Monday March 05 2012
IN one hall in the RDS Fianna Fail leader Micheal Martin apologised for the mistakes of his party and former Taoiseach Brian Cowen got a standing ovation.
At the same time, up to 20,000 jobseekers queued outside a nearby hall of the RDS to attend a jobs fair so that they could escape the fallout of economic collapse.
Dozens of would-be emigrants began queuing as early as 6.30am yesterday to attend the final day of the Working Abroad Expo in Dublin even though the doors didn't officially open until 11am.
Such was the level of interest that organisers opened the doors an hour early and announced they would stay open as long as necessary to accommodate the crowds.
Approximately 20,000 people paid €10 each over the two days to sample the job opportunities on offer from 80 recruiters and government officials from Canada, Australia and New Zealand.
The queues were so massive that an electronic sign was posted at the Simmonscourt entrance to the RDS warning of a three-hour wait to get in.
On the other side of the RDS where Fianna Fail was holding its 73rd ard fheis, Mr Martin admitted that his party, while in government, "got things wrong".
But his act of contrition fell on deaf ears as jobseekers queued for a better life away from here.
Stephen Jay (35), his pregnant wife Tamsin (30) and their son Jose (9), endured rain and hail as they patiently stood in the queue to enquire about starting over again in Canada.
The family drove up from their home in Dungarvan, Co Waterford. Mr Jay has been unemployed for more than a year after his tiling company went bust after eight years in business.
"I always had work but it just died," he said.
But he was delighted to learn that tilers are in demand in Canada. "I thought I'd come and have a look and see what there is."
Mr Jay has never been to Canada but he's been looking it up on the internet and is impressed by what he's seen.
"I'm used to the coast so I'm hoping maybe British Columbia or Nova Scotia," he said.
Inside the expo, expatriates Howard Morrissey (35) and his wife Sinead (40), from Nenagh, Co Tipperary, were manning a stall set up by the provincial government of Saskatchewan in Canada's mid-west to answer questions from their countrymen about emigrating to the prairie province.
"Come back to what?" Mr Morrissey said when asked if he would ever return to Ireland after the couple and their daughter Cara (10) relocated to the province's largest city of Regina in 2008.
Specialist
"It's booming. The quality of life is good. And when your kids finish school or university, they'll get jobs," he told another couple asking about life on the other side of the Atlantic.
Mr Morrissey had run a flooring company before his business was forced to close while Sinead was made redundant from her job at a glass factory.
They attended the same jobs fair at the RDS in September 2009, got jobs through a visa specialist, and have never looked back.
Mr Morrissey now works as operations manager for a kitchen cabinet company while his wife has a job as an administrator at Canada's largest private television network CTV.
While he admits their first frigid winter there "was a bit of a shock", they had no trouble adjusting.
"Different lifestyle, different surroundings, so you just have to be open minded and adapt," he said.
He also advised people that Regina, with a population of around 200,000, is not a big metropolis like Toronto, Vancouver or Montreal.
But the province's thriving economy is based on potash mining, oil and gas and traditional agriculture.
"That's what's fuelling the boom. Not like here during the Celtic Tiger where it was a fake boom and they were building houses for the sake of building houses," he said.
Although the couple admit missing their friends and family back home, they will not be returning. "What's there to come back for?," he asked.
At the same time, up to 20,000 jobseekers queued outside a nearby hall of the RDS to attend a jobs fair so that they could escape the fallout of economic collapse.
Dozens of would-be emigrants began queuing as early as 6.30am yesterday to attend the final day of the Working Abroad Expo in Dublin even though the doors didn't officially open until 11am.
Such was the level of interest that organisers opened the doors an hour early and announced they would stay open as long as necessary to accommodate the crowds.
Approximately 20,000 people paid €10 each over the two days to sample the job opportunities on offer from 80 recruiters and government officials from Canada, Australia and New Zealand.
The queues were so massive that an electronic sign was posted at the Simmonscourt entrance to the RDS warning of a three-hour wait to get in.
On the other side of the RDS where Fianna Fail was holding its 73rd ard fheis, Mr Martin admitted that his party, while in government, "got things wrong".
But his act of contrition fell on deaf ears as jobseekers queued for a better life away from here.
Stephen Jay (35), his pregnant wife Tamsin (30) and their son Jose (9), endured rain and hail as they patiently stood in the queue to enquire about starting over again in Canada.
The family drove up from their home in Dungarvan, Co Waterford. Mr Jay has been unemployed for more than a year after his tiling company went bust after eight years in business.
"I always had work but it just died," he said.
But he was delighted to learn that tilers are in demand in Canada. "I thought I'd come and have a look and see what there is."
Mr Jay has never been to Canada but he's been looking it up on the internet and is impressed by what he's seen.
"I'm used to the coast so I'm hoping maybe British Columbia or Nova Scotia," he said.
Inside the expo, expatriates Howard Morrissey (35) and his wife Sinead (40), from Nenagh, Co Tipperary, were manning a stall set up by the provincial government of Saskatchewan in Canada's mid-west to answer questions from their countrymen about emigrating to the prairie province.
"Come back to what?" Mr Morrissey said when asked if he would ever return to Ireland after the couple and their daughter Cara (10) relocated to the province's largest city of Regina in 2008.
Specialist
"It's booming. The quality of life is good. And when your kids finish school or university, they'll get jobs," he told another couple asking about life on the other side of the Atlantic.
Mr Morrissey had run a flooring company before his business was forced to close while Sinead was made redundant from her job at a glass factory.
They attended the same jobs fair at the RDS in September 2009, got jobs through a visa specialist, and have never looked back.
Mr Morrissey now works as operations manager for a kitchen cabinet company while his wife has a job as an administrator at Canada's largest private television network CTV.
While he admits their first frigid winter there "was a bit of a shock", they had no trouble adjusting.
"Different lifestyle, different surroundings, so you just have to be open minded and adapt," he said.
He also advised people that Regina, with a population of around 200,000, is not a big metropolis like Toronto, Vancouver or Montreal.
But the province's thriving economy is based on potash mining, oil and gas and traditional agriculture.
"That's what's fuelling the boom. Not like here during the Celtic Tiger where it was a fake boom and they were building houses for the sake of building houses," he said.
Although the couple admit missing their friends and family back home, they will not be returning. "What's there to come back for?," he asked.
- Allison Bray
Irish Independent
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