Young emigrants caught in poverty trap, study warns

MANY young Irish people emigrating to Britain are falling on hard times, new research shows.

The report from the Emigrant Advice group reveals that life for many emigrants is far removed from the prosperity of Celtic Tiger Ireland. Just like generations before them who moved to London, Liverpool and other major cities, a significant minority find themselves in situations of serious vulnerability.

Of the 4,100 Irish people now moving to Britain each year, about 260 are forced to seek assistance from welfare and support services.

The report of Emigrant Advice, part of the Dublin Diocese social care agency Crosscare, profiles vulnerable Irish people recently arrived in Britain.

The research showed an estimated 400 of them accessed a variety of Irish welfare and housing services in the 18 months up to July 2005.

Carried out in cooperation with Irish organisations in Britain, the research found that common reasons for emigration include family breakdown, violence and threats of violence or escaping prejudice. Other people left home to make a fresh start after leaving prison, in the belief there were better drug treatment services in Britain.

But according to Emigrant Advice information and outreach officer Joe O'Brien, many leave without adequate thought or preparation.

"An effect of being ill-prepared is that vulnerable emigrants face new circumstances which exacerbate their vulnerability, including homelessness, prostitution and access to drugs," he said.

The organisation believes the solution could start nearer to home.

Emigrant Advice coordinator Yvonne Fleming said: "Those who are most vulnerable typically come from socially-excluded groups, including people with addiction problems; recently released from prison; young people involved with youth support and probation services; Travellers and homeless people."

Foreign Affairs Minister Dermot Ahern said the research will contribute to greater understanding of the needs of younger emigrants.

But Labour chief whip Emmet Stagg urged the Government to meet funding targets for emigrants.

"The picture painted by this report is reminiscent of the darkest days of Irish emigrant culture in the 1950s and 1960s," he said.

"The Government has begun to increase services to the Irish abroad but the €12 million allocated for 2006 falls totally short of the €34m recommended by the task force it established to examine emigrant welfare."

Rescued from the mean streets

MARIANNE is a 19-year-old from Tipperary who left Ireland with her best female friend to come to Britain.

She got the ferry and then a train to London. She felt she wasn't doing anything in Ireland and wanted a change and to see if she "could do something." She hadn't prepared much for leaving, and had £100 when she left.

On arrival in London they met up with a stranger who put them up for a couple of weeks and then she got a job with a friend working in a bar.

However, she ended up sleeping on the streets for three months and had no money as she had only a temporary national insurance number. She was hungry and penniless.

A man in a pub told her to go to the Irish Centre. She was housed by An Teach and now hopes to go to college.