Aontú has launched its ground-breaking ‘Operation Shamrock’ – a set of initiatives to allow essential workers to come home and to address systemic barriers to the progress of those workers who have gone away, and who have stayed.
Speaking at the launch, Party Leader Peadar Tóibín TD said:
“Operation Shamrock is an initiative by Aontú to put in place effective incentives and support for Irish emigrants in key sectors to come home. Many respondents to surveys relating to leaving home for a life abroad have referred to working conditions and rates of pay – issues within the purview of this government.
34,700 Irish citizens emigrated in the 12 months to April 2024, which was the highest since the year to April 2015. This signifies an ongoing trend of Irish people leaving home for better prospects across the globe.
The Irish health service has lost a generation of nurses. Almost 13,000 nursing or midwifery staff have left in the last five years. Many cite their working conditions, especially nurses who are burnt out, working in unsafe situations and looking after too many patients.
In seeking to facilitate returning Irish workers, the HSE has a scheme in place to entice them home and is payable towards vouched accommodation and flight expenses up to a combined total amount of €4,160 for candidates relocating from the EU / Britain and €4,710 for candidates relocating from non-EU countries. This is miserly in comparison to what is being offered by some Australian companies and the HSE do not even know how many doctors or nurses came home and availed of this scheme.
In relation to construction workers, essential if we are to build anywhere near enough homes for the future, the government do not know how many construction workers have left Ireland, and does not keep records as to how many of these have returned.
There are no direct financial incentives for construction workers to return home. The only effort the government have made to bring construction workers home has been a targeted international social media campaign in October 2024 focused in Australia and Canada, which cost €170k in total. Yet, Ministers did not carry out any evaluation as to whether it actually made any difference.
Aontú recognise that there are practical barriers in place that stop those who want to come home in the form of recognition of qualifications, housing and incentives. Our policy document seeks to address these and give Irish essential workers a reason to come home and contribute once more to the future of their country
We have created a suite of policy recommendations that we believe will enable those essential workers who want to come home, to do so. They cover housing, a competitive return grant, systemic changes in qualification recognition, upskilling and legislative proposals to ensure safe staffing for healthcare staff.
We believe these initiatives can start to reverse the massive exodus of key Irish workers – though we are under no illusions that this government are the major impediment to meaningful change that can give people the confidence to come home.”
Read our Operation Shamrock document here.
