M
Are we as taxpayers responsible for other Irish people not being responsible enough to prepare for their own deaths?
Are you as a taxpayer prepared to pay more tax to pay the funeral and burial costs for Irish emigrants?
I know well that the during the 50s there was very high emigration out of Irl. Indeed, up to 500,000 people left, causing the pop to fall to an all-time low in 1961 of 2.8m. Very high emigration (has any other country ever experienced such high rates??)
During the 60s, emigration slowed, until it turned into immigration in the early 70s.
But, as you say, emigration returned during 1980-1990, as the 80s were as bleak as the 50s. Plus the associated brain drain.
I'm prepared for my tax to pay for their costs over that of flying bogus 'asylum seekers' 5000 miles to Africa somewhere, that's for sure.Are you as a taxpayer prepared to pay more tax to pay the funeral and burial costs for Irish emigrants?
They key question is:
Are we as taxpayers responsible for other Irish people not being responsible enough to prepare for their own deaths?
Are you as a taxpayer prepared to pay more tax to pay the funeral and burial costs for Irish emigrants?
Plenty of my family emigrated, but they covered their own funeral costs.
There is a social welfare grant available to people living in Ireland who cannot afford the costs of a funeral. I can't remember the exact figure but so far this year it has cost the state around €5m in payments. It would not cost a huge amount to extend that to emigrants who have fallen on hard times. Frankly, I'd sooner see the money spent on that then paying it into Roddy Molloys pension, or storing e voting machines that will never be used.
It might have been hard in England, but it sounds far worse in Ireland!Many of the people who got into difficulty in the UK got little or no education from the state, may have been sexually and physically abused in state run homes or at home themselves. In effect, we as a nation crapped on them and then booted them out. It's not that long ago that landlords in London used to have signs "saying no blacks, no dogs, no Irish".
Great to get the cash in hand work. Many of these lads would be off down to the labour exchange later on in the McAlpines van, to sign on.The men used to queue up every morning in places in kilburn/cricklewood waiting for someone to come along and offer them a job even just for that day.
I also never once got beaten up by the police. I did hear once of an Irish fellow that 'fell down the stairs' in Hammersmith police station, and died. You don't have to be Irish to get beaten up by the police - Black, crusty, nonce or drunk would do just fine.When and if you had of endured the hardship that some of these blokes went through you might have a different view. Like having the stuffing kicked out of you weekly by the Mets only because you were Irish. Or trying to show your face after a bomb and you're irish etc.etc.
The point I'm trying to make is do these people really want to come back to Ireland? To a country that treated them like this:
It might have been hard in England, but it sounds far worse in Ireland!
As for the discrimination, we experienced very little if any. Landlords used to have the 'no Irish' signs because often they would provide food and the Irish would come in hungry, filthy off of the building sites, drunk, and destroy the house. Not very PC thing to say, but was generally true. There weren't too many Irish stock brokers getting off of Slattery's coach.
This too is a laugh:
Great to get the cash in hand work. Many of these lads would be off down to the labour exchange later on in the McAlpines van, to sign on.
I also never once got beaten up by the police. I did hear once of an Irish fellow that 'fell down the stairs' in Hammersmith police station, and died. You don't have to be Irish to get beaten up by the police - Black, crusty, nonce or drunk would do just fine.
If these people want to come back to Ireland, Ryanair does cheap flights. Can't see any of them queuing up though. I don't see why they would really want to be buried in Ireland either. A country that didn't want them when they did live there. Looks good for the cameras I suppose.
Sounds like alcoholics.It must have been a great life to work on the sites, get cash in hand. That's why so many of them ended up crying in their pints before going back to their bedsits
Some of them, frankly, are too embarrased to come back and let their family know how much of a "failure" they've become
some of them have no where to come back to, no land, no home, no family
Some of them don't want to be a burden to their family back here and fear they would be if they did come back. After all, that is why some of them left in the first place
Many of them can't afford to come back. where do they live once they get off at Dublin Airport?
TBH I dont see "repatriation" as a need/solution. Their life is now in the UK, who would they know if they came home?, where would they go?
If it doesnt sound too cheesy I think maybe an old folks tour is about as much as they'd want, see their home place for a week, meet what few people are still there, organise a grave plot if thats what they want.
Even if you think its all their own fault, are they still not entitled to/deserving of our help?
These people would like to be buried in Ireland?
Ring the Co. Co., book a plot, same as me or you.
600 euro in Galway city, for example.
[broken link removed]
Feel free, let them work away and book the burial spots.
Sounds like alcoholics.
Well I've recounted some of my experiences of England. I said my piece. This isn't stuff I've seen on the telly, or through visits to England etc, it was reality. Take it or leave it.
i know of one irishman who went over to england in the laste 50s. He had a job in manchester but when his employer, a mr. Matt busby, realised he was useless he got rid of him and he spent the the next ten years working in york, darlington and ended up down in millwall.
However there is a happy ending he returned to dublin and subsequently got a cushy job with r.t.e. Where he talks rubbish and gets paid for it
We use cookies and similar technologies for the following purposes:
Do you accept cookies and these technologies?
We use cookies and similar technologies for the following purposes:
Do you accept cookies and these technologies?