To be thinking I might move to rep of Ireland?

[headcandygrl]

Aibu to think of moving to Ireland?
I am fed up of the lack of jobs here in the U.K.!
There seems to be (from the little research I have done) more benefits there (child benefit is WAY more!) , better job opportunities, less of an effect on jobs due to Covid. I have seen on here that they don't pay council tax! No water bills either. As far as I can see they pay slightly more tax! So it kind of evens out! But wages are better...
The education system there doesn't seem to pigeonhole children for a young age! They don't have to pass GCSE equivalents to do the A LEVEL equivalent...
University costs are less!! They have a grant system that is not paid back!!

Am I looking over with rose tinted glasses?? Is this the reality?? Anyone in Ireland who can clarify details for me?

Now I know they don't have an NHS like ours but from what I can see it is somewhat free for those that need it!!?

I live in North of Ireland and am from Eire. Here school transport, school books/ stationary free plus uniform grant if on income less than 14,600. School dinners free if under certain income too. Lunches are more common in the South than school dinner provision. Contribution or payment is sought for all of these in the South. Gp is free no matter how many times I visit for myself or children. Drugs and prescriptions are free. In South it is free depend on if you are low income. My Southern family pay €40 each occaion they see GP and for first number of days in hospitals and for scripts fromGP. my mother and her partner are elderly and pay for prescriptions and GP. My older in laws here had carers 4 times per day when out of hospital with complex needs...my elderly mother gets no state help with invalid partner (possibly one carer each morning if he gets worse or else he goes to nursing home) My mother does not receive a mobility car to take partner aroud as this service not provided but my elderly in law got one here once forms filled in. House in rural/small town area are cheaper per square footage. We pay rates here but none in South ...a semi detached here ratesabout 500 to 800 per year. (Tyrone). Some of hospital waiting lists here are long and some short. As regards schooling Catholic clergy sit on boards and have say over what is taught or not taught eg Communion, frequency of Mass in school etc...a bit uncomfortable if you lack any religious belief/faith as your youngster will have to sit in class picking up prayers or sit out in another room if that does not suit you the parents. Both sides of Ireland friendly people it may depend where you live how involved you want to be in the area. There are lots of family ties and communication s so if eg a person ripped off another person or did not pay bills word gets around like wildfire and your reputation will be built for you..in more rural areas. People also like to know who is living in neighbouring houses in case you are a danger to them or their children on particular. Again rural towns or rural districts both sides of Ireland.

Agreeing with @EmeraldShamrock in regard to the superficial nonsense @Readandwalk wrote.

Very hard to believe you're Irish, with any knowledge of life in Ireland 🙄

Health is a fortune of you work if you dont it's free.

As Emerald said, this is a very limited understanding of the situation. If you are unemployed, you will be entitled to a free GP visit card, yes; but you'd want to hope you don't require hospital treatment eg an operation, as the public waiting lists are years & years long. Most people have private health insurance, meaning they will be able to access private healthcare in these situations.

For any individual, if you are in an emergency situation eg a RTA & brought to A&E by ambulance, you will be treated exactly the same, public or private.

If you dont work you will also get full rent allowance, free uni and about 210 a week plus a very generous uncapped children's allowance.

You clearly have never been in this situation. Emerald deals with the rent aspect.
I can tell you from experience that if you are unemployed & own your own house, you are penalised as your mortgage payment is taken as an 'asset' & your payment is reduced.

I do agree that the Irish benefit system is more person-centred (thankfully) than what I observe (TV documentaries) of the UK system.

In my previous posts, I explained how university is not 'free', even with a grant.

This narrative that it's so easy for people who don't work; that there's a virtual pot of gold available to you, is grossly inaccurate & insulting to people in that situation.

Readandwalk I think you should consider following your user name instruction 😐

I live in North of Ireland and am from Eire.

You what? Are you from 'Eire' c 1925?

Dear God. Where do people get this rubbish. 'Eire' does not exist.

Interestingly, it’s not just Irish history that isn’t taught in English schools, it’s Scottish history too. We moved to Scotland from England and that’s been a surprise to me.

I think ppl in the U.K. don't understand the two tier system... the fact that you gave insurance only means that you have a CHIOICE...you are NOT obliged to use your insurance for everything. For example my dd has an eye issue last year. The first thing I did was ring the HSE eye dept...she had a free appointment the following week. I brought her I and it was sorted...no payment necessary.
My niece is on the wait list to have her tonsils out despite having health insurance...why? Because it's not an emergency. If it does become an emergency then they could use their insurance to help cover going private. Having insurance means I'm you can opt out of public health but only if you want/need.

And yes if you are in an RTA here you are treated the exact same...they don't know if you have insurance until you tell them.

Also over here if you loose your job you automatically get a jobseekers benefit to cover for you for about 9months. It's not means tested until that 9months is up. You get it based on your previous PRSI payments.

If you are on a low wage/benefits you get a back to school allowance to pay for school books.
I have a friend who works in a DEIS school and they will also provide uniforms to those who need it.

My dc go to a rural school...it couldn't be any less religious if it tried...they really don't give a hoot about uniform. They do not stipulate crests etc. In fact my ds's uniform was bought for about €8 (3 for the jumper and 5 for the bottoms).

@EarringsandLipstick

I live in North of Ireland and am from Eire.

You what? Are you from 'Eire' c 1925?

Dear God. Where do people get this rubbish. 'Eire' does not exist.

Wikipedia says the official Irish name is presently Eire.

Literally no one in ROI calls it Eire.

Just to pick up on a few points, my experience of GP care in ROI is brilliant. Streets ahead of my experience of the NHS in London/Edinburgh or NI (where I’ve also lived).

I can usually get a same day appointment, the practice is well run, great facilities, pleasant, polite staff.

Hospital care I’ve experienced better in the UK.

On the schools, there is plenty of choice in Dublin itself. Educate together/Church of Ireland. DS was put down for 5 primary schools within 20 mins walk of us and none of them were catholic.

Irish but live in UK.
Jobs outside certain industries very scarce. OP I think your jobs will be ok. My DH and I spent 6 months (admittedly during a recession) when we graduated trying to find a job in Ireland in marketing type sectors not honestly we’d have done anything. Cane over to London on Friday and I had work on the Monday with the recruiter actually telling me that I was Irish, therefore could spell. From my observation I am better educated that most people I work with. Our exam system is broad - leaving cert has to have Irish, English and maths as a minimum so it’s a good grounding in education. My family are all teachers in Ireland and they compare the syllabus to what my DS going here in England and say that although he goes into subjects in more depth it’s not as broad.

Certainly the history that’s taught vis a vis the closest non UK neighbour is severely lacking. Irish education system is also extremely competitive at university level so if you are not academic you are at a real disadvantage for certain sectors. So I would consider that if you think there’s any chance your DC would fail a junior cert. education and schooling is very valued in Ireland. Different attitude towards teachers and simply not the staff turnover you see in the UK in schools. Depending on the area/school the religious influence is real although technically all schools abd education is secular. Just one of the little contradictions in Ireland. So kids will be doing their first holy communion at school but it’s outside the curriculum and teachers don’t get paid for this work, although they devote hours to it. Parish priest can block teacher appointments. They don’t call it the isle of saints and scholars for nothing. However I went to convent school and never see a bible. We barely did prayers - my DS educated in England is getting a lot more Chanel exposure than I ever did and he’s not even baptised.

The welfare system is generous but I would say there’s more stigma to be unemployed in Ireland than UK. Cost of living is much much higher.

One thing not mentioned here is that many homes rely on oil for central heating. Prices can fluctuate widely and it can be very expensive. Houses are often not as well insulated as in UK due to very different building standards (or none). Food is more expensive, notice it every time I go home. Alcohol is taxed higher.

Medical care is a big consideration, I wouldn’t even consider relying on a medical card, PPs have dealt with this already.

It’s friendly, there’s a mild bit of anti English sentiment and depending on the area some racism, much like parts of UK, but overall Ireland is very progressive and open minded. You’d have no problem integrating if you made the effort.

I have considered going back but both our industries aren’t nearly as big as UK so we wouldn’t earn as much as we do in UK and also housing would be a major issue. Personally we have it better here but very aware UK economy is going to take a real battering. So Irish but certain sectors finance and pharmaceutical, are already seeing an uplift in investment in Ireland due to Brexit. Still both countries heading for recession and Ireland is that much smaller it’s harder to bounce back.

Sorry if it's been talked about already, but quite apart from costs, people considering moving here DO need to consider the weather. Our climates can be vv different. It is much much cooler and wetter here than the south of England for example. The rain and wind can come as a shock to people. The summers won't be nearly as hot.

Having said that, when we do get good summers, Ireland is nothing short of a paradise. It is truly blissful when that happens! Everyone tries to jack off work early

From ROI, lived in Eng a few years, now settled in NI.

NI is by far the cheapest and best set up of the three. ROI is very expensive to live (food, housing, healthcare, tax), my whole family and most of my closest friends are still there.

NI is honestly the best kept secret. People have lots of misconceptions about the place which keeps them away! But actually there's a very good quality of life here with a lot of the positives from ROI and GB without the negatives.

Wikipedia says the official Irish name is presently Eire.

Yes, if you're speaking Irish.

@OchonAgusOchonO

Wikipedia says the official Irish name is presently Eire.

Yes, if you're speaking Irish.

Yeah. That’s what I said.

@OchonAgusOchonO

Wikipedia says the official Irish name is presently Eire.

Yes, if you're speaking Irish.

Exactly. It sounds wrong to speak about Ireland and refer to it as Eire.

It's like if you met up with your bestie for coffee and she starts talking about Paris but pronounces it in French. "DH and I went to Paree for the bank holiday weekend- have you been? Yes, the cafes in Paree are just so lovely for people watching. I'd love to go back to Paree again, maybe in the summer."

You'd think she was a bit of a knob, right. That's how it comes across to us, it just.. makes people twitch irritably.

My dc go to a rural school...it couldn't be any less religious if it tried...they really don't give a hoot about uniform. They do not stipulate crests etc
My DC both go to RC schools when DD was 7 we went to a christening in a church there was a large cross on the grounds DD said "OH look Mam there is a big plus symbol on the grass" no darling it is a cross. 🤣

Lot of people on this thread don't seem to live in Ireland.

Oh well. Always the same on MN.

I do.

I really like it. Feel extraordinarily lucky to live here. Everyone is lovely. Would recommend people move here in a heartbeat.

Weather is shit, mind. But you can't have everything.

Weather is shit, mind. But you can't have everything.

But when the sun shines, it's worth every last grey cloud and raindrop.

Im on the East side of Ireland but i dont think it rains here significantly more than it does in the uk. I lived in the uk for 13 years so im not talking out of my arse!! I know. It rained in England. Sometimes. It rains here.

It is less windy inland everywhere. Like it is less windy in carlow than it is in any coastal area.

A colleague from Donegal said to me "The weather is lovely in Dublin!". Bless. I wouldnt go that far, but my comparison is Spain not England.

Actually something you will have to do OP is give up your U.K. driver license and get an Irish one!!

And also while we are on the subject to learn to drive you must
Get an eye test
Do a theory test
Do at least 12 lessons with an approved instructor
Hold your provisional for 6months before you can apply for a test

Dublin is the driest part of the country. There are lovely parts to NI and the cost of living is so much less - salaries are too though, but if you were selling a house in London and moving there, you would be quids in. But it’s the weather, that would be put me off there 😬 . I could never live in the west of Ireland for the same reason!

Education system is good in NI too, I believe.

@kittykat35 - Actually something you will have to do OP is give up your U.K. driver license and get an Irish one!!

Prior to brexit, a UK licence was accepted, as is any EU licence. It's just a straight swap. You don't need to sit a test here if you have a UK licence.

@OchonAgusOchonO yes I know that it is a straight swap. my extra information on how the licensing process works here was just for OP to know in general

Yes @GreyishDays

Wikipedia says the official Irish name is presently Eire.

That's technically true.

The Irish for Ireland is 'Éire'. However, in Irish - the Irish language - there is no way to use the word 'Éire' without having to decline it differently ie 'in Éirinn'. You can't use Éire in that form.

So it's only ever been used in English, to refer to Ireland with an 'Irish' name. As a PP says, no-one in Ireland calls it Éire. It just doesn't exist, in the English language, as a name. It's Ireland or Republic of Ireland.

I've attached examples of how it's used in the Irish language - again, no existence of Éire.

@OchonAgusOchonO

Wikipedia says the official Irish name is presently Eire.

Yes, if you're speaking Irish.

And even then Ochon it doesn't work - as Éire just doesn't exist as Gaeilge, if you try to use it.

It's a technical translation, but has no usage, in Irish or English.