Posted by Jim on November 13, 2018
Irish E3 visa bill is introduced in Congress – would mean 5,000 work visas a year
Niall O’Dowd @niallodowd Nov 13, 2018
Things are looking up for the Irish, and US alike, with the introduction of an E-3 visa.RollingNews
A bipartisan bill has been drafted in the House of Representatives to allow Ireland access to the E3 visa program which currently allows 10,500 Australians a year to come and work legally in America.
Australia takes up about half of their allotment and the new bill would allow the Irish to take the remainder.
The White House is said to be strongly behind the bill which was negotiated by Irish special envoy John Deasy, a member of parliament for Waterford and the Department of Foreign Affairs. Deasy was appointed by Irish leader Leo Varadkar to seek a solution to the lack of access to America and the undocumented Irish issue. The issue was raised in the St.Patrick’s Day talks in the White House between Varadkar and President Trump.
A key factor in the bill is that it does not increase the number of immigrant visas, merely redirects visas currently not used.
Read more: Bill for 5,000 annual US visas for Irish sent to Congress, says envoy
Irish figures in the White House from OMB Director Mick Mulvaney to Chief of Staff John Kelly are said to be deeply involved. Mulvaney, in particular, has pushed the proposal within the administration where it has been accepted.
Half of the visas would be available to Ireland for a total of 5,250 but spouses are also eligible so the real number would be higher. The bill is co-sponsored by Republican James Sensenbrenner of Wisconsin and Richie Neal of Massachusetts.
The bill is being closely watched by House Speaker Paul Ryan who has agreed to it and it will come before the lame duck session of Congress after Thanksgiving. The Australian government is also said to have signed off
The bill will also need to pass the Senate where Senator Orrin Hatch has signed on and Senator Schumer and Senator Patrick Leahy will be likely sponsors on the Democratic side.
Read more: Irish worse than Trump when it comes to harsh immigration policy
The bill addresses future flow from Ireland which has almost ground to a halt but does not address the issue of the undocumented Irish.
However, it remains to be seen if qualified undocumented who return home to apply for a job can obtain a waiver forgiving their undocumented period at the US Embassy which has discretion on the matter.
The E3 came into existence on May 12, 2005, when the provision creating these new visas was put forward by Senate majority leader Bill Frist and was tacked onto a bill providing an additional $81 billion for American operations in Afghanistan and Iraq.
There was no debate on the provision, which was passed unanimously by the Senate during a late night session.
The requirements to qualify for an E3 visa mean an applicant must demonstrate:
that he or she must have a legitimate offer of employment in the US
that the position he or she is coming to fill qualifies as specialty occupation employment
that he or she is an Irish citizen
that he or she has the necessary academic or other qualifying credentials
that his or her E3 must be renewed every two years.
Spouses but not children are eligible for the E3 visa.
Posted by Jim on November 12, 2018
After almost 50 years, an inquest has opened into the deaths of eleven
civilians killed by British soldiers in Ballymurphy in west Belfast.
The inquest is expected to last up up to six months.
Scores of relatives walked together behind their campaign banner to the
Laganside Court Complex to the applause of members of other justice
campaigns who were present to lend their support, as well as political
representatives and national and international media.
It was “a step closer to the truth”, said John Teggart, whose father
Daniel was one of those killed. Speaking before the session began, he
said: “It’s mixed emotions going into court today but the determination
of the families to get to the truth has brought us to here.”
Lawyer Padraig O’Muirigh, who represents some of the families, added:
“Today, 47 years after these families lost their loved ones, 46 years
after the original inquest, seven years after the direction for a new
inquest, we are finally here.
“It’s a tribute to the adversity and resilience of these brave families,
so I want to commend them through all the difficult days. Hopefully this
is a new start of a process to find out what happened to their loved
ones.
“Over the next few months the court will examine the evidence and we are
very confident that their loved ones’ innocence will be clear and their
names will be cleared, finally.”
But hopes for justice had to be immediately tempered when barrister Sean
Doran, representing the Coroner’s Service, told them the inquest would
be “complicated and difficult”.
He said the complications were a result of the time which has elapsed
since the alleged war crimes took place. In legal proceedings up to this
point, delays have also been linked to British tricks and deceptions.
Counsel for the inquiry said records into the deaths originally held by
the British Ministry of Defence were “missing”. Some witnesses could
also not be traced or were now deceased, he noted.
The massacre followed the introduction of internment without trial as
the British government struggled to gain control in the Six Counties in
August 1971.
The inquest heard the British Prime Minister Ted Heath ordered “military
support” for Operation Demetrius, the codename for internment, to quell
“widespread civil disorder and rioting across Belfast and Northern
Ireland”.
Ten deaths took place during five separate shooting incidents over a 36
hour period. The dead included Joan Connolly, a mother of eight shot in
the face, and Father Hugh Mullan, a Catholic priest shot while giving
the last rites to a wounded man. An eleventh victim died later of a
heart attack, apparently after a ‘mock execution’ by soldiers.
The original inquest was held into the ten deaths in 1972, but was
widely dismissed a whitewash. At the time the British Army claimed those
killed were either “members of the IRA” or “caught in the crossfire”,
claims debunked as military propaganda.
“My daddy was a good, loving, family man. He was labelled a terrorist
and a gunman. That was a stigma that the family had to endure,” said Mr
Teggart.
The families have had to battle decades of official obstruction and
deceit, starting with the original military investigation.
“It’s been hard taking on the British establishment because everything
was put in the way to block it,” said Mr Teggart.
For example, a week before the inquest was originally due to begin in
September, the Ministry of Defence handed the coroner a spreadsheet with
4,773 entries of individuals from the Parachute Regiment, the Queen’s
Regiment and the Queen’s Division who had been serving at the time of
the killings. This was a cynical attempt to “swamp” and delay the
inquiry, Mr Teggart said.
Mr O Muirigh said missing paperwork from the “deeply inadequate”
original investigations had helped veil shooters’ identities. “The big
difficulty has been in tracing soldiers,” he said.
Even so, the families were happy to finally have an inquest that should
supply an official, credible narrative of the killings, he added.
“It’s been a long, long road for them. They would argue that it is a
basic human right to find out what happened to their loved ones.”
Posted by Jim on November 10, 2018
No extradition of political prisoners
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The question of extradition has come back into public focus following
the arrest on Monday and detention of Donegal republican John Downey
over IRA charges detain from 1972. After three nights behind bars, Mr
Downey was granted bail on Thursday.
This week Dublin City Council became the third council to pass motions
against the extradition of Irish Republicans to the North. The following
is a piece by councillor Ciaran Perry explaining the campaign which saw
his motion passed this week.
————————————————————————
I had the following motion passed at the Dublin City Council meeting
last night. I was disappointed but not surprised that the leader of the
Labour Party on the council didn’t support a human rights motion in
relation to political prisoners. Dermot Lacey was the only councillor
who didn’t support the motion.
I don’t support the extradition of Irish political prisoners under any
circumstances. Political interference in the system, discrimination
against Republican prisoners, punishment by denying political prisoners
educational opportunities all apply… but this motion is specifically
about opposing extradition to a dangerous prison in an unfair
jurisdiction.
I don’t believe we should be allowing the extradition of political
prisoners to a prison which clearly can’t provide a safe environment for
the current inmates never mind future inmates. If Her Majesty’s Chief
Inspector of Prisons in England and Wales described the prison as the
most dangerous prison he had ever seen, I think we can assume that it
shouldn’t be housing any prisoners let alone political prisoners. The
report by the Inspectorate of Prisons in England and Wales was
absolutely damning and there is no evidence that any of the concerns
raised have been addressed satisfactorily since.
Since 2007 there have been 50 deaths in custody in Maghaberry. This
again highlights the fact that this prison is not a safe environment for
anybody. The Prison Ombudsman has raised concerns that their
recommendations on tackling prison deaths have still not been
implemented. Clearly the administration doesn’t prioritise the safety of
the inmates.
Currently two political prisoners, Sean Farrell and Ciaran Maguire, are
facing extradition to a jurisdiction which is due to leave the European
Union next March under Brexit. This leaves the men in a very precarious
situation regarding rights they currently enjoy. While they may be
extradited under a European Arrest Warrant, after March they do not know
what legislation will apply or what rights of appeal they will have if
found guilty. We cannot extradite the men with such a risk of
uncertainty.
There is an urgency to address this situation because the European Court
of Justice has recently ruled that uncertainty over Brexit isn’t a
reason to stop extradition to Britain or the six counties and the
extradition of prisoners has already begun.
Motion
This council opposes the extradition of Irish political prisoners to
Maghaberry prison in the six counties.
The onset of Brexit in March 2019 will disadvantage any political
prisoners who may have been extradited under the European Arrest Warrant
(EAW) framework but will no longer enjoy rights applying to EU nationals
including EU sentence appeal processes.
Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector of Prisons in England and Wales Nick
Hardwick described the prison as the most dangerous prison he had ever
seen.
The last comprehensive report on Maghaberry prison by “Her Majesty’s
Inspectorate of Prisons in England and Wales” was damning and described
the prison as “in crisis” and “unsafe and unstable” for prisoners and
staff. The report highlights discrimination against Catholic prisoners.
The conditions in Maghaberry prison are inhumane with forced strip
searches, forced isolation and restricted association.
All Republican prisoners in Maghaberry prison are denied educational
opportunities.
There have been 50 reported deaths in prisons in the six counties since
2007 and the Prison Ombudsman has expressed concern about the
non-implementation of its recommendations on prison deaths.
Reason for the emergency motion: The recent decision by the European
Court of Justice in relation to extradition from Ireland to the UK ruled
that ‘Mere notification by a member state of its intention to withdraw
from the European Union is not an “exceptional” circumstance capable of
justifying a refusal to execute an EAW issued by that member state’.
This decision has resulted in the recent extradition of a prisoner to
Maghaberry prison and may be used to complete the halted extradition of
another 20 current cases.
Posted by Jim on
Unification can prevent Brexit economic crash – report
The reunification of Ireland would lead to a massive economic windfall
for the whole island, while Brexit will have disastrous consequences, a
major new international research study has concluded.
The report, ‘The Cost of Non Unification – Brexit and the Reunification
of Ireland’ was conducted by a team of political science and economics
researchers led by Dr Kurt Huebner, Director of the Institute for
European Studies at the University of British Columbia. It updates their
previous work on the economics of Irish reunification to take into
account the impact of Brexit.
It suggests unification would mean that by 2025, the economic output of
the six northeastern counties of Ireland would be almost #16bn higher
than it otherwise would have been.
There is increasing agreement among economists about the potential
benefits of unification, but some in the Six Counties fear losing the
annual cash injection from Westminster that has long sustained the
dysfunctional statelet.
Dr Hubner’s economic model confirms that unification would lead to major
productivity and output gains which would more than cover the British
subvention.
The latest version is updated with new official data and Brexit impacts.
It continues to suggest a positive, albeit smaller, impact of about
10,000 euros per head by 2025 in event of reunification.
By contrast, Dr Hubner suggests a hard Brexit without reunification
would mean a reverse impact of about 10,000 euros (#8,732) less by 2025,
compared to what it would be in a no-Brexit scenario.
Dr Hubner’s model suggests that the the adoption of the Irish tax
system, greater openness to foreign direct investment and reduced trade
barriers would see Northern Ireland enjoy a period of “economic catch
up.”
He states: “Compared to a hard-Brexit, unification is by far the better
option. As a matter of fact, it is the only option with positive net
effects.”
Commenting at the launch in Belfast today, Sinn Fein Deputy Leader
Michelle O’Neill said such compelling evidence could not be ignored.
“This report, and particular economic modelling, exposes the hard
economic evidence that reunification would provide a massive economic
boost to the entire island,” she said.
“In the words of the report, unification ‘is the only option with
positive net effects’.
“The strength of this evidence cannot be ignored and while we thank Dr
Hubner and his team for this valuable contribution, it is a debate that
the Irish government must now take a much more proactive role in
leading.
“A new generation is already questioning partition, particularly in the
context of Brexit, and it is time now for the Irish government to
encourage and lead an informed, reasoned and respectful public dialogue
on the issue of Irish unity.”
Posted by Jim on
No stone left unturned in Loughinisland cover-up
The arrest of two journalists for the ‘theft’ of ‘secret information’
used in a TV documentary about the Loughinisland massacre has descended
into a pantomime public row, leaving the victims of the atrocity furious
at the abuse of police resources.
Six civilians were killed and five wounded in June 1994 when loyalist
paramilitaries, thought to be acting in collusion with the then RUC
police, opened fire in a busy pub in a County Down village.
Two mainstream journalists who made a film about the massacre, Barry
McCaffrey and Trevor Birney, were recently arrested in high-profile
police operations. Documents and computer equipment were seized by
police officers, who also raided the offices of the film production
company ‘Below The Radar’.
The raids were actually carried out by an English police force, Durham
Constabulary. They said they were requested to do so by the police (now
PSNI) in response to the report of a theft of documents from the office
of the Police Ombudsman’s office.
The source of the ‘theft’ claim was said to have been the Police
Ombudsman’s office itself — but the office this week repeatedly denied
making any such complaint.
Police Ombudsman Michael Maguire repeatedly contradicted the claim that
there had been an allegation of theft, negating the whole basis of the
men’s arrests.
Durham police bizarrely rejected this denial, and have since described
the journalists’ alleged ‘crime’ as “unauthorised disclosure and other
linked offences”.
Sinn Fein’s Gerry Kelly said there had been an attack on the freedom of
the press. He noted that the documentary took its name from a pledge by
then British Direct Ruler Patrick Mayhew that there would be ‘no stone
unturned’ in the hunt for the killers.
“Instead the families of those murdered have been subject to more than
20 years of state cover-up on collusion into the murders, and no one has
ever been brought before the courts for the Loughinisland Massacre,” he
said.
“And instead of the police taking action against those responsible for
murdering these six people, they arrested the two journalists who
exposed the evidence to TV screens across the world.
“These arrests were an attack on the freedom of press which is a
fundamental element of any democratic society that allows journalists to
carry out their work unhindered and the PSNI clearly have serious
questions to answer.”
The PSNI’s actions fall into a continuing pattern of political,
anti-nationalist policing in the north of Ireland.
Emma Rogan, whose father, Adrian, was one of the six men murdered at
Loughinisland in 1994, said the families were angry that police were
placing such emphasis on the documentary.
“Do the PSNI and Durham not realise that six people were wiped off the
face of the earth, and that this film, along with Dr Maguire’s report,
contained information that could help them to catch the murderers?” she
said.
“We have been down a long dark road to get some truth and justice. We
are still traumatised.”
Lawyers for the two men have already said they will seek to have the
investigation stopped, since it would have no legal basis if a complaint
of theft was never made.
The chairman of the National Union of Journalist’s Belfast and District
Branch chairman Gerry Carson said “the twists and turns” are “rapidly
approaching” farce.
The arrests, said Mr Carson, were an attempt “to warn other journalists
not to criticise the police – a practice adopted in countries where
democracy and the freedom of the press is demonised”.