Moving to Ireland - lots of questions

[ThatchersCold]

I’ve massively got the fear about what is going to happen in the near future with Brexit in the U.K.

I have Irish heritage (grandparents) and so am going to apply for an Irish passport. My DM has had an Irish passport for about 20 years and she is putting her house on the market and is thinking about moving to Ireland. I am strongly considering moving there too, but am trying to work out if it would be feasible.

I don’t think my dc would be entitled to Irish passports as my DM was not born there, is that right? If so, what kind of rights would they have to live in Ireland, particularly when they become adults?

My eldest dd is disabled which impacts how much I can work, so I would need to claim benefits. I am self employed but don’t earn that much, so currently receive working tax credits, child tax credits, carers allowance, child benefit, housing benefit and my daughter gets DLA. I’ve no idea what my/her entitlement to welfare would be in Ireland. Because of my daughter’s disability I need to be sure I’d be able to make ends meet.

also any other information about the cost of living, healthcare, employment, schools etc would be useful. My DM is planning to move to somewhere around Wexford so would probably be that area. My dc are 8 and 14. I don’t know if this a bonkers idea or whether I could actually do it. Would be a scary thing to do as I actually really like my life here but I’m so worried about what the future holds here, particularly for the dc.

Children cannot be adopted in Ireland while their parents are alive as our constitution protects that family relationship.

That’s just not true. See Children’s Rights Referendum of 2012.

AnEPleaseBob

Fair enough. Have you noticed how many posters agreed with me though?!

Yes there are 2, and one who was in between. And since there are also 2 agreeing with me, I think its fairly obvious I am not in any kind of extreme minority.
It is not the norm for kids to do that much work, if they need to do so to keep up then you have a problem. Don't push them so hard, if they aren't college material you shouldn't force them.

AnEpleaseBob You're really coming across quite aggressively with a horrible attitude.

OP - Ireland has its advantages and disadvantages. I think that this nonsense of comparing Ireland to England doesn't really help anyone and it is a silly comparison. They are two totally different countries and as a starting point it really helps to look at a move to Ireland as it being a totally different country. Culturally, the people are very different to England when a lot make the mistake of assuming they are quite similar.

Good luck with your trip to Wexford!

from what I have gathered/observed, we (the Irish and English) share a language - more or less - and this fools the English that want to move over there into thinking that the cultures are pretty similar.

I will be honest I have no idea what Irish people mean when they say 'howyre?' or 'how long are you here for?'....(and my dad is Irish..:)

How long are you here for?
Means "How long are you here for?"
fourfriedchicken

bob

I don't think you counted correctly but anyway.

IF you go into a Northern Irish university and spend a day talking to the first year students, you will find unanimous support for the view that Irish sixth form is akin to a sweatshop and A levels are a walk in the park in comparison. I have no explanation for why your personal experience was different, whether your son was aiming lower, smart or what. But anyone thinking of moving to Ireland should be aware that secondary school is much, much tougher.

this fools the English that want to move over there into thinking that the cultures are pretty similar.
And vice versa

Or maybe the opposite? The Irish can think that we're much more different than we actually are?

Domestic infant adoption is very rare in Ireland. There are between 3 and 10 each year, usually at the lower end of the range. There would also be up to 20 adoptions by long term foster carers.

Heartsease....you mean my experience and every single person I know? And the other posters who agree with me, and all the people they know? And my sister the teacher who agrees with me and all of my kids teachers and, you know,most of the country?

Seriously, you need to separate your own experience from what you imagine everyone elses to be. Yours is not normal. Secondary school is not on the whole much much tougher AT ALL. It's nonsense. It's tough in parts, but come on, you're talking bullshit.

I think possibly you are some sort of tiger parent who is forcing their children to work , as you put it, "akin to a sweatshop", which I think we can all agree is not normal nor healthy. I'd advise you to stop it, its not going to your children now or in the future. Either they are smart and able to achieve, in which case they don't need the whipping you're giving them, or they aren't and it wont help anyway. Either way, you're wasting your time.
You must feel bad about it if you are going to such pains to pretend its what everyone does! I can assure you it is noe.

whosafraidofabigduckfart Maybe there's a divide between kids who don't do the five hours a night and those whose parents effectively make them do it by sending them to the institute?

Infant adoption is rare now but it used to be commonplace. I had numerous adopted neighbours growing up. One in particular came from a mother and baby home and when the news started to break about the conditions in which mothers were made to surrender their babies in such places the adoptive parents were shocked to their core because they had created their family out of this appalling system. The child in question started looking for her birth mother as a teen but it was uphill going. She was stonewalled by the nuns who ran the home and when she eventually found her mother's identity she had died, having spent years trying to find out where her baby girl had gone. The daughter saw the mother's letters asking for information, and she had sent similar letters. It was heartbreaking all around.

Maybe there's a divide between kids who don't do the five hours a night and those whose parents effectively make them do it by sending them to the institute?

Honestly you really don't have to do either of those. I didn't, my friends didn't. I know a lot of people who did their LC very recently who didnt. I got 550+ (ish, can't remember any more - been a while).

I can remember a few people studying non stop in my year but they were aiming for courses that they were borderline on getting into.

bob

Well, I'm can't be talking BS because if i was, there wouldn't be as many posters agreeing with me as agree with you (by your count)!

I don't have a child in secondary school in Ireland at the moment so you're imagining a different context to the experience i have (which is much broader).

Your son doesn't seem to have attended a British university and come home after comparing experiences of sixth form with others. If this happens and he doesn't come to the conclusion that he had it harder than British students, it would be a unique experience as far as my extensive experience goes

I don't know anything about the UK system so can't compare, and I guess if a student wanted to do medicine or similar they might study for 5 or 6 hours a day, but I don't believe it's the norm and don't know anyone who's dc do it. There is lots of other stuff that goes on in school, societies, sport, socializing, it's not all about work even in senior cycle. Howyre just means hello friedchicken. It's true that domestic adoption is really, really rare, though not impossible. Op I would definitely look into available services for your DC with a disability, as pp suggested you could possibly contact a local voluntery group for info before you do anything else.