Immigrant queries on redundancies up

Almost 500 people contacted the Immigrant Council of Ireland about job losses compared with just 70 calls in 2008.

“We have heard rhetoric about the recession taking the urgency out of the need for immigration reform because migrants are supposedly going home,” chief executive of the council Denise Charlton said.

“There are lots of people who are not going home, they’re Irish now or they’re married to someone Irish or their children are Irish.

“What makes up the Irish population has changed for good and despite the recession we still have to ensure that we have a system that can respond to that.”

http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/breaking/2009/1218/breaking51.htm

46 Nigerians deported

A TOTAL of 46 Nigerians were deported last night after they had failed in their bid to seek asylum status here.

Gardai from the National Immigration Bureau escorted the group onto a flight to Lagos at Dublin airport after an earlier spate of arrests across the country.

This is the 23rd charter flight to Nigeria. Last October 48 Nigerians were deported, while another 13 were returned to Lagos in September; a group of 35, including a convicted drug dealer, was sent back in June; a further 10 in May; and 30 in April.

Nine out of 10 asylum applications are deemed to be unfounded.

http://www.independent.ie/national-news/group-of-46-asylum-seekers-deported-to-nigeria-1978742.html

Chinese brothels set to open up across country

The Chinese brothels that have opened up in Dublin are set to take off across the country following a decision by the Director of Public Prosecutions not to prosecute two establishments operating in the capital.

However, following revelations in this newspaper, the women working in the brothels stopped openly offering their services and, it is understood, when a detective asked what services were on offer the girl in question made no reply other than "massage".

The use of the euphemism rather than the open offer of sexual services appears to be the point on which the DPP has decided that it would not be possible to prosecute the cases in court.

No major prosecution appears to be under consideration into the very major organised brothel operations in Ireland which are generally controlled from abroad.

http://www.independent.ie/national-news/chinese-brothels-set-to-open-up-across-country-1973163.html

Ireland ‘among worst’ for racism

IRELAND ranks among the worst countries in Europe in terms of discrimination against ethnic minorities from sub-Saharan Africa, a European report has revealed.

The Union Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA) surveyed more than 23,000 people from ethnic minority and immigrant groups about their experiences of discrimination, racist crime, and policing in the EU. Members of the Roma people said they suffered more discrimination across the whole of Europe, but in Ireland sub-Saharan Africans were more likely to be discriminated against.

http://www.irishexaminer.com/ireland/ireland-among-worst-for-racism-107510.html#ixzz0ZJkpBPLr

Number of asylum seekers falls

THE NUMBER of Nigerians seeking asylum here dropped by 50% this year compared to 2008, latest figures from the Department of Justice show.

Overall, the numbers seeking asylum dropped by 40% year on year but Nigeria still provides the highest number of asylum seekers.

http://www.irishexaminer.com/archives/2009/1205/ireland/number-of-asylum-seekers-falls-107212.html#ixzz0ZJk3JAJD

Saudis' Islamic school here

Plans for an Islamic school in Dublin to teach the children of Saudi people living here have been announced by the Saudi Embassy in the capital.

Details of the decision are carried in Arabic on the embassy website, which says the decision to set up the school was taken at a meeting in Dublin last last month.

http://www.herald.ie/national-news/city-news/saudis-islamic-school-here-1968607.html

Welfare fraud: the scams

- The vast majority of cases prosecuted are for those who are working but claiming jobseekers allowance.

- PPS numbers can be traded on the black market. This can happen when someone leaves the country but sells or "rents out" their PPS number to someone who can then claim their entitlements.

http://www.independent.ie/national-news/budget/news/welfare-fraud-the-scams-1968141.html

One in 250 natives of Mauritius live in Ireland

The Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform, Dermot Ahern has confirmed that one in 250 of the Republic of Mauritius’s inhabitants have opted for life on these altogether greyer shores.

A total of 5,000 of the island’s 1.25 million Mauritian nationals are registered with the Garda National Immigration Bureau.

So great is the lure of Ireland that the Mr Ahern has been forced to clamp down on Mauritians’ visa requirements.

http://www.irishexaminer.com/ireland/one-in-250-natives-of-mauritius-live-in-ireland-107402.html#ixzz0ZFDjLxLp

Romanians charged for stolen card use

Three Romanians have been charged in connection with an alleged €40,000 shopping spree with a Laser card stolen from a woman’s handbag.

Gardai revealed husband and wife, Costin and Constanta Colciu, were arrested at Dublin Airport on Monday as they were about to board a flight to Amsterdam.

A third man, Catalin Tatarsanu Miron, was later arrested at an address in Tallaght.

http://www.breakingnews.ie/archives/2009/1209/ireland/three-charged-in-connection-with-stolen-debit-card-spending-spree-437578.html#ixzz0ZFBVQ2YV

Welfare fraud costing taxpayer almost €2 billion annually

Minister for Social and Family Affairs Mary Hanafin has defended her department’s record in tackling welfare fraud after a RTÉ Prime Time programme revealed fraud and mistakes relating to a range of benefits cost the Exchequer almost €2 billion annually.

The programme, which was broadcast last night, showed that fake PPS numbers could be easily obtained on the black market after just a few telephone calls.

http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/breaking/2009/1208/breaking32.htm

State to tap immigrant return fund

THE Government is seeking EU funds to get illegal immigrants from Nigeria, China and Brazil to leave the country.

It wants to tap into the European Return Fund (2008-2013), which is worth almost €700m, to pay for the return of illegal immigrants.

The top five source countries for asylum applications in the first 10 months of this year were Nigeria (499 people), Pakistan (216), China (169), the Democratic Republic of Congo (91) and Moldova (79). But the overall number of applications (2,354) is the lowest since the mid 1990s and far below the peak of 11,634 refugee applications in 2002.

http://www.independent.ie/national-news/state-to-tap-immigrant-return-fund-1966147.html

Pakistani fraudster took visa bid to court using fake ID

IMMIGRATION officials and gardai have uncovered a scam in which a Pakistani national used a false name in an attempt to secure visas for his alleged wife and six children.

The fraudster assumed the identity of another man, who was serving a prison sentence in Britain, and had also acquired a passport in another name.

But despite using the bogus identity, the man brought his case to the High Court when the visa applications were refused.

http://www.independent.ie/national-news/courts/fraudster-took-visa-bid-to-court-using-fake-id-1966073.html

Libyan teen threatened to burn house

A teenager who threatened to follow an employee of the Refugee Reception and Integration Office home and burn down her house after his request for accommodation was refused has had his sentence adjourned.

http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/ireland/2009/1203/1224259991090.html

Roma men jailed for trafficking into Ireland

THREE MEN have been sentenced in Romania for up to seven years for trafficking 28 people – including one child – into Co Wexford for labour exploitation.

Remus Fusteac (41) was jailed for seven years, while his son Arthur Sergiu (21) and nephew Alexandru Fusteac (20) were both sentenced to five years for trafficking, illegal possession of firearms and organising a criminal syndicate.

The three had previously been deported from Ireland in 2004 after being investigated for money-laundering.

http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/ireland/2009/1203/1224259991063.html

Warning of rise in racism

IRISH ATTITUDES towards immigrants are hardening as people search for someone to blame for their worsening economic situation, a leading NGO has warned.

Crosscare Migrant Project, which provides information to migrants, has also appealed to the Government to maintain funding for projects to assist immigrants to integrate into Irish life.

Conor Hickey, director of the Crosscare Migrant Project, said yesterday people “rolled out the red carpet for migrants” willing to do the jobs they were not willing to do a few years ago. This carpet is being “rolled back” against a backdrop of rising unemployment and the threat of racism, he said.

http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/ireland/2009/1126/1224259488680.html

Commission finds Church covered up child sex abuse

The Commission of Investigation into Dublin’s Catholic Archdiocese has concluded that there is “no doubt” that clerical child sexual abuse was covered up by the archdiocese and other Church authorities.

The commission’s report covers the period between January 1st 1975 and April 30th 2004. It said there cover-ups took place over much of this period.

In its report, published this afternoon, it has also found that “the structures and rules of the Catholic Church facilitated that cover-up.”

http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/breaking/2009/1126/breaking73.htm

Life sentence for Brazilian murderer

A BUTCHER has been sentenced to life in prison for murdering his girlfriend with his meat-boning knife in Roscommon last year.

Brazilian Amilton Leonel de Olivera (37), Lanesborough Street, Roscommon town, pleaded guilty yesterday to murdering mother of one Kezia Gomes Rosa (31) on August 19th, 2008, at a house on Lanesborough Street.

http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/ireland/2009/1124/1224259338967.html

Poll shows hardening of attitude towards immigrants

THE VAST majority (72 per cent) of people want to see a reduction in the number of non-Irish immigrants living here, according to an Irish Times /Behaviour Attitudes opinion poll.

Overall, a total of 43 per cent say they would like to see some, but not all, immigrants leave the State, while 29 per cent would like to see most immigrants leave. In contrast, just over a quarter (26 per cent) would like to see the number of immigrants remain as it is.

In a reversal of trends from polls in recent years, younger people’s attitudes towards immigration have hardened the most.

http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/frontpage/2009/1124/1224259339934.html?via=mr

Chinese man ordered to leave country

A Chinese man who sexually assaulted a woman and mugged and beat a young girl has been given a three-year suspended sentence on condition that he leave the country immediately and not return for 15 years.

Yu, of Garville Avenue, Rathgar, but originally from North China, pleaded guilty to sexually assaulting a young woman on May 14, 2006 on Ranelagh Road. He also pleaded guilty to robbing a 16-year-old girl of her handbag on June 1, 2006 on Kenilworth Road, Rathmines.

http://www.breakingnews.ie/ireland/chinese-man-ordered-to-leave-country-434666.html#ixzz0X9SSwjSD

Protests over hygiene and heat by asylum seekers

DOZENS OF asylum seekers protesting against conditions at Globe House accommodation centre in Sligo yesterday said they regularly had no hot water and no heating for days at a time.

About 50 people protesting outside the centre said there was one washing machine for 173 residents. They said the doors of dryers had to be closed with cellotape. “People are saying it is like a hotel here. It is a nice building on the outside but they should see inside,” said one resident.

http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/ireland/2009/1111/1224258551899.html

Mayor of Limerick: "Send home jobless nationals"

THE Mayor of Limerick, Cllr Kevin Kiely, has called for the deportation of EU-nationals who have failed to secure employment since their arrival here.

"I'm calling for anybody who is living in the State and who can't afford to pay for themselves to be deported after three months. We are borrowing €400 million per week to maintain our own residents and we can't afford it," the outspoken politician said this Wednesday.

http://www.limerickleader.ie/news/Mayor-of-Limerick-Send-home.5814604.jp

Cocaine use here among the highest in Europe

Irish youths are among the worst in Europe when it comes to cocaine use, a new report has revealed.

The European Monitoring Centre on Drugs and Drug Addiction (EMCDDA) showed the country has the fourth-highest use of cocaine among 15- to 24-year-olds in Europe.

Ireland is also among the countries with the highest prevalence of drug-related deaths, coming fifth in Europe with 57 drug-induced deaths per million of population.

http://www.herald.ie/national-news/cocaine-use-here-among-the-highest--in-europe-1936117.html

Asylum 'shoppers' deported over scam

One-in-10 asylum seekers who arrived here this year have been deported to other EU member states because they were 'shopping' for benefits.

The extent of the racket was revealed last night after a week-long operation targeting the asylum 'shoppers' -- so-called because they shop around for better benefit deals between various EU countries.

The recent crackdown by the Garda National Immigration Bureau and the Irish Naturalisation and Immigration Service resulted in the arrest and deportation of 22 people, mainly Somalians, Albanians and Eritreans.

http://www.independent.ie/national-news/asylum-shoppers--deported-over-scam-1934607.html

Serbian national jailed for importing cocaine

A former military bodyguard has been jailed for six years for importing cocaine into the country hidden in a car’s battery.

Zoran Andjelkovic (aged 41), a Dutch national, but originally from Serbia, was caught with nearly two kilogrammes of the drug, worth €125,000. Gardaí were alerted to the drugs by a confidential tip-off.

Andjelkovic, of Hagandoornwag, Amsterdam, pleaded guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to possession of cocaine for sale or supply on December 13, 2008 at the Airside Retail Park in Swords.

http://www.breakingnews.ie/ireland/former-bodyguard-gets-six-years-for-cocaine-in-car-battery-433119.html#ixzz0W0zpZiVU

Polish man arrested after drugs find

A 30-year-old man is in custody following the discovery of over 4.5kgs of herbal cannabis in Wexford yesterday.

A Polish male was arrested at the scene and was handed over to gardaí in Wexford.

http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/breaking/2009/1102/breaking50.htm