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THERE COULD BE a new US visa available to Irish citizens that would allow them to live and work in the US.
A bill was introduced to Congress this week; it needs the support of both the House and the Senate to become law.
The two-year, renewable E3 work visas would come from the unused portion of the 10,500 E3 visas currently allotted to Australia, independent Senator Billy Lawless said.
Lawless and John Deasy the US Government Envoy have been working with Democrats and Republicans to ensure that there is bi-partisan support for the initiative.
In applying for an E3 visa, candidates must prove that they have a legitimate offer of employment in the US, and that they have the necessary academic or other qualifying credentials to fill the role.
“It is my ardent hope that in addition to creating future flow Irish immigration to the USA that many undocumented Irish will also qualify for this scheme,” said Lawless.
“We have seen disappointment in the past on immigration legislation, particularly in 2007 and 2013 when we came close, but I am cautiously optimistic in welcoming this new deal, given that the President, the Homeland Security Chief and the Speaker’s Office are pushing this bill forward during the lame duck session.”
The last time Ireland received a new visa allocation was in the early 1990’s under a scheme initiated by former Congressman, Bruce Morrison.
Meetings on Capitol Hill
This isn’t the first we’ve heard about this visa scheme, it just seems more likely now – especially with a Democrat majority in the House.
Answering questions in the Dáil in December 2015, Minister for Justice Charlie Flanagan said that the US bill came about after he and the Taoiseach Leo Varadkar met with members of congress on Capitol Hill.
“…In Washington at the end of September, I met key Democrat and Republican contacts on Capitol Hill, including Senator Patrick Leahy, Congressmen Joseph Kennedy III, Paul Ryan, James Sensenbrenner, Richard Neal and other members of the Congressional Friends of Ireland group.
Republican Jim Sensenbrenner and Democrat Richard Neal are the politicians who introduced the bill to Congress this week.
Following my meetings, a Bill was tabled by Congressman Jim Sensenbrenner in the US House of Representatives. The Bill is aimed at providing access to several thousand E3 visas for Irish citizens.
“I warmly welcome this positive step towards meeting the desire of many Irish people to live and work in the US for a time, but there is much work to be done in both Houses of Congress before this Bill might become law.
I am also aware that while this measure would advance our objective of securing improved legal migration channels, it would not address the concerns of the many undocumented citizens currently in the US.
“These remain a key priority and continue to be the subject of ongoing contacts with the US authorities,” Flanagan said.
Obviously prison officers should be afforded all the possible protection available including prosecution. The article really lacks any reasons for why these prosecutions are not taking place. Is it a problem in the process? The Gardai? The DPP? The courts? If the problem is identified then it should be straightforward to rectify
@Nick Allen: The reason is the simple lack of willingness to have a “root and branch” reform of the entire judicial system here. From Judges down to the Parole Board and everything in between needs overhauling and bringing into the 21st century. Judges have far to much discretion regards sentencing, the need for Solicitors and Barristers where one “Lawyer” (like the US system would suffice), a dedicated prosecution service and public defenders offices where both would receive a fixed salary instead of the scam of free legal aid. A Police and Prison Service independent of political interference properly funded and staffed to do the jobs that Society require them to do. Everyone can see the need for change but those in power refuse to change it.
The reason you can’t get a conviction or any type of justice for the crimes against you is the Irish prison service and it’s management do not want or afford you any assistance with making or reporting a crime . It’s a case of they do not want incidents made public or reported, as to do so , would shine alight on a failing system ,that is in crisis . The system is well below what staffing levels it needs ,recruitment is taking place at a snails pace and the reason is simple,MONEY and an IPS policy of ,let’s make it a better place for prisoners. The Irish prisons are turning into welfare lead ,hug a thug holiday camps and the terms Imprisonment / justice for crimes / do the crime serve the time ,are all gone and have been replaced with words such a as residents, occupants and patients .
@joe o hare: I would love to know where you are getting your information from. Is it the Big Book of Fairy Tales? Firstly no Officer would ever “Cry Wolf” as you put it about being assaulted by an inmate because to so so would leave them exposed to a counter charge by the inmate. Secondly with the number of CCTV cameras in each Prison any false accusation would be quickly exposed. Now as for 6 months off on full pay. Firstly an Officers injuries would need to be so severe that the Civil Service Chief Medical Officer would have to make a declaration that the Officer was unfit for duty due to the nature of the injuries received which in itself is extremely rare. An investigation has to take place for an Officer to have an injury declared as an Injury on Duty. So get your facts right.
What use would an additional concurrent sentence serve given that that is the usual outcome in this time of multiple previous convictions, crimes committed out on bail etc. Are there any internal sanctions within the prison system itself?
@Ian Moloney: prisoners who assault staff are placed in the separation and care unit for an amount of time decided by the duty governor. They might lose their TV
Loss of canteen and reduced visits. I’ve seen a lot of assaults on staff both male and female staff and prisoners couldn’t care less about being sent to Septation unit.
With the frequency and frivolous nature of the way our judges gave out suspended sentences the criminals would end up with time off their current sentences if this went to court
This is crazy. An assault on the street would warrant a conviction yet somone doing their job and who gets assaulted gets no justice ??? If staffing levels are reduced then it will not only affect prison officers it will affect all of us too as there will be more and more suspended sentences when prisons cannot cope with the prisoners they already have and are unable to take in more. This is not just a personal safety issue for prisoner officers ( which is serious enough on its own) it’s a public safety issue !!!
@ivan enoughofit poor Joe o hare really hasn’t a bulls notion what he’s talking about but thinks because he used to watch prisoner cell block H years ago it makes him an expert!
@joe o hare: you are talking rubbish .Now let the grown ups have the conversation and you head on out and talk to your imaginary friends,who seem to be informing you incorrectly of happenings in the big bad World
The biggest problem with prisons is the easy availability of drugs, do the prison officers supply them or just get a percentage from the inmates who do.
@joe o hare: you are an ape
@Ivan Enoughofit: No he is just trolling. It’s the likes of him that hate any form of law enforcement. He has been caught out telling lies already which make anything else he has to say worthless.
And here is his much their extra holidays cost the taxpayer.http://www.irishexaminer.com/ireland/prison-staffs-41000-sick-days-cost-taxpayer-75m-266737.html
@joe o hare: go away Joe .2014 article .
@joe o hare: Now I am going to explain in simple terms especially for you how the above number was calculated. Each Prison Officer works a 12 hour shift. Now because Prison staff work on Bi-weekly basis it means that to average out a 44 hour week they work 4 days one week and 3 the alternative week (excluding compulsory overtime shifts). Now let’s say an Officer is off sick on the week that they are rostered on for 3 days. All 7 days of that week are still counted as Sick Days even though they were only going to work 3 of them. And each Officer only can avail of 12 weeks paid Sick Leave in every 4 year period (3 weeks a year.) Now remember what I said about 7 days counted. In reality it breaks down 1.5 weeks a year if you only count rostered days. So in reality the figure is 1 week a year
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