 2011. An alphanumeric model to identify clusters of houses has been approved, and would read, for example, as D02 123 or ATH 123.
The press release also states the format will have a geo-coordinate at its centre, making it compatible with global positioning and navigation systems. What this means for individual houses, or the final format, waits to be seen – will be interesting to see how GPS coordinates are built in whilst keeping the postcode easy to remember.
Stay up to date with Irish events and activities in Scotland…
An Scéal is the monthly newsletter produced by Patrick McAleer for the Irish in Scotland, and you can get yourself onto to the circulation at the Irish in Scotland website.
The newsletter includes news from Comhaltas, GAA, Gaelic league, adult Irish ceili classes, childrens Irish dancing classes, political events and anything of interest to the Irish community.
You can also get back-issues on the site and I just had a look at the July edition. It’s packed with information about what’s going on so well worth getting to keep you in touch.
Every month there are approx 200,000 Google searches for the ‘Irish Independent’ newspaper, so I thought it’d be interesting to get an idea of the percentages from various countries.
Here’s the breakdown:
50,000 in UK
27,000 in the US
8,000 in Australia
6,600 in Canada
1,000 in New Zealand
(Most of the rest are probably in Ireland itself).
The numbers seem to fit fairly well with the shape of the diaspora:
UK 2001: 674,786 Irish born.
US 2000: 269,832 Irish born.
Australia 2006: 72,050 Irish born.
(Hard to find numbers for Canada and NZ but indications seem to match the search ratio).
The pattern supports the expectation that Irish born people would be more likely to stay in touch with what’s happening at home, else the number of searches in the US would be far higher (the US has approximately 6 times the number of Irish descent compared to the UK).
Also interesting that the newspaper’s online readership appears to be roughly 50% international.
If you have a story to tell, launched a new business, got an initiative off the ground, landed on a foreign shore and getting your foot on the first rung, or just have some good news with an inspirational nature let us know and we'll pass it on.
You get the real thing, and you get a great opportunity to learn English as well. You’ll take part in farm activities, eat with the family, and find yourself totally immersed in the English language. You’ll get full board accomodation with your own room, and have English lessons from a private teacher ensuring you get the best from your stay.
Here’s some recent articles by others on the subject:
The nine-volume Dictionary catalogues the lives of the country’s most remarkable men and women, and the noteworthy Irish careers of those born outside of Ireland. It is the most authoritative biographical reference work ever to be produced in Ireland, and contains over 9,000 entries documenting the lives of 9,700 Irish individuals ranging from the earliest times to 2002.
But change beckons and the Minister for Communications has announced the introduction of a national postcode system from 2011. So what format should it be?
