Re: Canada
I don't know if this the appropriate forum but I'll post anyway.
Are you planning to emigrate for longer than a year?
If not then you could apply to USIT for the under 35 working 'holiday' visa program to Canada. This allows you to work for one year in ANY job in Canada. I think the program opens up in February again. Space is limited, so maybe go down to your local USIT office and inquire
To get a regular temporary work permit in Canada is lot more complicated. You need to have a job offer. However regular work permits can be issued for 1 to 3 years at a time usually. To get a work permit you first must be offered a job. Then the company will apply to the HRSDC in Canada to get a labour market opinion. They want to see if the company advertised long enough and exhausted all resources in trying to fill the position from within Canada. It can take about 6/8 weeks for this.
After you get a positive opinion (company is allowed to hire outside Canada) then you apply for the actual work permit itself. Being in Ireland you and your company would apply via the Canadian consulate office in London. Standard time to process is 28-35 days, depending on time of year. So overall it will take you the best part of 2/3 months to get the permit AFTER you have been offered a job.
There are some fast track programs namely for IT workers that allow you to obtain a work permit on the same day, at a Canadian point of entry, (airport, land crossing etc). However you still need a job offer and proof of education, qualifications. It is best to get your new employer in Canada to hire a qualified immigration lawyer to prepare a package for this kind of application as you would be technically "representing" yourself to immigration officers at the airport.
Finally if you are really serious about moving/immigrating to Canada for a long period if time you have the option of applying to become a permanent resident. To do this you apply via the London consulate office. This will take up to 2.5 years to process! However you don't need a job offer.
Again there are fast-track programs for this, namely the Provincial Nomination Program, but you need a job offer for this. However you can live and work in Canada on a temporary work permit while they process this and you usually have permanent residence in under a year.
The best source for all of this information and more is the Citizenship and Immigration Canada website.
http://www.cic.gc.ca/