Life / How much do you HATE POLISH PEOPLE and POLAND [1260]


Theres a long history of Irish/Polish tension in Pennsylvania. It goes back to the 1880s and the heyday of the Molly Maguires (an Irish secret society) when both groups were competing for the same jobs in the mines. Look it up on the internet if you're interested.

Just goes to show that stupidity has been around for a long time and will probably be with us long into the future. Do contributors here have nothing better to do than sit around slagging each other off? Its tiresome. In my experience the people I've met who "hate" anyone else based on their nationality, religion or race have been people with psychological problems or feelings of inadequacy of some sort.

Real Estate / Poland property boom over???? [54]

Well thats positive. I hope you're right.

UK, Ireland / Poles in Ireland, are they second class citizens? [90]

why are all the threads on this forum which are about Ireland hijacked by anti-immigration espousing British people? Ireland is not part of Britain. It has a different history and culture and the issue of immigration is seen in a different light here to in the UK. Most of us have been immigrants ourselves and our views are very often shaped by this fact. As a teenager I spent time cleaning toilets in the USA amongst other things so I feel Im qualified to comment in that regard.

As for the original post I would say that there is not much discrimination against Poles in Ireland. In fact Id even say that Poles are favoured over others in certain sectors, especially service jobs where employers see them as a better option than other people, including Irish. Is that a form of exploitation? Depends on your perspective but in my experience, Poles have done very well here and generally live in the more upmarket parts of the cities and towns, very often in plush new apartment blocks or housing estates. Granted, they are usually renting but its a far cry from the idea of ghettos and whatever other stories come from the UK. The reason for this is more to do with the property bubble which we have experienced which has been fuelled by speculators buying apartmenst and renting them out to immigrants who are very often employed in building more apartmenst to rent out to more immigrants. It sounds ridiculous but thats the reality. Having said that, it seems to be drawing to an end now as our economy begins to slide into recession and its possible that Irish builders could end up working in Warsaw in a few years time if Poland keeps growing as it has been doing.

Now it would be interesting to hear peoples views should that happen!

Real Estate / Poland property boom over???? [54]


Good point Grzegorz. My girlfriends parents from Poznan are in that category. However, as you then said


That is why I would worry about prices retaining their values at current levels. I believe a harsh recession is coming for the countries which I mentioned in my first post. These are some of the countries to which Poles have emigrated most. This will probably affect the amount of money coming back to Poland. The question I am asking is whether, if that money dries up, the domestic Polish market can sustain prices, some of which are high even by western european levels. Is salary growth of ten per cent sufficient to sustain these prices? Im hoping it can but Im no expert on Polish economic affairs.


Thanks for the response Falster. I hope your right. Personally, Im not so sure that is the case as I have a feeling that there is a serious systemic problem in the banking system right throughout the capitalist world and it is going to get a lot worse before it bets better. Deutsche Bank were in trouble ths year. Im also thinking about Northern Rock, BNP Paribas, Bear Stearns etc. Without wanting to sound too alarmist I know a guy who wroks as a trader who told me that a number of people at his company dumped their entire portfolios just before Christmas. They are convinced that we are all sailing into a shitstorm. In the US, some respected commentators are likening the current problems to what happened in 1929 just before the crash and great depression. Im very worried about the whole thing, especially as my Polish girlfriend recently bought an apt in Poznan (against my advice).

As for Ireland, there is still demand in the comercial construction sector but it is not going to last. Housing is down by unprecedented levels and figures now show that rents have begun to decrease. Your Cork office might be working more on the commercial sector - just a guess - but we in Ireland are about to pay the price for concentrating too much resources in one sector (construction), which along with related industries accounts for 20 to 25% of our economy. Even Germany post-1989 wasnt at that levels and you know better than me what happened next.

Still, as somebody once said its good to live in interesting times...

Real Estate / Poland property boom over???? [54]

People have begun to realise that there has been a wordlwide bubble in the property sector over the past 7 or 8 years. The market has crashed in the USA. It is in the process of crashing in Spain, Ireland and UK, all places which have seen the largest increases in prices during that period. If the Polish market is reliant on foreign investors from these countries then it will be in trouble very soon. Id like to know what percentage of the market they have made up. If the market is being propped up by Poles working in Ireland, it should be remembered that its quite likely that many will lose their jobs in the next 12 months, especially if they work in jobs related to the construction industry, which has gone off the edge of a cliff in Ireland. Figures out yesterday show that 60% less new houses were begun in December 2007 than December 2006. Thats a massive decrease in activity and unemployment will be the result. If domestic Polish salaries are not high enough to sustain the prices in Poland, then what you have is a speculatice bubble similar to the other countries I have mentioned and the market will crash. Id be interested to know whether people believe that Polsih salaries are growing at a level which could sustain the prices.

People should also remember that there is currently a crisis in the global banking system, a credit crunch as it is referred to. The result of it is that the Banks who were throwing cheap money at people until recently will not now lend people the money required to keep the prices high. Prices must come down or else there will be no activity in the market. I belive that Polish banks have been stricter in their lending procedures than their Irish, Spanish or British counterparts but Id be interested to hear whether people here are in agreement with that.

Any thoughts on what Ive posted??

News / Is the E.U. good for Poland?? [180]

Why would you feel ashamed of your country because it has a lower GDP than other countries? I dont understand that comment to be honest. I've noticed that many Polish people place a very high emphasis on money and prestige but that is a little extreme no? IMO Poland is doing very well. Unemployment is decreasing on a monthly basis and in time there will be more prosperity. Two of my Polish friends, both engineers, are returning to Poland after Christmas because they say that it is now easier to get work in Poland than in Ireland. Unemployment is beginning to rise here and its possible that we will see a sharp economic downturn. It wouldnt make me feel ashamed to be Irish though.

Life / How much do you HATE POLISH PEOPLE and POLAND [1260]

This Looy guy is why British people get a bad name abroad. He is representative of a vocal minority but remember it is a minority. Most British people dont share this idiots views and are mainly very fair and decent people. As for his claims to have served as a soldier in the British Army in Armagh, if it is true, it means that he basically spent his tour of duty hiding in the base at Crossmaglen. During thirty years of the trouble in Ireland, the British army never travelled into Armagh over land, despite the fact that it is supposed to be part of the United Kingdom. They went in and out of their base in Armagh by helicopter and never set foot outside of the barracks for fear of being killed. It was the most dangerous posting a British soldier could get at that time, before they got involved in Iraq. Just to be clear that Im not condoning the killing of soldiers but when this idiot claims he walks the streets at night in a group attacking innocent people, it should be shown that these so-called hard men arent so hard when they are faced with people who fight back.

UK, Ireland / Polish as Irelands Third Offical language? [123]

As Truth and others have pointed out there is no mandate for such a constitutional change which would be required in order to make Polish an official language. In order for the constitution to be changed a referendum would have to be held and thats not going to happen. I think the journalist who proposed this is more interested in getting his and his newspapers name in the spotlight with a view to boosting his circulation.

Just regarding some of the other points raised here, I would agree that the Irish economy is now faltering and following Tusks victory I would guess that 2009 will be the year that many Poles begin to head home. The construction industry, which has been the engine of our economic growth, is in a state of near collapse as we are now in the throes of a property crash. Things are going to get a lot worse before they begin to get better and unemployment is likely to rise steeply next year. It is likely that Ireland will have a higher level of unemployent than Poland by 2009.

I would also disagree with suggestions that Poles are somehow badly treated in Ireland. Maybe its different in England but Poles are the employees of choice for many business people here now. My girlfriend is Polish and she has told me many times that her Irish boss wont employ working class Irish girls as he sees them as less trustworthy and of lower calibre than Polish. When they come into the shop to enquire about work their CVs invariably end up in the bin. Also, in the part of Dublin where I live, the drug addicts and homeless people on the streets are exclusively Irish while the Poles and other foreigners go about their daily business around them. Im sure that there have probably been some instances where Poles have got a rough time in work but for the most part I feel they are very well regarded here in Ireland.

As for Polish as an official language, Im afraid thats a non-runner.

News / English vs. Polish hostility [323]

I have to say that I have noticed that very strange regard that many Poles have for Maggie Thatcher. Id like it if somebody could explain it to me because as an Irishman, I just dont get it!! Outside of the south of England she was one of the most hated people these two islands ever produced. She destroyed the North of England, Wales and Scotland economically. They only got over the iron lady's reign of terror in the past few years. She also prolonged the war in the North of Ireland by at least a decade through her murderous policies of state sponsored terrorism. I couldnt believe it when I started getting lectures from Polish friends of mine who seem to think she's the greatest thing since sliced bread! I was in Poland for Christmas last year and when her name came up at the dinner table and when I expressed a natural dislike of the woman, a couple of my girlfriends relatives nearly choked on their beetroot soup! Please explain

Life / Homosexuals in Poland / Hands off (PETITION) [797]


They're all in the Vatican

Life / Indian coming to Poland need details please [13]


hello tornado - just wondering why you think the Irish are so backward?