Extract from Google article (link provided below) pointing to a change in circumstances for many Poles living in Ireland.
google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5jDk7wPA9xVxqDl4xbl8 oV3_9paRg
It should be noted that Irish emigration has also begun to increase once again and 2009 is the first year since 2000 that the island is expected to experience net emigration as opposedf to immigration. The Irish population decreased every year for a century and a half between 1845 and the early 1990s and only began to grow again in the last years of the 20th century, so this trend could be seen as a reversion to normality.
DUBLIN (AFP) - Drawn in by its booming economy, thousands of Poles once flocked to Ireland. But as recession hits, they must decide whether to stick it out or return home -- where things risk being worse.
"I'm fed up with Ireland. The economy is going down," said Marcin Kaminski. The 33-year-old truck driver says his "Celtic dream" is over and he is heading to Canada to seek a better life there.
"I've got friends there. All of them left Ireland. They're happy now."
Four years ago, Kaminski hoped Ireland would provide the future he wanted, saying: "You were choosing the company you wanted to work (for) and the salary was four times better. It was a dream."
But the days when the Celtic Tiger was the envy of Europe, with 10 percent growth in 2000, are long gone. This year the economy is forecast to shrink by seven percent, with the government set to unveil Tuesday an emergency austerity budget.
Kaminski has just lost his job, after his transport company collapsed when its main client, US computer manufacturer Dell, moved its production lines from the central town of Limerick -- to Poland
"I'm fed up with Ireland. The economy is going down," said Marcin Kaminski. The 33-year-old truck driver says his "Celtic dream" is over and he is heading to Canada to seek a better life there.
"I've got friends there. All of them left Ireland. They're happy now."
Four years ago, Kaminski hoped Ireland would provide the future he wanted, saying: "You were choosing the company you wanted to work (for) and the salary was four times better. It was a dream."
But the days when the Celtic Tiger was the envy of Europe, with 10 percent growth in 2000, are long gone. This year the economy is forecast to shrink by seven percent, with the government set to unveil Tuesday an emergency austerity budget.
Kaminski has just lost his job, after his transport company collapsed when its main client, US computer manufacturer Dell, moved its production lines from the central town of Limerick -- to Poland
google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5jDk7wPA9xVxqDl4xbl8 oV3_9paRg
It should be noted that Irish emigration has also begun to increase once again and 2009 is the first year since 2000 that the island is expected to experience net emigration as opposedf to immigration. The Irish population decreased every year for a century and a half between 1845 and the early 1990s and only began to grow again in the last years of the 20th century, so this trend could be seen as a reversion to normality.