DUBLIN INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY
Title: The Irish Diaspora and The Creative
Economy
Name of the candidate: Derek Ryan; BSc in Quantity Surveying
Submitted for: Masters of Science in Planning & Development
Name of Institute: Dublin Institute of Technology (Bolton St.)
Thesis Supervisor: Mr. Conor Skehan, Dublin Institute of Technology
Department: School of Spatial Planning
Date of Submission: 17th November 2008
Word Count: 23,683
Volume No. 1
ABSTRACT
This thesis details an examination of the Creative Economy and a survey of
The Irish Diaspora.
The aim of the thesis was to examine the Irish Diaspora and recommend areas
that the Irish Government could target to attract more of the Irish Diaspora back
to Ireland.
It examines the Creative Economy and how members of the Irish Diaspora
could be attracted to stimulate growth of the Creative Economy in Ireland.
The research was conducted using both quantitative and qualitative
methodology. A survey of members of the Irish Diaspora was conducted via the
internet networking site www.facebook.com. Members of the Irish Diaspora
from the United States of America, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and
Argentina were surveyed.
The questionnaire was sent out via www.facebook.com. The questionnaire
format and the analysis of the findings was informed by a literature review of
the history of the Irish Diaspora, the Creative Economy Worldwide and in
Ireland and research that suggested ways to attract the Irish Diaspora back to
Ireland.
The results suggested that six main areas should be concentrated on to attract
the Irish Diaspora back to Ireland;
• Offer of Citizenship
• Education
• Grants for Research and Development / Starting New Companies
• Teaching Irish Culture to create an awareness of an Irish Nation /
Homeland
• Availability of Housing
• Marketing
DECLARATION
I certify that this thesis which I now submit for examination for the award
of MSc in Planning and Development, is entirely my own work and has
not been taken from the work of others save and to the extent that such
work has been cited and acknowledged within the text of my work.
This thesis was prepared according to the regulations for postgraduate
study by research of the Dublin Institute of Technology and has not been
submitted in whole or in part for an award in any other Institute or
University.
The work reported on in this thesis conforms to the principles and
requirements of the Institute's guidelines for ethics in research.
(The following sentence is added to the declaration unless academic access to
the thesis is restricted according to paragraph 7. 7)
The Institute has permission to keep, to lend or to copy this thesis in
whole or in part, on condition that any such use of the material of the
thesis be duly acknowledged.
Signature Date
Candidate
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
/ would like to thank the following people for their time in helping me complete
this body of work:-
To all the individual respondents of the Irish Diaspora that I contacted via
www. Facebook. com
To my thesis supervisor, Mr. Conor Skehan, for his help and guidance
And
To my family and friends for all their support throughout
Sincere thanks to all
ABBREVIATIONS
CEO Chief Executive Officer
D.C District of Columbia
DIT Dublin Institute of Technology
ED European Union
ESRI Economic and Social Research Institute
IBM International Business Machines
IDA Industrial Development Agency
NZ New Zealand
OECD Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development
USA United States of America
UN United Nations
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Chapter 1 Introduction Page
1.1 The Research Proposal 2
1.2 Aims 3
1 .3 Objectives 3
Chapter 2 Literature Review
2.1 Why, Where and When 7
2.2 Population of the Irish Diaspora Today 14
2.3 Why should Ireland bring them back? 16
2.4 How Ireland can bring them back? 39
Chapter 3 Research Methodology
3.1 Choice of Topic 49
3.2 Collection of Data 53
3.3 Limitations 59
Chapter 4 Survey
4.1 Survey Questions 62
4.2 Survey Results 63
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Chapter 5 Conclusions and Recommendations Page
5.1 Analysis and Conclusions 113
5.2 Recommendations 139
5.3 Summary of Recommendations 146
Bibliography 148
Appendices 151
FIGURES AND TABLES
Figure 1: Percentage of Male / Female (Overall)
Figure 2: Are you aware that you have an Irish Surname? (Overall)
Figure 3: What age group are you in? (Overall)
Figure 4: Do you know what generation of your family is / was Irish Born? le
your Grand-father was born in Ireland. (Overall)
Figure 5: Have you ever been to Ireland? (Overall)
Figure 6: Reason for going to Ireland? (Overall)
Figure 7: If you have been more than once did you notice many changes
Figure 8: What are your feelings for Ireland? (Overall)
Figure 9: Do you feel Ireland is your homeland? (Overall)
Figure 10: What do you think it means to be Irish? (Overall)
Figure 1 1 : What do you think it means to be an Irish-American, Irish-Canadian,
Irish-Australian, Irish-New Zealander, Irish Argentine? (Overall)
Figure 12: Could this Job / Profession be defined as part of the Creative
Economy? (Overall)
Figure 13: How much do you earn per annum? (Overall)
Figure 14: What is your current commute time to work per day (each way)?
(Overall)
Figure 15: If working in Ireland reduced your commute time would you consider
relocating because of this (Overall)
Figure 16: How long would the commute time need to be to relocate? (Overall)
Figure 17: How do you currently travel to work? (Overall)
Figure 18: What is your current standard of education (Overall)
Figure 19: Do you have plans to further your education? What level would your
goal be? (Overall)
Figure 20: If you answered above that you would like to further you education,
would you consider furthering your education in Ireland? (Overall)
Figure 21 : Do you have an ambition to set-up your own company / expand on
an idea? (Overall)
Figure 22: If yes, could that area be defined as part of the Creative Economy /
Research and Development or Innovation? (Overall)
Figure 23: Would you relocate to Ireland if provided a grant to help start up your
business / expand on this idea? (Overall)
Figure 24: How much of the start-up costs would you require? (Overall)
Figure 25: Would you like to learn more about Irish Culture / Language etc?
(Overall)
Figure 26: Would you like to come to Ireland to learn about the Irish language /
culture? (Overall)
Figure 27: If the Irish Government sponsored your accommodation and
classes, would you travel to Ireland to partake in them? (Overall)
Figure 28: How long do you think would be a reasonable stay in Ireland for
these classes? (Overall)
Figure 29: If, after these classes you could sit an exam for Irish Citizenship,
would you like to complete this exam? (Overall)
Figure 30: Are you aware that Irish Citizenship confers you automatically with
EU Citizenship? (Overall)
Figure 31 : Would you give up your own citizenship in return for Irish
Citizenship? (Overall)
Figure 32: Are you aware that the Irish Government allows dual-citizenship?
(Overall)
Figure 33: The average working week in Ireland is 39 hours per week, would
this influence your decision to relocate to Ireland? (Overall)
Figure 34: The Irish Government designate 20 paid holidays per year with
some employers giving up to 30 per year, would this influence your decision to
relocate to Ireland? (Overall)
Figure 35: Would you expect to get paid more or less than in your country of
residence (Overall)
Figure 36: If the Irish Government were to provide you with free education
would you consider relocating to Ireland? (Overall)
Figure 37: If you took up this free education would you consider staying in
Ireland to work? (Overall)
Figure 38: In return for free education do you think it would be reasonable for
the Irish Government to put a condition that you work in Ireland for X number of
years? (Overall)
Figure 39: What other factors would influence your decision to relocate?
(Overall)
Figure 40: Comparison of potential numbers of Diaspora in each category
CHAPTER 1
INTRODUCTION
CHAPTER 1
Introduction
1.1 The Research Proposal
The author decided to investigate the Irish Diaspora and the Creative Economy.
The links between the Irish Diaspora and their talents and skills and the growth
of the Creative Economy in Ireland are very important as the author will show.
This dissertation will examine how Ireland as a country can attract back
members of the Irish Diaspora. It will also review the importance of the
Creative Economy Worldwide and how the Irish Diaspora can help the growth
of the Creative Economy in Ireland.
First the author must define what the Irish Diaspora means and represents.
The term Irish Diaspora first appeared in print in 1954 but it was not until the
1990s and mainly because of Irish President Mary Robinsons speech to the
Oireachtas titled 'Cherishing the Irish Diaspora' that the term became widely
used.
(lrelandroots.com, 2008) gives a definition for the Irish Diaspora as "'Diaspora'
(from the Greek word 'to scatter') is defined as any group migration or flight
from a country or region; or any group that has been dispersed outside its
traditional homeland."
The author must also define the Creative Economy for the purposes of this
dissertation.
It is best defined by who makes up the Creative Economy. (Florida, 2002, pg 8)
"I define the core of the Creative Class to include people in science and
engineering, architecture and design, education, arts, music and entertainment,
whose economic function is to create new ideas, new technology and/or new
creative content. Around the core, the Creative Class also includes a broader
group of Creative Professionals in business and finance, law, health care and
related fields."
Essentially it is any person that creates new ideas and ways of doing things in
their respective fields.
1.2 Aims
To examine how Ireland and the Irish Government can attract the Irish
Diaspora back to Ireland.
1 .3 Objectives
The objectives of this dissertation are outlined as follows:
• To determine an appropriate research methodology to support the
knowledge requirements of the dissertation.
• To briefly outline the reasons and history of Irish emigration and to examine
where the Irish Diaspora are located worldwide.
• To define the main features of the Creative Economy.
• To examine Ireland as a Creative Economy.
• To survey what would attract the Irish Diaspora back to Ireland and examine
what percentage of the Irish Diaspora are in the Creative Class.
• Make conclusions and recommendations based on the finding from the
questionnaire on areas that can attract more of the Irish Diaspora back to
Ireland.
CHAPTER 2
LITERATURE REVIEW
CHAPTER 2
Literature Review
Introduction
The area of this dissertation has had little work done on it to date. The author
suggests following a review of the literature available, that this is the first survey
of its kind. With this in mind it was only possible to review background material
relating to the topic.
During the idea generation period the author reviewed two books, David
McWilliams's "The Generation Game" and Marc Coleman's "The best is yet to
come". Both of these included sections looking at attracting the Irish Diaspora
and the benefits they could bring to the Irish economy.
McWilliams drew on a book called "Wherever Green is Worn - The Story of the
Irish Diaspora" by Tim Pat Coogan. This book seems to be the most complete
review of the history of the Irish Diaspora to date.
The author reviewed this book first to get a sense of where the Irish emigrated
to and why Irish people had to emigrate abroad. After consulting with this book
the author decided to target the countries of the USA, Canada, Australia, New
Zealand and Argentina as the main areas of study. These were the main areas
in terms of population that didn't already have free access to Ireland. The
United Kingdom was excluded because any person in the United Kingdom of
Irish descent can already move to Ireland with very little problem.
The book also dealt with how the Irish fared in continental Europe, the United
Kingdom, Africa, the Caribbean, the rest of Latin America, Japan and the rest of
Asia. As part of this literature review the author will briefly outline the respective
histories and the fortunes in these countries chosen as part of the study. This is
important in looking at the answers to the surveys later to see if their respective
experiences influence how they respond to the survey. It is also important in
determining when the Irish emigrated to these countries and whether this is
consistent with the results.
2.1 Why, Where and When
USA
Folklore suggests that Irish Monks may have reached America during the Early
Christian period. There is also evidence of contact in the form of an Ogham
inscription on a recessed portion of cliff in Wyoming County, West Virginia
(Coogan, 2000, pg 254). Ogham writing was in use from the 400s to 700s in
Ireland. So contact between the two places was likely.
The first major wave came before the end of the 1820s resulting in (Coogan,
2000, pg 255) "as many as 350,000 Protestant and 35,000 Catholic Irish"
immigrating to America. Many of these Protestant settlers could afford passage
and received cheap land when they got to America. However many of the
Catholic settlers ended up serving as indentured slaves.
Agricultural prices fell due to the end of the Napoleonic War which finished in
1815. This worsened conditions in Ireland and sped up emigration to America
by Catholic Irish and they began to exceed the numbers of Protestant Irish.
Then came the Irish famine and (Coogan, 2000, pg 256) "Between 1846 and
1 851 , well over a million people left Ireland", the majority going to America.
The Irish first located in the major cities of New York, Pennsylvania and
Massachusetts. However by 1880 "these emigrants were responsible for
substantial Irish presences in New York, Boston, Brooklyn, Philadelphia,
Pittsburgh, Albany, Buffalo, Scranton and Fall River" (Coogan, 2000, pg 256).
So the mobility in terms of location of the Irish was rapid.
The Irish in America slowly struggled to attain economic success and helped by
the numbers of Irish emigrants in America and their ancestors, political success
in the election of Irish American John F. Kennedy as President in 1961.
What is interesting is how Americans with Irish ancestry kept their Irish identity
generations after their family left Ireland. The author examines this Irish
American phenomenon as part of the survey.
An example of their strong identity in a quote from the 1980s (Coogan, 2000,
pg 265) that "approximately 30 per cent of the CEOs on Fortune magazine's list
of the Top Five Hundred American Companies were Irish", as in Irish-American.
As the main burst of emigration to America from Ireland was in the 1840s this
would make it likely that to today ancestors it would be at least 4/5 generations
back.
Canada
In the period 1825 to 1845 over 450,000 immigrated to Canada from Ireland
(Coogan, 2000, pg 373). During this period it was mainly Scots/ Ulster Irish
small farmers that made the trip, the majority of them paying their own way.
Many of them bought farms when they arrived and so were quite well off.
The next big wave was during the Irish Famine period of the late 1840s. Most
people will have heard of the quarantine island of Ellis Island in New York in the
United States. However the less well know island of Grosse He was the
equivalent in Canada.
Due to the cramped conditions here many emigrants died, cholera being one of
the main causes of death. Grosse He was the main port of call for Irish
Emigrants reaching into inland Canada. With many Irish also settling in
Newfoundland and the Atlantic provinces, it is estimated during the Famine
period that (Coogan, 2000, pg 372) "Some 300,000 of the Atlantic emigrants
came to British North America".
Canadian history has seen conflicts between the English and the French
settlers and between Scots Irish (Protestant) and Catholic Irish settlers. Canada
has always sought to ease tensions within the country between all ethnicities.
This has lead to a blending of Canadian culture with the government trying to
educate people to see themselves as Canadians rather than their respective
previous nationalities. (Coogan, 2000, pg 379) says "The Canadian formula for
ensuring that these remain in the past is not so much blending as blanding". He
goes on to use the example of Yugoslavian immigrants in Canada, they are
"welcomed as individuals, but the Canadians do not want to know whether they
are Croats or Serbs, Muslims or Albanians. What they want to be assured of is
that the Kosovo troubles will not be translated to their shores".
In terms of the Irish this seems to have worked well until the 1980s when a new
wave of emigration from Ireland (Coogan, 2000, pg 407) lead to "the increased
visibility of Irish Catholics in Canada.... And there has been a veritable Irish
Celtic renaissance in Canada".
So in the case of the main emigration waves of the 1 820s by the Scots Irish
and the Catholic Irish in the 1840/50s, would be about 6 generations and 4/5
generations back respectively.
Australia
The first Irish to make it to Australia were convicts, many of them political
prisoners from various rebellions in Ireland. The first recorded Irish convicts in
Australia (Coogan, 2000, pg 435) "arrived aboard the Queen in Sydney
Harbour on 26 September 1 791 ."
In fifty years from 1836 (including the famine) (Coogan, 2000, pg 441) "some
200,000 settlers" came from Ireland to Australia. These people were either
fleeing the famine or were attracted by gold prospecting (there was a large gold
rush in the state of Victoria which began in 1851).
Many were helped by assisted passage schemes in Ireland (Coogan, 2000, pg
450) "which aimed at either removing tenants from overcrowded estates or
10
orphaned children and young women from workhouses under the guise of
providing settlers with wives".
Many Irish did very well economically and attained huge plots of land; however
they did so at the expense of the displaced Aboriginal population. For example
a John Costello (from Ireland) established a holding (Coogan, 2000, pg 451) "in
excess of eight and half million acres."
By the end of the 19*^ Century the percentage of Irish born relative to the rest of
the population was 23.6% (taken from average of percentages per state
(Coogan, 2000, pg 458)).
Up to the 1970s being Irish was still not as popular as today (Coogan, 2000, pg
430) quotes "The Irish thing was a liability in the 60s".
However by the 1990s due to a great number of Irish-Australians taking interest
in their roots, it became fashionable again. Even the Australian Prime Minister
Paul Keating at this time was an Irish Australian.
In the case of the main emigration wave of the 1830/90s by the Irish, it would
be about 3/4/5 generations back respectively.
New Zealand
Emigration to New Zealand came later and in fewer numbers than to Australia.
There was some emigration here during the famine but the main influx was
when gold was found in Charleston. (Coogan, 2000, pg 491) says "It is
estimated that the gold finds, brought some 25,000 Irish to New Zealand
between 1858 and 1867". These emigrants were of both Scots Protestant and
11
Catholic Irish backgrounds. At this time a lot of Irish maids came to New
Zealand as it was very difficult in the early years of the 1870s to attract English
servants to New Zealand.
There were some sectarian troubles between these two different Irish
backgrounds up to the 1920s but due to lack of numbers and what (Coogan,
2000, pg 497) calls the concept "mateship" tensions eased over the years. Also
the influence of Rugby in the country can not be underestimated in leading to a
national spirit and identity for New Zealanders outside of their ancestry.
So in the case of the main emigration wave of the 1860/70s by the Irish would
be about 4 generations back.
Argentina
There are folklore stories that Irish monks reached South America in the Early
Christian period or the 600-700s AD. Some have even suggested that the
Aztec legend of the returning God QuetzalcoatI was in fact an Irish monk due to
the description of him being of fair skin, having a beard and coming from the
east.
However the first Irish to officially reach South America that were recorded was
the Farrell Brothers that reached Argentina in 1510. There were low levels of
emigration to Argentina between this date and the 1840s, mainly Irish soldiers
such as Admiral William Brown (from Foxford, Co. Mayo) who founded the
Argentine navy and others joining the Armed Forces as their fighting prowess
was appreciated.
12
In the early 1800s after Argentine independence a Thomond O'Brien (originally
from Wicklow) was an advisor to San Martin, the head of the Argentine
Independence movement. He returned to Ireland post-Independence and tried
to attract as many Irish people as he could to immigrate to Argentina. They
could offer vast tracts of land to the immigrants. At this time in Ireland, land or
the lack thereof was the main political and social issue.
The main wave of Irish emigration to Argentina came after the Irish Famine of
the 1840s. Many Irish were very successful during this time in agriculture and in
the wool trade in particular.
Large scale emigration ended in the 1890s due to North America being more
attractive and due to increased emigration from other countries such as Italy.
Also the cost of a trip to America was half the price and half the time of a trip to
Argentina from Ireland. Another problem at this time was the bad publicity of
the fortunes of the boat the City of Dresden in 1889. Over 1 100 Irish people
travelled on it with them being promised board and a job when they got to
Argentina. However once they reached Argentina they found no provision for
them and many ended up destitute in the slums of Buenos Aires.
After this stage the Irish in Argentina kept pace with politics and news in
Ireland. However because of the two World Wars contact began to wane as
both countries had more pressing matters to deal with.
At present (Coogan, 2000, pg 640) states "Currently more than half a million
people spread all over the country can claim Irish descent" he goes on to say
that taking purely Irish surnames as a guide that the "number to be about
13
300,000". Of course in this case it doesn't include Irish women that married
Argentines and so the 500,000 figure sounds accurate.
As the main burst of emigration to Argentina from Ireland was in the 1840s this
would make it likely that to today ancestors it would be at least 4/5 generations
back.
For all the above smaller waves followed in the subsequent years. Much of it
due to the initial wave that would have set up in the host country and so could
provide opportunities for friends and family back home.
The book "Whenever green is worn" seems to view the Diaspora from a
politically Republican point of view and much anecdotal evidence is used to
comment on points about the Diaspora. This helped enforce the author's
interest to have empirical evidence to back up the Diasporas desire to return.
2.2 Population of the Irish Diaspora Today
There are varying estimates of the Irish Diaspora worldwide depending on
where you draw the line at being Irish.
Most surveys are conducted by asking the person if they are of Irish descent
and so do not take into account of how far back their connection to Ireland is. If
a person believes themselves to be of Irish ancestry and calls themselves Irish
it could be argued that they are Irish.
14
The headline figure for the Irish Diaspora is 70 million which is taken from Irish
President Mary Robinson's speech to the Oireachtas titled 'Cherishing the Irish
Diaspora'.
(McWilliams, 2007, pg 245) gives figures for the Irish Diaspora in the USA as
"34 million Irish-Americans registered in the 2005 census". Of the 34 million
Irish-Americans in the USA many are very well educated. (McWilliams, 2007,
pg 245) gives the following breakdown of their educational standard. "31% have
bachelor's degrees or higher. That's over 1 1 million people. More than 30
million Irish-Americans have a high school diploma". 91% of Irish Americans
have at least a secondary school education which is a much higher percentage
than in Ireland.
He goes on to break down their educational achievements further "40%) of Irish-
Americans are either professionals or work in management" and "the average
income of an Irish-American household is $53,000." Over "900,000 Irish-
Americans speak another language other than English" and there are "over 10
million Irish-Americans under 18".
He goes on to give the numbers of Irish Diaspora in other countries and states
that they have similar educational profiles.
(McWilliams, 2007, pg 246) states "The 3.8 million Irish-Canadians, the 1.9
million Irish-Australians and the half-million Irish-Argentines have similar
profiles in terms of education and income". All these figures are extracted by
McWilliams from first principles in their respective national census.
15
He does not give figures for New Zealand however there are an estimated
600,000 Irish New Zealanders in New Zealand and this is the reason that they
were included in the survey (Patterson, 2002).
Altogether by including the Irish Diaspora, the Irish population goes from the 4
million plus in Ireland to a potential 70 million plus (The 70 million includes the
Irish Diaspora in the UK and in other countries other than the ones highlighted
above (Coleman, 2007, pg 3).
As outlined in the section on why Ireland should bring them back, this is 70
million different ways to do things and 70 million different chances in creating
new ideas and technologies.
2.3 Why Ireland should bring them back?
The question as to why Ireland should try and bring the Irish Diaspora back to
Ireland is firstly tied in with two things. These are: the emergence of the
Creative Economy Worldwide and the Creative Economy in Ireland. The author
will look at each of these developments.
Creative Economy Worldwide
Richard Florida author of some of the most influential literature on the Creative
Economy gives this definition of what the Creative Economy is (Florida, 2002,
pg 8) "I define the core of the Creative Class to include people in science and
engineering, architecture and design, education, arts, music and entertainment,
whose economic function is to create new ideas, new technology and/or new
16
creative content. Around the core, the Creative Class also includes a broader
group of Creative Professionals in business and finance, law, health care and
related fields."
It seems to be as clear a definition as he has because in his publications he
doesn't give a solid definition for the Creative Economy he defines it by more
who the Creative Economy are.
The concept of the "Creative Economy" was first introduced by John Howkins in
his 2001 book titled "The Creative Economy". Howkins "Creative Economy" is
slightly different in how it is measured compared to Floridas "Creative
Economy". (Florida, 2002, pg 46) states that Howkins "defines the Creative
Economy to include fifteen "Creative industry" sectors such as software.
Research and Development and design, and creative-content industries like
film and music. These industries produce intellectual property in the form of
patents, copyrights, trademarks and proprietary designs." This is different to
Floridas definition above which is based around occupations rather than broad
industries.
Florida also breaks the Creative Class down further into the Super Creative
Class and Creative Professionals. The Super Creative Class includes (Florida,
2002, pg 69) "scientists and engineers, university professors, poets and
novelists, artists, entertainers, actors, designers and architects, as well as the
thought leadership of modern society: non-fiction writers, editors, cultural
figures, think-tank researchers, analysts and other opinion-makers. I define the
highest order of creative work as producing new forms or designs that are
17
readily transferable and widely useful - such as designing a product that can be
widely made, sold and used; coming up with a theorem or strategy that can be
applied in many cases; or composing music that can be performed again and
again." The Super Creative Class is a sub-set of the Creative Class as a whole
and makes up (Florida, 2002, pg 74) "12 per cent of the workforce" in the USA.
He defines Creative Professionals as "people (who) engage in creative problem
solving, drawing on complex bodies of knowledge to solve specific problems.
Doing so typically requires a high degree of formal education and a high level of
human capital."
The wealth generated by the Creative Sector in the USA is very significant.
(Florida, 2002, pg xiv) states that "it accounts for nearly half all wage and salary
income in the United States, $1.7 trillion dollars, as much as the manufacturing
and service sectors combined." The Creative Sector also creates work in the
Service sectors with these workers needed as support infrastructure for the
Creative workers.
In Florida's books he puts forward the idea that a city or region can invest in the
3 T's, Technology, Talent and Tolerance. Most cities/regions put a lot of time
and money into the first two T's; it is what he calls the third T - tolerance that is
the most important. (Florida, 2002, pg 249) "To attract creative people,
generate innovation and stimulate economic growth, a place must have all
three."
Members of the Creative Class do not see themselves as part of a particular
organization but part of a "broad creative force". This means rather than going
to where the jobs are, they go to environments that are stimulating to them.
Then the jobs follow them as these environments are where the talented people
are. They move to (Florida, 2002, pg 11) "places that offer not only
opportunities and amenities, but openness to diversity, where they feel they can
express themselves."
He quotes the World Values Survey by Ronald Inglehart of the University of
Michigan that looks at how countries values change as a countries economy
advances. Most Northern European countries do well in their tolerant and open
attitudes and this Florida correlates as one the reasons for them being
successful economically. In Inglehart's Survey however the USA is both
"traditional" and "self-expressive" and it is this contradiction that Florida
suggests could hold back the USA as a whole as a Creative Economy (The
intolerance of some parts of the USA).
Cities/ Regions that show cultural and social tolerance for minorities such as
immigrants and homosexuals are the kind of places that talented / creative
people want to live because they are vibrant. It is this vibrancy that helps
creative people work by stimulating their ideas and the interactions with other
creative people looking at different ways to do things.
(Florida, 2002, pg 256) argues that opposition to homosexual / gay people is
the last real frontier for diversity in society. Therefore an area that is welcome to
gay people will be open to all other forms of diversity. This he reasons is why
the Gay Index and the High-Tech Industry index are strongly correlated.
19
He does not suggest as some have claimed he does, that gays and bohemians
actually cause regions to grow; however their presence in good sized numbers
in an area does point to a culture that is tolerant and open-minded and so open
to creativity. Florida's statistics point to a correlation between where gay people
live and areas that show growth in the Creative Economy.
Many economists talk of 'low entry barriers for businesses' however (Florida,
2002, pg 250) recommends "'Low entry barriers for people' - that is, to be a
place where newcomers are accepted quickly into all sorts of social and
economic arrangements."
(Florida, 2002, pg 252) uses the argument put forward by Pascal Zachary (Wall
Street Journal reporter) that openness to immigration is the key to innovation
and growth. He "attributes the decline of once prospering countries such as
Japan and Germany, to the homogeneity of their populations." People who
choose to leave the comfortable surroundings of their home country are by their
very nature risk takers and so people like this are very important in creating
new innovations and ideas.
The normal argument for where graduates choose to locate is "where the jobs
are". However a survey (Florida, 2002, pg xiv) points to location as being more
important. "A 2002 survey of 4,000 recent college graduates, reported in The
Wall Street Journal, found that three quarters of them identified location as
more important than the availability of a job when selecting a place to live." He
goes on to say that "place is the key economic and social organizing unit of our
time."
20
There is very little job certainty today because corporations are less committed
to their staff and people change jobs frequently, therefore "place" is more
important when looking for jobs or staff. Florida compares people to the old raw
materials of coal and iron ore and therefore it is place which (Florida, 2002, pg
6) "determines where companies will choose to locate and grow, and this in
turn changes the way cities need to compete."
Creative Centres are not successful for traditional economic reasons such as
infrastructure or access to raw materials. They can't be created by tax breaks
or incentives to lure companies. They are succeeding because of the creative
people living there and the companies locating there to take advantage of this
talent.
Some people have argued that with the advent of the internet that location no
longer matters. However Florida argues the opposite that it is location and
tolerance that is the most important factor to a city / region being successful.
Other factors that are important in a successful place are "Thick Labour
Markets". This is a large market with lots of jobs not just one large company
because creative people expect to move from one job to another. The lifestyle
in a place /region is very important from street level culture to the sporting
activities that can be partaken. Social interaction and diversity are also
important.
Universities are important to the growth of Creative regions. However not in the
traditional way most would see them. Again it relates to the 3 Ts of Technology,
Talent and Tolerance. It is not enough for Universities to be centres for
21
research in Technology and produce talented graduates. They must also be
tolerant and attract members of the Creative Class. They must feed into the
creative lifestyle in the city / region and vice versa. (Florida, 2002, pg 293) says
that "Intellectual property migrates from universities in older industrial regions
such as Detroit and Cleveland to high-technology regions such as the greater
Boston area, the San Francisco Bay area and New York Metropolitan area."
This is because although some areas can generate new knowledge they don't
have the infrastructure that can absorb and apply this knowledge. This is why
building a University alone does not create a Creative Region. The other factors
above must also be present.
(Florida, 2002, pg 21) quotes Stanford University economist Paul Roomer in
saying that the biggest advances come from "better recipes, not just more
cooking". He argues that this is how the greatest jumps forward in standard of
living are attained.
Creativity is not necessarily just about new inventions but is also the revising
and enhancing of each product and putting different products together to
improve them both. Florida goes on to say that (Florida, 2002, pg 5)
"Technological and economic creativity are nurtured by and interact with artistic
and cultural creativity." This highlights the importance of place as where
creative people (example: a computer programmer) can meet with other
creative people (example: a musician) and come up with new ideas between
them. It may not even happen consciously.
22
Creativity is not a commodity that can be bought and sold and so hiring for
diversity in gender or race now is a matter of economic survival in the Creative
Economy. Creativity has to be (Florida, 2002, pg 5) "nurtured in a multitude of
ways, by employers, by people themselves and by the communities where they
locate."
Einstein called creativity "combinatory play" and therefore the whole place and
situation that a creative person is in is very important. Meeting new people and
doing new things are all part of this "combinatory play" in that it allows a
creative person to think about different things and how they would work
together. (Florida, 2002, pg 33) quotes a psychologist named Dean Keith
Simonton who states "creativity is favoured by the intellect that has been
enriched with diverse experiences and perspectives." This is why it is important
that creative people live in tolerant places with lots of difference people and
ideas floating around.
(Florida, 2002, pg 33) goes on to say that "Thus, the varied forms of creativity
that we typically see as different from one another - technological creativity (or
invention), economic creativity (entrepreneurship) and artistic and cultural
creativity, among others - are in fact interrelated."
Florida looks at Jane Jacob's book "The Death and Life of Great American
Cities" published in 1961 and the importance of place is one of the central
arguments of the book. It is vital that the place has creativity and diversity and
has the potential for random meetings of ideas and people. Jacobs uses the
example of Greenwich Village in New York.
23
As part of this Florida talks about street-level culture being more important to
the Creative Class than going to regimented culture like the opera and theatre.
(Florida, 2002, pg 182) says "The Creative Class is drawn to more organic and
indigenous street-level culture. This form is typically found not in large venues
like New York's Lincoln Centre or in designated "cultural districts" like the
Washington, D.C., museum district, but in multiuse urban neighbourhoods "
People in the Creative Class like to be a participant in an event rather than just
watching it. This holds true for sporting activities too. They prefer to play a
game of football rather than go watch a game. Authenticity is important, a place
needs to have a mix of people, not just all creative types but a mixed
neighbourhood that isn't artificially put together. (Florida, 2002, pg 228) says
"Authenticity comes from several aspects of a community - historic buildings,
established neighbourhoods, a unique music scene or specific cultural
attributes. It comes from a mix -from urban grit alongside renovated buildings,
from the commingling of young and old, long-time neighbourhood characters
and yuppies, fashion models and 'bag ladies'."
Identity is also important. What the place you live in says about you is important
to the Creative Class. (Florida, 2002, pg 230) says that "Ten years ago, people
were likely to ask "Where do you work?" Today its "Where do you live?"
(Florida, 2002, pg 14) argues that creative careers are now front-loaded in that
the main body of work in now done when people are younger and their skills
more up to date. He says "People now often pack their most intense and
productive work into their younger years, when their potential for advancement
24
and sheer physical energy are at a peak." Therefore the Creative Class tend to
be younger and wish to live around people of their own age.
The Creative Class have tended to locate in urban areas. Cities have become
safer and cleaner. They are a prime location for the creative life-style
associated with the Creative Class. Cities are benefiting from demographic
shifts which see people staying single for longer and so serve as a place where
singles can meet. In response to the above cities (Florida, 2002, pg 288) have
"re-emerged as centres of creativity and incubators of innovation. High-tech
companies and other creative endeavours continue to sprout in urban
neighbourhoods that were once written off."
Florida also looks at where new jobs are being created. (Florida, 2002, pg 318)
"According to a November 2001 report by the Employment Policy Foundation,
job loss over the twelve-month period ending September 2001 was heavily
concentrated in manufacturing, which lost some 1.2 million jobs. Meanwhile,
industries and jobs dominated by the Creative Class actually expanded, as
636,000 new jobs were created in managerial, technical and professional
fields." This shows that with global recession likely, that the Creative Economy
is the sector to try and stimulate by putting resources into.
This is one of the main reasons why Ireland must look to the Creative Economy
to help it through the current global recession.
The shift should be away from physical capital to creative capital. (Florida,
2002, pg 319) says "Investments in their education and skill development are
the most effective and highest-return investment they can make." If you
25
compare the spending on research and development in a country to that spent
on housing, infrastructure and physical capital it is tiny and yet the returns can
be (Florida, 2002, pg 320) "the highest-returning investments of any".
"Such investments generate substantial and ongoing returns by attracting top
scientific, technical and creative talent, generating spin-off companies and
attracting firms from other places. By adding to the stock of creative capital,
they increase wealth and incomes substantially and generate jobs for people
across the classes." He also recommends investing in "arts, music, culture,
design and related fields - because all are linked and flourish together."
Creative Economy in Ireland
Richard Florida in his book "The Rise of the Creative Class" uses Dublin and
Ireland as his example of the best way to develop a Creative Economy.
In his analysis of Ireland he says that Ireland has changed its economy from
being in the doldrums in the 1980s to the fastest growing economy in the
OECD (As per date of publication, 2002). He talks of how Ireland (Florida,
2002, pg 300) used the "3 T's to push its economy forward, technology, talent
and tolerance."
He comments on how Ireland through the Industrial Development Agency (IDA)
attracted companies "through a policy of "industrialization by initiation". He goes
on to say how Irelands "Financial and tax-related incentives helped recruit high-
tech giants including IBM, Lotus, Intel, Microsoft, Dell, Gateway and Oracle,
26
who where also lured by the thick talent pool emerging from the country's
world-class universities."
He also examines the work done by Enterprise Ireland in helping home grow
businesses such as lona Technologies, Smartforce and Riverdeep in the
technology sector.
The above examples are the first two Ts of Technology and Talent. Talent and
Tolerance overlap in how Florida argues that the tax breaks that the Irish
Government brought in were used to attract and retain culturally creative
people. In doing this (Florida, 2002, pg 301) "the country has not only retained
its growing legion of native celebrities such as U2, Van Morrison and Liam
Neeson, but also plays host - and home - to many international stars such as
Andrew Lloyd Webber."
He then examines how Dublin and particularly Temple Bar were physically
revitalised to create an area where innovative people could live and work, their
ideas feeding off each other to create new innovations. In his argument
culturally creativity and tolerance go hand and hand.
He finishes off his piece on Ireland in this book by saying (Florida, 2002, pg
302) "Regions across the Unitised States and the world have much to learn
from the Irish experience. By investing in the 3 T's simultaneously, Ireland was
able to transform itself from an economic and technology luggard to a veritable
growth machine in a very short space of time"
Whether the Irish examples he uses are the "miracle" that he claims is open to
debate. Maybe if Ireland had continued investing in the 3 T's rather than losing
27
productivity by investing an unsustainable level of productivity in the
construction industry (detailed below), then his analysis may have still held true
to today.
In "Flight of the Creative Class" published in 2007, Florida tries to quantify the
numbers of the Creative Class worldwide. He defines the Creative Class in two
ways. His broad definition includes scientists, engineers, artists, cultural
creatives, managers, professionals and technicians. His narrow definition
excludes technicians from the mix.
In the narrow definition, Ireland in the statistics he uses has one of the highest
percentages of Creative Class workers in the world at 34 per cent. Only
Belgium and Australia come close at 30 per cent (Florida, 2007, pg 137).
In the case of the broader definition above including technicians then Ireland
comes in at just below 40%. However in this case (Florida, 2007, pg 137) "The
Netherlands (47 per cent), Australia (43 per cent), Sweden, Switzerland,
Denmark, Norway (all 42 per cent), Belgium, Finland (Both 41 per cent) and
Germany (40 per cent)" are all above Ireland.
In his 'Global Technology Index" (Florida, 2007, pg 139) that measures the
percentage of each country's gross domestic product that is invested in
Research and Development and the number of patent applications per capita,
Ireland are second from the bottom of the rankings of "Creative" Countries.
Ireland are in the top twenty of Floridas 'Global Creativity Index' (Florida, 2007,
pg 154) which is a measure of the countries that successfully meet the 3 T's of
Technology, Talent and Tolerance.
28
What is interesting to note is that in, "The Rise of the Creative Class" which was
published in 2002, Ireland is held up as the 'leading light' for the Creative
Economy. In the 2007 book "The Flight of the Creative Class" Ireland are still in
the top twenty of the 'Global Creativity Index'. However when the author
examined his latest book "Who's your City?" published in 2008 there is no
mention of Ireland in it.
From the above literature on the Creative Class, it illustrates that the Creative
Economy is a way to attain growth in an economy that is not linked to the
cheapest cost of production but the value of the goods produced in new ideas
and patents.
The author shows from the above that the Creative Economy is difficult to
define. However whatever name or title you give to high quality, well paid jobs,
it is clear that Ireland as a country needs to be creating and attracting these
types of jobs.
His book 'The Flight of the Creative Class, 2007' examines the Creative Class
on a world-wide scale and argues that the global competition for talent is no
longer between countries but between regions. Some of these regions may
even be part of two countries. It also looks at challenges to the USA in
attracting talent. The author has already looked at the Creative Economy above
and will briefly deal with the attraction of talent below where it is applicable to
attracting the Irish Diaspora back to Ireland.
29
Next it is important to look at is the demographics structure in Ireland and
Europe and the effect this will have on Ireland and the EU.
Demographics in Ireland and Europe
Demographics are another important issue in bringing the Diaspora back.
Although Ireland's population has seen unprecedented growth in the last
number of years most of this was due to immigration from Eastern Europe and
not from natural growth.
Examining the latest paper by the CSO on Ireland's population, recent threads
have reversed what were very optimistic predictions. If the high immigration
rates and birth rates of the last 5-10 years were to continue then the population
of Ireland was likely to "reach 5 million by 2014".
However if as trends are beginning to forecast, that Ireland could have net
migration of zero and lower birth rates, then the population might only reach
"just 4.9 million by 2041" (CSO, 2008). Also in this scenario older people would
account for "more than one in five in 2041 population". This would put the
economy under a lot of pressure trying to look after an aging nation.
This is even worse in Europe where (McWilliams, 2007, pg 50) states that the
"latest Eurostat population projections predict population declines in 13 of the
current European Union member states".
(Florida, 2007, pg 105) gives these similar statistics "The UN projects negative
population growth for 31 European nations with especially dramatic declines
from the working-age cohort. For example, under current (median) UN
30
projections, in the next half-century Italy's population will drop from 57 million to
41 million and the Russian federation's from 147 million to 121 million"
This demographic down-turn will also see the population of Ireland and Europe
growing older and there will be more pressure put on individual states through
pensions and health costs.
If populations are to grow or even to just stay at the same level then some level
of immigration to Ireland is likely. As set out below the author shows that this
could be helped by attracting back the Irish Diaspora to Ireland.
It is also important to look at the Density Dividend. Ireland has one of the lowest
densities of population per square metre in Europe. It is important that Irelands
main cities densities increase and that more people live in them. This makes it
easier to provide public services. The Density Dividend can be met by birth
rates and immigration. Ireland in terms of climate and split between rural and
urban life could be compared to Denmark in the EU. If Ireland had a similar
density to Denmark (Coleman, 2007, pg 12) "some 8.8 million people would
now live in the Republic." A population and density of this level would make
public services much more sustainable.
In the next section below the author will focus on the reasons for attracting the
Irish Diaspora home.
The author will first outline the current problems with the Irish Economy.
The present crisis in the Irish economy has been caused by a number of
factors. The Irish Government try to suggest that it was International factors
31
such as the credit crunch that were the main problem. However these have just
exacerbated the problem.
At the beginning of the "Celtic Tiger" years Ireland's economy was based on
being a low-cost economy with high productivity and a skilled work-force that
exported finished goods.
Over (McWilliams, 2007, pg 56) "93% of all our exports came from the
multinational sector" in 2005. Although it is positive that multinational exports
are high it unfortunately means that the Irish economy is over dependent on
foreign investment and Irish indigenous companies are exporting very little.
As the cost base of the economy rises (as happened during the construction
bubble) then Ireland becomes less competitive in comparison with lower cost
economies and so multi-national companies start leaving. Ireland has seen this
with the number of multinational factory closures in the last few years.
The danger to any economy is relying on one sector excessively. An economy
should have a sustainable and diversified structure. That way if one sector
performs badly other sectors can compensate. The cornerstones of the Irish
economy during the "Celtic Tiger" have been multinational exports and the
construction industry.
Competitiveness has been eroded by a construction bubble which meant that
average wages had to rise so that people could buy over-priced houses. The
concentration of people working in construction meant that the country became
32
less productive in making things that could be exported. Many turned their
back on exporting to making easy profits as part of the property bubble.
This illustrates the levels that house prices reached in comparison to some of
our competitors globally. (McWilliams, 2007, pg 51) states that in a survey
carried out in 2006 "the typical middle-class home in Dublin cost nine times
more than the same class of house in Houston, Texas, three times more than in
Amsterdam, twice the cost of Sydney and almost twice the price of Tokyo". The
prices of houses have helped to lessen the competitiveness of the Irish
economy in comparison with other countries.
This obviously makes it difficult to attract members of the Irish Diaspora back to
Ireland. (Coleman, 2007, pg 18) states "A second generation Irish American
could choose between a spacious condominium with a swimming pool in
California or a semi-detached house in Ireland" for the same price.
Coleman explains the property bubble on pages 43 and 44 of his book
(Coleman, 2007, pg 43 and 44). In 2005 the Organisation for Economic Co-
operation and Development (OECD) warned that Irish housing was 15% over-
priced. At this stage he argues the Irish Government should have put in
measures to bring things back in line. The Central Bank also was to blame by
letting Mortgage providers increase the maximum term of loans from 25-30
years to up to 40 years. This increased competition in the banking market and
banks began offering 100% mortgages on what were over-priced assets. This
meant that private sector credit increased by €20 billion between June 2005
33
and 2006. House prices jumped by another 15 per cent from an already
overpriced 1 5 per cent.
As the TSB / ERSI house price shows, this has proved to be true with house
prices on a continuous downward trend since 2007. This means that the
average householder will be paying a mortgage on an asset that isn't worth
what they paid for it. This will slow the economy as money is taken out of
circulation to pay for these unproductive mortgages.
Also large developers took even bigger loans out speculatively with the
reasoning that growth would continue. These loans mean that potentially the
Irish Banks could sustain large losses if these developers default on their loans.
This would force down the value of houses even further.
To compound things further the price of state services increased in this time to
make Ireland even less competitive. (Coleman, 2007, pg 68) states "As
exporters were struggling with falling prices internationally, the state was
aggressively pushing up their costs."
He goes on to give statistics for the increases in the cost of state supplied
services between January 2000 and July 2007. "Prices of water supply, refuge
collection and local authority service charges - all areas controlled by the state
- rose by an incredible 255.4 per cent. Hospital service charges rose by 101.4
per cent and education costs by 60.7 per cent."
34
Another problem is that many countries are now copying the model of tax
breaks that helped attract these multi-nationals to Ireland in the first place.
Already Estonia and Poland have introduced similar tax rates for corporations.
They however have lower standards of living and wages and so Ireland can't
compete on price with them anymore.
Due to Ireland now being part of the Euro currency the Government can't
devalue our currency to make ourselves more competitive (As per the
devaluation of the punt in 1992). The only real mechanism to achieve this is
from lowering prices generally in the Irish economy. This means house prices
dropping along with job losses and allowing inflation to cause wages to fall (in
real terms).
Two other vital changes have happened during the Celtic Tiger years. The
emergence in the east of China, India and Vietnam as low cost manufacturing
bases and a shift in western countries to a "Creative" economy.
China particularly is becoming both a low cost and a high end economy at the
same time. Predictions have been made that it will overtake the USA
(McWilliams, 2007, pg 191) "by 2030 as the world's largest economy". It is the
worlds number one place for foreign investment with (McWilliams, 2007, pg
193) "outsiders spending $54 billion" in 2007. McWilliams goes on to say that
China's consumer class is approx 300-350 million and its upper middle class is
approx 90 million which is the same as the total population of Germany.
35
It has a strong internal market with low wages and there is no reason (in terms
of cost anyway) why all manufacturing in the world can not be done there. This
leaves Ireland at a huge disadvantage because distance is no longer a factor in
a highly globalised world.
Even in this scenario China is being put under pressure by India and Vietnam in
a race to the bottom for the lowest wages. (Coonan, 2008) "Vietnamese
unskilled workers earn 1 .669 million dong (€54) a month, 41 per cent less than
China's lowest-paid workers in the central province of Jiangxi, according to the
World Bank. And India is even cheaper - 3,843 rupees (€57) a month on
average."
If a giant like China can be under cut by a country like Vietnam, Ireland has little
chance in competing in the low-cost stakes. This means that due to the sheer
weight of numbers and wage levels in China and the Far East, Ireland can no
longer compete on cost for manufacturing jobs.
The only real alternative to this the author argues are high-end jobs that are
based around "Creative" knowledge and ideas. These jobs are not based on
cost but on intangible assets such as the production of new ideas and services.
Ireland has very few natural advantages, it has no real raw materials to speak
of and one of the few advantages it has in comparison to other nations is the
Diaspora. In relation to population within the country, no country in the world
has as large a Diaspora as Ireland. (McWilliams, 2007, pg 245) goes on to say
36
that "In economic terms, the 70 million-strong Irish tribe is the 21 ^'-century
equivalent of a huge oil deposit".
In this chapter, the author has previously described the educational standard of
this work-force. The author also described the importance of the Creative
Economy to an economy going forward.
If Ireland can attract only a fraction of the most highly skilled back to Ireland,
Ireland's chances of creating new patents and new ideas in research and
development will increase purely on a numbers game.
(McWilliams, 2007, pg 257) makes this point "This is 70 million new ways of
doing things, new ideas and an almost missionary zeal to build the country, to
make the place that their ancestors fled from, better for good."
Ireland needs to be the hub where the services such as what (McWilliams,
2007, pg 252) calls "the branding, the banking, the accounting, the taxation and
marketing" for the low cost goods that are made elsewhere.
(Coleman, 2007, pg 51) backs this by saying "The economy must now ascend
to a far higher level of productivity, a level that is indigenously rather than multi-
nationally driven."
In theory you could attract emigrants from other EU countries or worldwide but
the argument is that in bringing back the Irish Diaspora you are bringing back
people that already call themselves Irish. This should place less pressure on
the Irish culture in trying to integrate immigrants into Irish society. It could also
be argued the people of Irish descent are more likely to stay in Ireland and
have roots here than Emigrants from Eastern Europe.
37
(Barrett, 2008) states that of the 75,000 PPS (Personal Public Service)
numbers issued to non-nationals in Ireland only one third are still active today
(meaning they returned to their home country or went elsewhere). Also in the
case of Immigrants to Ireland from Eastern Europe, in only 50% of cases their
spouse came to Ireland to live with them. This would not indicate a desire to
live in Ireland permanently. Also the links between the immigrants to Ireland
only goes back 5-10 years while for example the Irish American history goes
back over 150 years.
The Irish culture is constantly under attack from overseas media influences. In
some ways it makes us just another part of the Anglo-American Culture.
Conversely many in the Diaspora worldwide long to be part of the "Irish
Culture", the very things that make Ireland unique. When they come on
holidays to Ireland they find that things are not as it seems in the brochures.
Although not the cause, where Irelands immigrants to date have come from has
contributed to the decline in Irish Culture. (Coleman, 2007, pg 18), says
"According to the 2006 census, only 18,174 of the non-Irish working in Ireland
are of Irish descent." To help renew and strengthen our culture it needs to be
much more than this.
Another issue to consider with immigration is that you bring in workers but you
get people. In times of economic downturn this can lead to tensions and strife
as jobs become harder to get.
38
Due to the differences between people bom in the state and immigrants it is
easy for the perception that some are being treated unfairly to develop. For
example Irish bom working class may perceive that immigrants are taking their
jobs. Immigrants may perceive that they are not being equally treated in the
jobs market.
In some cases it may not necessarily be just perceptions (Coleman, 2007, pg
156) "immigrants from accession states are on average earning 30 per cent
less than their Irish born counterparts."
(Coleman, 2007, pg 159) recommends that "The best way to fortify Ireland
against the strains and stresses of Immigration is to do exactly the reverse - to
strengthen its traditions and identity." He goes on to say that "Forging a
common culture between immigrants and the Irish born - one that preserves
the best of Ireland's past but is flexible enough to be adopted by newcomers -
is the answer."
2.4 How Ireland can bring them back
The next question the author must ask is how Ireland can attract them back.
Already the Diaspora has helped the economic growth of Ireland. Many Irish-
Americans went on to be CEOs in major companies that decided to locate in
Ireland. (McWilliams, 2007, pg 254) points to quotes from the former CEO of
General Electric where he says that being of Irish descent did influence his
decision for the company to locate in Ireland.
39
Opening up Ireland to the Diaspora allows Ireland to become more globalised
and more Irish at the same time. It would also allow the country to tap into
some of the best talent the world has to offer. The converse of this is that
Irelands trade possibilities will expand further into the countries that these
Diaspora come from.
The type of people that Ireland wants to attract are already in creative and well
paid jobs. Therefore it is not going to be push factors from their own countries;
it will have to be pull factors that attract people to Ireland. The exception to this
would be countries like Argentina where there are many skilled workers in the
Creative Economy and they are on low wages in comparison to the wages in
Ireland.
Many would probably not stay permanently but even if out of the 70 million a
percentage of highly skilled people stayed for 3-5 years, the benefit in terms of
new ideas and trade with their home countries could be significant.
The author now examines some of the attractions the literature suggests.
Availability of Housing
Due to the over-supply in the housing market it appears as though Ireland
already has made provision for the return of the Irish Diaspora.
(Coleman, 2007, pg 50) says "By the start of 2007, there was enough spare
housing to accommodate 600,000 new citizens. Some conclusions are
possible. If we are preparing for when the Diaspora come, we are making a
damn good start, if we aren't then we are in deep trouble."
40
If Ireland allows the housing market to correct itself then housing prices will
offer better value for money. This will make Ireland more attractive for the
returning Diaspora. Perhaps the government could intervene in some way
once the housing correction is complete to offer this cheap housing as an
attraction to the Diaspora.
Education
It is important that Ireland attracts the best talent in terms of education and
skills from all round the world. However even if Ireland can only attract talent
from the Diaspora, the skills and education of the Diaspora come from some of
the best education systems in the world.
It is in a sense a 'reverse brain drain', by attracting educated people from the
Diaspora, Ireland are getting them 'for free' because the Irish Government has
not had to pay for their education to this point.
Another option is to offer free places in Universities / Colleges in Ireland to
members of the Diaspora. This would be particularly attractive in the United
States of America because of the high cost of university education there. As
part of this Ireland could stipulate that they must remain to work in Ireland for a
number of years.
Even if these students did not remain in Ireland, the Country would still benefit.
(Florida, 2007, pg 148) says" "Our idea is to get the best people to the
universities" said Nina Leemans, the London based director of the German
Academic Exchange Service or DAAD. "We hope that students from today will
41
be our partners tomorrow" she added. "If they go back to their home countries
and go into business, Germany will be the first port of call for their career." This
is an important point to consider in giving free education to the Diaspora, even
if it does not directly pay off by that person staying in Ireland to work, it may in
the long term, through trading.
Although not directly related to the Diaspora, the fact that Ireland is open to
immigrants could help in making Ireland a base for scientific meetings. Due to
the stringent visa application vetting in the United States of America, many top
academics find it hard to get into the country at short notice to go to a
conference. (Florida, 2007, pg 120) backs this up "We can't hold scientific
meetings here anymore because foreign scientists can't get visas." Ireland
could use its more relaxed immigration policies (in comparison to the USA) to
attract these kinds of meetings.
This would in turn have beneficial effects in terms of Irelands' standing and its
ability to attract top academic talent, not just from the Diaspora.
Another problem in the United States that could be Ireland's opportunity is that
many companies in the USA find it difficult to arrange visas for some of the top
foreign talent to work there. It is similar to the scientific meeting situation above.
To get around this rather than bringing the talent to the USA they bring the
company / laboratory to where the talent is, therefore getting around the visa
issue. If Ireland places itself as a hub of talent with relaxed immigration policies
not just for the Diaspora but for all top talent then it could benefit from this kind
of investment also.
42
Grants for Research and Development / Starting New Companies
Ireland's current record in Research and Development to date is poor.
(Coleman, 2007, pg 69) refers to an OECD report that "it relied to a large extent
on foreign corporations as the main generator of research." The report went on
to say the Ireland is not the Knowledge Economy it claims to be saying "that
education outcomes in Ireland, while acceptable, remain 'far below the results
achieved by the best performers in the OECD." It is important to put more
money into Research and Development and to offer grants to both Irish people,
Irish Diaspora and other Immigrants.
Teactiing Iristi Culture to create an awareness of an Irish Homeland / Nation
Interest in where people are from has increased greatly in countries where the
Diaspora are located. To be Irish has become popular in many countries. There
has been a rise in people claiming to have Irish ancestors in most countries.
For example (McWilliams, 2007, pg 259) "In 1986, only 899,000, or 5.5% of
Australians considered themselves Irish. By 2001, this figure had jumped to 1.9
million or 8.9% of the total Aussie population".
Many people in countries like America, Canada and Australia feel root-less and
homesick for idealised versions of the Irish homeland. Although it could in some
way be disingenuous the Irish government need to tap into this opportunity.
It could be similar to how the Israel managed to make a nation out of their
Diaspora of Jews spread over the world. One answer to this is that Jewish
teenagers from all over the world spent summers in Israel learning about its
43
culture and their Religion. (McWilliams, 2007, pg 266) states that although very
few of the Jews that go to these camps actually return to Israel to live "a
network has opened up tying people of different backgrounds, languages, life
experiences and different ways of doing things together".
Another example of Nation building in Israel is military service and kibbutzim.
The closest Ireland have to this system is the summer Gaeltachts.
At present as (Coleman, 2007, pg 160) says "The state makes no effort
whatsoever to build a cohesive citizenry under the age of eighteen, people who
can respect each other and accept their respective economic statuses as
products of effort rather than privilege."
He goes on to recommend that the Gaeltachts could be used (Coleman, 2007,
pg 161 ) as a way "of inculcating Irish culture and identity in the young - but also
in a different format - a way of moulding new citizens from abroad".
The Gaeltachts could be updated to offer courses for younger Diaspora
members to come to Ireland to study Irish history and culture.
These courses would also be open to older members of the Diaspora too and
maybe used as a path towards Irish Citizenship. Perhaps even with the over-
supply of housing in the country, the Irish Government could work out some
kind of deal to offer free accommodation too.
44
Offer of Citizenship
Currently Irish citizenship laws apply to persons born in Ireland or people who
can prove they have an Irish Parent or Grandparent. However by analysing
history and the fact that the main emigration from Ireland occurred during the
1840s, this means that the great majority of the Irish Diaspora are denied the
right to an Irish Passport and Irish citizenship. One barrier in the way of the
Diaspora returning is the fact that they would have to get a work permit to work
in Ireland. If a student from the Diaspora wanted to study in Ireland they would
have to endure the hassle of getting a student visa. By offering Irish citizenship
to them, this would lift this barrier.
There have been recent precedents for this in Europe where Germany allowed
Volga Germans to return to Germany after the break of the Soviet Union in the
early 1990s. Also Israel has a "right of return" for any person that can prove
they are Jewish to return to Israel and apply for citizenship.
Better working conditions re working liours and benefits
Examining the actual amount of hours worked in Ireland in comparison to the
other Diaspora countries, Ireland works fewer hours than the United States,
Canada, Australia and New Zealand see (OECD, 2002, Table F: Average
Annual Hours Actually worked per person in Employment). This is an
advantage to working in Ireland that could be marketed to help attract the Irish
45
Diaspora back to Ireland. The issue of commuting to and from work is also
something to consider.
Quality of Life / Facilities
What is also important is trying to sell the brand of Ireland to people as a
country of tolerance and authenticity. As the author shows in the section on the
Creative Economy above this is as important as grants or jobs to the Creative
Class.
From the Creative Economy section above, Ireland and particularly Dublin have
many of the facilities in terms of entertainment that helps attract creative
people. It has great outdoor facilities for all kinds of sports. Entertainment in the
city is at street level with great restaurants and cafes all over. It also has outlets
for the Arts and for up and coming musicians to play in.
There is also the question of authenticity; Dublin has lots of this from its history
and architecture to traditional Irish pubs and music. The rest of the country
could also provide recreation and outdoor pursuits for the Creative Class / Irish
Diaspora.
Marketing of all the above
It is of vital importance that all the above are marketed to the Diaspora. A single
department in the government would need to be designated to make the
information freely available. The offer of the chance to come to Ireland to learn
about Irish culture and history could be marketed virally through the various
46
internet communications available. Social Networking sites such as the one
used for this survey www.facebook.com could in themselves provide breathing
grounds for "irishness" if these students enjoyed their stay.
47
CHAPTER 3
RESEARCH METODOLOGY
48
CHAPTER 3
Research Methodology
Introduction
This section details the methodological decisions made as part of the research
methodology.
3.1 Choice of Topic
The author began researching various areas of interest in preparation for
generating a dissertation topic title. Using the internet the author reviewed
various topics related to the course and tried to brainstorm new ideas that could
be derived from these topics. The author also reviewed journals and books in
the Dublin Institute of Technology library for some of the latest ideas and topics.
The author also used meta-search engines to look at ideas via the DIT library
website. The DIT library website has access to a number of databases such as
for example Business Source Premier and Emerald Management Xtra.
During the first semester of the course the author studied Development
Economics and one book that was highly recommended as part of this course
was "The Best is Yet to Come" by Marc Coleman. A central topic of this book
was the idea of "tapping" into the Irish Diaspora. Another book that dealt with
similar themes which the author reviewed for the generation of new ideas was
"The Generation Game" by David McWilliams. The author also attended a
Special Lecture by David McWilliams in the University Concert Hall in the
49
University College Limerick about his book and on the outlook for the Irish
Economy on the 15*^ November 2007.
A central proposition of both McWilliams and Colemans argument's was that
the Irish Economy could benefit from the Irish Diaspora through the introduction
of skills that Ireland doesn't have and networking / trading. However both only
provided anecdotal evidence referring to members of the Irish Diaspora that
wished to return to Ireland but were prevented by various barriers.
The author brainstormed on ways that it would be possible to do a survey of a
percentage of the Irish Diaspora. The main ways this could potentially be done
was via face to face surveys, telephone surveys, postal surveys or what is a
kind of extension of telephone and postal surveys; the email survey. It would
obviously be almost impossible in the time allowed to do face to face surveys.
To do telephone surveys with the number of surveys that would be required to
make the results significant would also be prohibitively costly.
A postal survey would also be costly and the level of response would probably
be very low. (Denscombe, 2003, pg 51) actually suggests that people when
contacted prefer internet surveys to postal ones "postal surveys and Internet-
based questionnaires produce similar response rates and, if anything, there are
indications that e-mail might actually be preferred where either is an option".
The author brainstormed a way to contact members of the Irish Diaspora via
email.
A website that acts as an email telephone book or database is the website
www.facebook.com. This website has over 75 million users worldwide. There
50
are approximately 38 million users (26million (USA), 9million (Canada),
2.4million (Australia), 0.35 million (New Zealand) and 0.4 million (Argentina) in
the areas that the author wished to survey, USA, Canada, Australia, New
Zealand and Argentina.
Each of these members has their own private webpage where their names,
where they are living, interests and photos of themselves etc are put up online.
This means that by entering a network or database, for example Newfoundland,
it is possible to see all the members of Facebook that are living in
Newfoundland. Then by searching for someone within this network with an Irish
surname the likelihood of them being of Irish ancestry would be very high.
After looking at the feasibility of using this website the author found that it would
be possible to randomly contact members of the Irish Diaspora via this
networking website. It could then be used to send them a questionnaire about
attracting the Diaspora back to Ireland.
With the crux of an idea generated, the next item to examine was the feasibility
of the survey and whether the results generated would be useful.
The author reviewed a number of books on conducting research.
For example "How to do Research" by Nick Moore, "How to Research" by
Blaxter, Hughes and Tight and "The Good Research Guide" by Martin
Denscombe.
None specifically examined the area of using an internet networking site to
email subjects a questionnaire. However they had examined using email
51
questionnaires and telephone questionnaires so the author would argue that
the survey method used is a combination of the two.
An area that was quickly brought to the author's attention when using the
internet was whether the research would produce representative findings. One
argument that is presented is the question of internet connectivity / access. It is
similar to when telephone surveys were first being conducted and telephone
access had not reached the high levels it has today. (Denscombe, 2003, pg 9)
estimates that by the late 1990s that researchers could contract 91 per cent of
the people aged over 18 by telephone directly in the United Kingdom.
(Denscombe, 2003, pg 52) lists two issues that must be considered regarding
internet connectivity "Since the vast majority of Internet users live in the USA,
Europe or Asia Pacific rim countries, those who live in poorer parts of the world
are less likely to be included". This criticism isn't valid in this survey due to the
countries that the author is concentrating on for the survey (USA, Canada,
Australia, New Zealand and Argentina), as all these countries have high levels
of internet access.
(Denscombe, 2003, pg 53) second issue is the profile of the users. "Although a
large and increasing proportion of the population in developed countries is
online, there are still demographic differences that need to be taken into
consideration when it comes to who uses the internet the most". Denscombe
goes on to say that "access to the Internet tends to correlate with social class,
with wealthier groups being more likely to have access than poorer groups".
Since the survey is about the Creative Class who generally would be on higher
52
incomes this criticism is in fact a benefit to the survey because these are
exactly the types of people that the survey is targeting.
The Sampling Frame is also very important. A sampling frame is what
(Denscombe, 2003, pg 17) calls "an objective list of 'the population' from which
the researcher can make his or her selections". In the case of this dissertation
this sampling frame is the 75 million people linked into www.facebook.com.
All sampling frames have some bias in them and when dealing with large
numbers it is impossible for them to be completely up to date.
No sampling frame is perfect and the author acknowledges that until 100% of
the people in the chosen countries are members of the website
www.facebook.com then what the survey answers represent are merely
indicative of opinions and views of the Irish Diaspora.
The author is not arguing that because for example 25% of the Irish Diaspora
surveyed in the questionnaire have an opinion that it means that 25% of the
Irish Diaspora worldwide have that exact view. However like any survey the
author believes that it can be used as a guide to help in deciding future policy
on the Irish Diaspora.
3.2 Collection of data
Those conducting telephone surveys often use a 'random-digit dialling'
technique. In the survey conducted by the author a similar technique was
applied. Upon joining a network or what is essentially a database of email
addresses in a geographical area, the author would randomly select the
53
surnames of the people that they would contact. The author used a list of the
top 100 Irish names and selected a number from each geographical area
randomly. This prevented any suggestion of bias.
Each person was first emailed an introduction explaining the author's
dissertation idea and whether they would be interested in answering the survey.
This is consistent with what (Denscombe, 2003, pg 12) calls "Random
sampling" and "Systematic sampling".
Random Sampling (Denscombe, 2003, pg 12) states "is likely to provide a
representative cross-section of the whole". Systematic sampling is a variant of
random sampling in that the author picks out say every 5"^ person that comes
up in the list/ telephone book/ networking websearch. This can be reviewed in
the example given in the Random Generator list in Appendix D.
Other types of sampling that could be used are Stratified or Cluster samples,
Quota samples. Response rate bias and Weighting data. In (Blaxter, Hughes
and Tight, 2006, pg 163) they list the above sampling techniques plus the
following. Convenience sampling. Voluntary sampling. Quota sampling.
Purposive sampling. Dimensional sampling and Snowball sampling. These
were ruled out as not being what was required for this survey.
This introduction email also informed the person being surveyed that all the
information was confidential. In responding to this email they gave consent to
answering the survey and therefore any questions regarding consent and
confidentiality were allayed.
54
The schedule for the survey was based around (Moore, 2000, pg 21 ) schedule
for a postal survey as per the below bullet points.
• Design the questionnaire
• Pilot testing the questionnaire and revising accordingly
• Assembling the mailing list
• Printing the questionnaire and stuffing and mailing the envelopes
• Receiving the returned questionnaires and logging the response rate
• Inputting the data
The initial survey of interest in answering that was conducted in March '08
suggested a response rate of approx 50%. The author then had to examine the
research guides on what type of survey was applicable for this dissertation.
After reviewing the various types it was decided that a Quantitive Approach was
the one to proceed with. This however did not mean that a Qualitative
Approach was completely excluded because some of the questions asked for
opinions and with these a grading system would have to be applied afterwards.
A Quantitive Approach suited the questions that were being asked because the
majority of them were closed questions that were easily analysed.
(Blaxter, Hughes and Tight, 2006, pg 63) are consistent with the above
approach breaking down research methods into Quantitative and Qualitative. It
then breaks each down into four research approaches. Action Research, Case
Studies, Experiments and Surveys. It then further sub-divides these headings
55
into Documents, Interviews, Observations and Questionnaires. So in this
research the author primarily used Quantitive research with a Survey /
Questionnaire. There is also a survey of documents available in the Literature
Review.
As part of a Quantitive approach the data must be coded. This was achieved by
simply numbering the questions and loading all the answers on to a large Excel
spreadsheet. From here the author grouped the data so that it could be
analysed.
The next item that needed to be completed was the questions in the survey /
questionnaire itself.
To make sure the correct types of questions were asked (that they were not
leading questions) and that people would wish to respond to the survey, it was
important to get the layout and tone of questions right.
There are a number of different ways in which questions can be asked.
(Blaxter, Hughes and Tight, 2006, pg 179) list seven. These are Quantity,
Category, List or Multiple Choice, Scale, Ranking, Complex grid or table and
Open-ended. The author used a combination of the above incorporating.
Quantity, Category, Multiple choice and Open ended as the author deemed
was required for this questionnaire. The author did not chase up questionnaires
and the replies were allowed to come back naturally.
56
As part of this a literature review was conducted on the background areas to
the survey. This meant that a list of important questions relating to the area
were put together. Please see the Literature Review for the background to
these questions.
The wording of the questions was very important so as not to irritate or cause
offence to the respondents. The majority of the questions (30) were Closed
questions, (8) were Open and the author asked the opinion of the respondent.
In this case the author graded the responses according to the question e.g.
positive, negative, and undecided. It is more difficult to quantify these answers
but the author reasoned that it would be useful in identifying areas that they had
not thought of themselves.
Three drafts of the questionnaire were required and reviewed with the
dissertation tutor until they seemed to have the right tone and would produce
the required information.
Another important item to consider at this stage was how the resulting data was
going to be used. The author avoided the use of leading questions in the
survey. Also the questions were graded so that easy questions were at the
beginning and it moved up the scale to harder questions. This is consistent with
(Denscombe, 2003, pg 154) where he stresses the importance of enticing in a
respondent.
Once the survey was complete and reviewed by the dissertation tutor, it was
time to conduct some pilot surveys. As (Blaxter, Hughes and Tight, 2006, pg
57
137) states "things never work quite the way you envisage, and they have a
nasty habit of turning out very differently from how you expected on occasion".
Results in the pilot survey were again encouraging with response rates
returning at approx 20-25%.
(Denscombe, 2003, pg 24) indicates that samples of "between 30 and 250
cases" are frequently used and that samples of 1000 - 2000 or even more will
in probability produce better results.
It was decided for the final sample to be representative, then 1500 survey
requests would be sent out with a predicted response rate of 300. This was
broke down into 1000 for the USA and 125 for each of Canada, Australia, New
Zealand and Argentina. The actual number of surveys sent out was
approximately 1500 and the results were 284 positive responses indicating they
would reply to the survey. However only 188 of these 284 actually responded.
This gives a response rate of 12.5%
It is also important to examine bias from non-responses, in this case 87.5%.
However the author would argue that the real non-response rate is between
those that indicated they would answer the survey and once they received it
didn't. This would be only 33%. Those that didn't respond at all may not have
been online during the period or perhaps saw the authors request as spam
(nuisance email like getting advertising leaflets in regular mail). This could be
argued to be similar to when conducting a telephone survey and the researcher
58
finds a number does not answer. In that case it would not be recorded as a "no"
response.
The author scheduled a month and a half to send out and receive back the
questionnaires. The survey was sent out during the month of August '08 and
the first two weeks of September '08. There would always be late respondents
and these could be incorporated as the rest were being analysed. The end of
September '08 was the cut off point for receipt and inclusion of all responses.
Analysing them meant making sure that they were all answered correctly and
removing any that were not.
3.3 Limitations
There was a limit on how many messages could be sent out per day by network
/ geographical area on www.facebook.com. This was to protect the author from
being identified as a spammer (nuisance emailer) and having my account
closed down. This happened on two accounts that the author set up and
resulted in a change in the anticipated number of survey that could be sent out.
Originally it was hoped that 3000 could be sent out (1 000 for the USA and 500
for each of the other four countries). However in the time allotted, fewer surveys
could be sent to the networks for Canada, Australia, New Zealand and
Argentina. In the USA each state was set-up as a separate network, however in
the others they were only set-up as a country and this restricted the number of
surveys that could be sent out per day.
59
The question of a control group was looked at in relation to this survey. The
possibility of surveying people without Irish names and asking them the same
questions was investigated. However the additional logistics involved and the
likelihood of any benefit of people with no Irish ancestry answering the survey
was deemed low.
Another limitation to consider is that questionnaires can not be checked for
honesty of the answers. In a face to face interview it may be easier to tell
whether a respondent is lying or not. However this element is present in all
interviews/questionnaires carried out that are not face to face.
Sending the questionnaire via Facebook made it difficult to control how it
looked and how it could be responded to. However this was unavoidable as it
needed to be simple so that it could be easily sent via Facebook. (Moore, pg
2000, pg 113) recommends making a questionnaire "look attractive". This was
not possible in this case. However the author did make the profile that was
used for each network as attractive as possible filling in information and
including pictures and links to sites about Ireland and about the author.
In all the responses the author received, it was only twice suggested that the
profile was a nuisance emailer or "spammer" so the profiles set up were
successful in allaying any fears.
The actual results of the survey and how it was analysed to examine both the
Irish Diaspora and respondents with jobs in the Creative Economy will be
looked at in Chapter 4.
60
CHAPTER 4
SURVEY
61
CHAPTER 4
Survey
Introduction
After the literature review the author put together a list of questions that the
author felt were applicable to the survey. The author asked the respondents
about various things the Irish Government could do to attract the Irish Diaspora
to return and recorded their responses.
4.1 Survey Questions
A copy of the survey questions are attached in Appendix A. The only changes
that were made between countries was in reference to questions that
specifically referred for example to Irish-Americans, these were changed to
Irish-Australians as required. So the same survey was sent out to respondents
in each of the countries, United States of America, Canada, Australia, New
Zealand and Argentina.
The author sent out 1500 introduction emails (See Appendix B for example of
introduction email) and from this the author received 284 responses affirming
that they would respond to the survey. However the number that actually did
respond was 1 88.
This was broke down into 117 responses from the United States of America, 22
from Canada, 8 from Australia, 19 from New Zealand and 22 from Argentina.
62
The author tabulated the results from each of the surveys in an excel
spreadsheet. The author has included copies of 5 of the completed
questionnaires in Appendix E.
From this spreadsheet the author calculated the percentage of responses to
each question and presented each visually via Pie-Charts.
4.2 Survey Results
Next the author will present the results from the survey.
First the author examined the sex ratio of the respondents?
This was calculated based on their names.
Percentage of Male / Female (Overall)
48%
52%
Q Male
D Female
Figure 1: Percentage of Male / Female (Overall)
63
This illustrates from the overall breakdown that 52% were male and 48%
female.
The first question the author asked was
1.
Are you aware that you have an Irish Surname?
Yes
No
The results for this were as follows
1. Are you aware that you have an Irish
Surname? (Overall)
2%
B Yes
D No
98%
Figure 2: Are you aware that you have an Irish Surname? (Overall)
This illustrates that the overall breakdown for this was that 98% were aware of
their Irish surname and that 2% were not aware.
64
The second question that was asked was
2. What age group are you in?
Under 18
18-25
25-30
30-35
35-45
45-55
55-65
65+
The results for this were as follows
2. What age group are you in? (Overall)
1% I
3% ' 5o/„
16%
19%
34%
H Under 18
■ 18-25
D 25-30
D 30-35
■ 35-45
D 45-55
■ 55-65
22%
Figure 3: What age group are you in? (Overall)
65
This illustrates that the results were split as follows (in descending order);
1 8-25 year olds at 34%
25-30 year olds at 22%
30-35 year olds at 1 9%
35-45 year olds at 16%
Under 18 year olds at 5%
45-55 year olds at 3%
55-65 year olds at 1 %
66
The third question that was asked was
3. Do you know what generation of your family is / was Irish Born? i.e.
Your Grand-father was born in Ireland.
You are Irish born
Yourfather(l^'Gen)
Grandfather (2"^ Gen)
Great Grandfather (3''' Gen)
Great Great Grandfather (4*'' Gen)
Great Great Great Grandfather (5*^ Gen)
Other
The results for this were as follows
67
3. Do you know what generation of your family
is / was Irisli Born? le Your Grand -fat tier was
born in Ireland. (Overall)
16%
18%
38%
n You are Irish born
■ Your father (1 st Gen)
D Grandfather (2nd Gen)
D Great Grandfather (3rd
Gen)
■ Great Great Grandfather
(4th Gen)
B Great Great Great
Grandfather (5th Gen)
■ Other
n Not specified
Figure 4: Do you know what generation of your family is / was Irish Born?
le your Grand-father was born in Ireland. (Overall)
This illustrates from the overall breakdown of ancestry that the categories were
spilt as follows;
Great Grandfather (S'"" Generation) at 38%
Great Great Grandfather (4**" Generation) at 1 8%
Grandfather (2"^^ Generation) at 16%
Not Specified at 9%
Great Great Great Grandfather (5*^ Gen) at 8%
Other at 6%
Father at 4%
Irish Born at 1%
68
The fourth question that was asked was
Have you ever been to Ireland?
Yes
No
The results for this were as follows
4. Have you ever been to Ireland? (Overall)
25%
■ Yes
bNo
75%
Figure 5: Have you ever been to Ireland? (Overall)
This illustrates from the overall breakdown, that 75% of respondents have not
been to Ireland and that 25% have.
69
The next question asked was a sub-section of question four. Wiiat was the
reason for going to Ireland?
For
Holiday / Travel
Work
Education
The results for this were as follows
4(a). Reason for going to Ireland? (Overall)
14%
n Holiday / Travel
nWork
n Education
Figure 6: Reason for going to Ireland? (Overall)
This illustrates from the above overall breakdown that 78% went to Ireland for a
Holiday / Travel, 14% was work related and 8% was related to education.
70
The fifth question that was asked was
What year were you in Ireland?
Dates ranged from 1 979 to 2008
The sixth question that was asked was
6. If you have been more than once did you notice many changes for
good or bad in the interval?
Good
Bad
Please Specify feelings
The results for this were as follows
6. If you have been more than once did you
notice many changes for good or bad in the
interval? (Overall)
27%
nGood
D Bad
73%
Figure 7: If you have been more than once did you notice many changes
for good or bad in the interval? (Overall)
71
This illustrates from the above overall breakdown, that of those that were in
Ireland more than once that 73% thought that Ireland had changed for the
better between their trips and 27% thought that Ireland had changed for the
worse.
72
The seventh question that was asked was
What are your feelings for Ireland?
Please specify
In this one the author used qualitative methods to group the answers into
Positive
Negative
Undecided
The results were as follows
7. What are yourfeelings for Ireland?
(Overall)
22% — 1
n^
]
D Positive
D Negative
V^ /
D Undecided
__-^76%
Figure 8: What are your feelings for Ireland? (Overall)
This illustrates from the above overall breakdown that 76% had positive
feelings for Ireland, 2% had negative feelings and 22% were undecided.
73
The eighth question that was asked was
8. Do you feel Ireland is your homeland?
Yes
No
8. Do you feel Ireland is your homeland? (Overall)
■ Yes
■ No
D Undecided
Figure 9: Do you feel Ireland is your homeland? (Overall)
This illustrates from the above overall breakdown that 29% thought of Ireland
as their homeland, that 63% did not think Ireland was their homeland and 9%
were undecided.
74
The ninth question asked was as follows
What do you think it means to be Irish?
In this one the author used qualitative methods to group the answers into
Positive
Negative
Undecided
Nationality / Heritage
The results for this were as follows
9. What do
15%
23% J
you think it means
(Overall)
to be Irish?
51%
a Positive
n Negative
a Undecided
D Nationality / Heritage
5% ^-—
^
Figure 10: What do you think it means to be Irish? (Overall)
This illustrates from the above overall breakdown that 57% thought being Irish
was positive, 5% thought being Irish was negative and 23% were undecided.
15% thought that being Irish was only related to nationality or heritage.
75
The tenth question that asked was
1 0. What do you think it means to be an Irish-American/ Canadian/
Australian/ New Zeaiander/ Argentine?
In this one the author used qualitative methods to group the answers into
Positive
Negative
Undecided
Ancestry / Heritage
The results for this were as follows
10. What do you think it means to be an Irish-
American, Irish-Canadian, Irish-Australian,
Irish-New Zeaiander, Irish-Argentine?
(Overall)
D Positive
D Negative
D Undecided
D Ancestry / Heritage
3%
Figure 11: What do you think it means to be an Irish-American, Irish-
Canadian, Irish-Australian, Irish-New Zeaiander, Irish Argentine? (Overall)
76
This illustrates from the above overall breakdown that 53% thought being Irish-
American, Irish-Canadian, Irish-Australian, Irish-New Zealander, Irish-Argentine
was positive, 3% thought being Irish-American, Irish-Canadian, Irish-Australian,
Irish-New Zealander, Irish-Argentine was negative and 15% were undecided.
29% thought that being Irish-America, Irish-Canadian, Irish-Australian, Irish-
New Zealander, Irish-Argentine was only related to nationality or heritage.
The eleventh question asked was as follows
1 1 . What is your current profession / do you work at?
Please Specify
From this the author used qualitative methods to decide whether these
professions/ jobs were part of the Creative economy or not.
For those that answered "student" the author took 50% of students to be
engaged in the Creative Economy and 50% not.
77
11. Could this Job/ Profession be defined as part of the
Creative Economy? (Overall)
51%
49%
B Creative Economy
D Non
Figure 12: Could this Job / Profession be defined as part of the Creative
Economy? (Overall)
This illustrates from the above of the overall breakdown that 49% were
engaged in jobs that could be described as being part of the Creative Economy
and 51% were not.
78
The twelfth question asked was as follows
12. How much do you earn per annum? Approx, this info is confidential
and will not be shared with anyone.
US$1 0,000-20,000
US$20,000-30,000
US$30,000-40,000
US$40,000-50,000
US$50,000-60,000
US$60,000-70,000
US$70,000-80,000
US$80,000-90,000
US$1 00,000+
79
The results were as follows
17%
12. How much do you earn per annum?
(Overall)
n Under US$1 0,000
■ US$1 0,000-20,000
D US$20, 000-30,000
D US$30, 000-40,000
■ US$40, 000-50,000
D US$50, 000-60,000
■ US$60, 000-70,000
D US$70, 000-80,000
■ US$80, 000-90,000
■ US$1 00,000+
D Not Specified
13%
11%
Figure 13: How much do you earn per annum? (Overall)
This illustrates from the overall breakdown above that the categories were spilt
as follows;
Not Specified - 23%
US $10,000-20,000- 17%
US $20,000-30,000- 13%
US $50,000-60,000- 11%
US $30,000-40,000 -9%
US $100,000+ -6%
US $40,000-50,000 -5%
Under $10,000 -5%
US $80,000-90,000 -4%
US $60,000-70,000 -4%
US $70,000-80,000 -3%
80
The thirteenth question asked was
1 3. What is your current commute time to work per day?
The results were as follows
D 0-15mins
13. What is your current commute time to worl< per day
(each way)? (Overall) , i5-30mins
28%
26%
D 30-45mins
D 45-60mins
■ 1hr-1hr 15mins
D 1hr 15mins - 1hr
30mins
■ IhrSO mins +
D Not specified /
Incorrectly answered
Figure 14: What is your current commute time to work per day (each
way)? (Overall)
This illustrates from the overall breakdown above that the categories were spilt
as follows;
0-15mins-28%
15-30mins-26%
Not Specified / Incorrectly answered - 21 %
30-45mins-14%
45-60mins - 5%
1 hr 1 5mins - 1 hr 30mins - 3%
1hr-1hr15mins-2%
1hr30mins + -1%
The fourteenth question asked was
14. If working in Ireland reduced your commute time would you consider
relocating because of this?
Yes
No
The results were as follows
14. If working in Ireland reduced your
commute time would you consider
relocating because of this? (Overall)
3% 140/^
D Yes
■ No
n Undecided
83%
Figure 15: If working in Ireland reduced your commute time would you
consider relocating because of this (Overall)
This illustrates from the overall breakdown above that 83% would not move to
Ireland due to a reduced commute time, 14% said they would and 3% were
undecided.
82
The next question asked was a sub-section of question fourteen.
How long would the commute time need to be to relocate?
Reduced to 1.5hr
Reduced to 1 hr
Reduced to % hr
Reduced to % hr
The results were as follows
14(a). How long would the commute time
need to be to relocate? (Overall)
5%
9%
/\n%
n Reduced to Vi hr
/ \
/ \
D Reduced to % hr
^
V^—
□ Wouldn't move for
\ /
reduced commute
V /
□ Undecided
73%^
Figure 16: How long would the commute time need to be to relocate?
(Overall)
This illustrates from the overall breakdown above that 73% would not move for
a reduced commute time, 13% said they would for a reduced time of % hour,
9% said they would for a reduced time of % hour and 5% were undecided.
83
The fifteenth question asked was as follows
15.
Bus
Car
Train
How do you currently travel to work?
On foot / bicycle
The results were as follows
15. How do you currently travel to work?
(Overall)
■ Bus
■ Car
n Train
n On foot / bicycle
■ Ferry
■ Not Specified
Figure 17: How do you currently travel to work? (Overall)
This illustrates from the overall breakdown above, that 63% travel to work by
car, 17% on foot / bicycle, 10% by bus, 6% by train and 4% did not specify.
84
The sixteenth question was as follows
16. What is your current standard of education?
High School / School
Certificate
Diploma
Degree
Masters
PhD
Other
The results were as follows
1 6. What is your current standard of
education? (Overall)
6%
4% °^°
1 — -\ 24%
■ High School / School
..^
^
■ Certificate
n Diploma
^^^
V^'*
n Degree
■ Masters
\v \/9%
nPhd
39%^
■ Other
Figure 18: What is your current standard of education (Overall)
This illustrates from the overall breakdown above, that 39% have attained a
Degree, 24% High School / School, 11% a Masters, 7% a Certificate, 6% Other
and 4% a PHD.
85
The seventeenth question was as follows
1 7. Do you have plans to further your education? What level would your
goal be?
High School / School
Certificate
Diploma
Degree
Masters
PhD
Other
The results were as follows
17. Do you have plans to further your
education? What level would your goal be?
io/„ (Overall)
r2%
r3%
18%
13%
16%
14%
33%
D High School / School
■ Certificate
n Diploma
n Degree
■ Masters
nPhd
■ Other
D No Plans
Figure 19: Do you have plans to further your education? What level would
your goal be? (Overall)
86
This illustrates from the overall breakdown above that 33% would like to attain
a Masters, 18% No Plans, 16% a PHD, 14% a Degree, 13% Other, 3%
Diploma, 2% Certificate and 1% High School / School.
The eighteenth question asked was
18.
If you answered above that you woul
d like to further
your
education.
would
you consider furthering your education
in Ireland?
Yes
No
The results were as follows
1 8. If you answered above that you would
like to further your education, would you
consider furthering your education in
Ireland? (Overall)
19%
64%
D Yes
D No
n Undecided
■ No Plans
Figure 20: If you answered above that you would like to further you
education, would you consider furthering your education in Ireland?
(Overall)
87
This illustrates from the overall breakdown above, that 64% said yes they would
like to further their education in Ireland, 19% said no, 9% had no plans to
further their education anywhere and 8% were undecided.
The nineteenth question was
1 9. Do you have an ambition to set-up your own company / expand on an
idea?
Yes
No
The results were as follows
19. Do you have an ambition to set-up your
own company /expand on an idea?
(Overall)
48%
49%
D Yes
D No
n Undecided
Figure 21 : Do you have an ambition to set-up your own company / expand
on an idea? (Overall)
88
This illustrates from the overall breakdown above, that 49% said yes they had
ambitions to start a business / expand on an idea, 48% said no and 3% were
undecided.
The twentieth question was as follows
20. If yes what area would you set-up in / your idea is in?
Please specify
From this the author used qualitative methods to decide whether these ideas
could be split into Research and Development / Creative Economy / Innovation.
The results were as follows
20. If yes, could that area be defined as part
of the Creative Economy / Research &
Development or Innovation? (Overall)
71%
29%
D R & D / Creative
Economy / Innovation
H Non
Figure 22: If yes, could that area be defined as part of the Creative
Economy / Research and Development or Innovation? (Overall)
89
This illustrates from overall breakdown above, that 29% had ideas that could be
defined as part of the Creative Economy / Research and Development or
Innovation, 71% did not.
The twenty-first question was
21 . Would you relocate to Ireland if provided a grant to help start up your
business / expand on this idea?
Yes
No
The results were as follows
21 . Would you relocate to Ireland if provided
a grant to help start up your business /
expand on this idea? (Overall)
6%
'^^
1 — \
\
D Yes
(^
\
■ No
I i
52%
/
D Undecided
29% \ / /
D No Plans
\~J.
Figure 23: Would you relocate to Ireland if provided a grant to help start
up your business / expand on this idea? (Overall)
90
This illustrates from the overall breakdown above, that 52% said yes they would
relocate to Ireland if provided a grant to help start up a business, 29% said no
to this question, 13% were undecided and 6% said they had no plans.
The twenty-second question was
22. How much of the start-up costs would you require?
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
The results were as follows
91
22. How much of the start-up costs would
you require? (Overall)
7% 4%
£
■ 30%
■ 40%
D 50%
30%^^H^V
/
D 60%
■ 70%
^^^ \ 727%
■ Not willing to relocate
^_\^
■ No Plans
10%
Figure 24: How much of the start-up costs would you require? (Overall)
This illustrates from the overall breakdown above that the categories were split
as follows and in descending order.
70% of costs - 30%
50% of costs - 50%
40% of costs -17%
60% of costs - 1 0%
No Plans - 7%
Not Willing to relocate - 5%
30% of costs - 4%
92
The twenty-third question was
23. Do you have an idea how much your total start-up cost would be?
The results varied from the realistic to the unrealistic. They ranged from $30 to
purchase make-up from an Arbonne catalog to $10 million to purchase a hotel.
93
The twenty-fourth question was
24. Would you like to learn more about Irish culture / language etc?
Yes
No
The results were as follows
24. Would you like to learn more about Irish
Culture / Language etc? (Overall)
n Yes
D No
n Undecided
96%
Figure 25: Would you like to learn more about Irish Culture / Language
etc? (Overall)
This illustrates from the overall breakdown above, that 96% of respondents said
they would like to learn more about Irish Culture / Language, 3% said no and
1% were undecided.
94
The twenty-fifth question was
25. Would you like to come to Ireland to learn about the Irish language /
culture?
Yes
No
The results were as follows
25. Would you like to come to Ireland to
learn about the Irish language /culture?
(Overall)
I Yes
I No
93%
Figure 26: Would you like to come to Ireland to learn about the Irish
language / culture? (Overall)
This illustrates from the overall breakdown above, that 93% of respondents said
they would like to come to Ireland to learn more about Irish Culture / Language
and 7% said no.
95
The twenty-sixth question was
26.
If the Irish Government sponsored your
accommodation and classes
would
you travel to Ireland to partake in them?
Yes
No
26. If the Irish Government sponsored your
accommodation and classes would you
travel to Ireland to partake in them? (Overall)
n Yes
D No
n Undecided
88%
Figure 27: If the Irish Government sponsored your accommodation and
classes would you travel to Ireland to partake in them? (Overall)
This illustrates from the overall breakdown above, that 88% of respondents said
they would travel to Ireland to partake in classes if the Irish Government paid
for classes and accommodation, 6% said no and 6% were undecided.
96
The twenty-seventh question was
27. How long do you think would be a reasonable stay in Ireland for these
classes?
2 weeks
1 month
2 months
3 months
The results were as follows
97
27. How long do you think would be a
reasonable stay in Ireland for these
classes? (Overall)
39%
24%
D 2 weeks
■ 1 month
n 2 months
n 3 months
■ More
n Undecided
■ Not Interested
17%
Figure 28: How long do you think would be a reasonable stay in Ireland
for these classes? (Overall)
This illustrates from the overall breakdown above that the categories were split
as follows and in descending order.
3 months - 39%
1 month - 24%
2 months - 1 7%
2 weeks - 1 5%
Not interested - 2%
Undecided - 2%
More - 1 %
98
The twenty-eighth question was
28.
If after these classes you
could sit
an exam
for Irish Citizensh
P,
would
you
like to complete this exam?
Yes
No
The results were as follows
28. If after these classes you could sit an
exam for Irish Citizenship, would you like to
complete this exam? (Overall)
14%
D Yes
D No
n Undecided
81%
Figure 29: If after these classes you could sit an exam for Irish
Citizenship, would you like to complete this exam? (Overall)
This illustrates from the overall breakdown above, that 81% of respondents said
they would sit an exam for Irish Citizenship as part of these classes, 14% said
no and 5% were undecided.
99
The twenty-ninth question was
29. Are you aware that Irish Citizenship confers you automatically with EU
Citizenship?
Yes
No
The results were as follows
29. Are you aware that Irish Citizenship
confers you automatically with EU
Citizenship? (Overall)
\39%
■ Yes
■ No
61 %\
y
Figure 30: Are you aware that Irish Citizenship confers you automatically
with EU Citizenship? (Overall)
This illustrates from the overall breakdown above, that 61% of respondents are
aware that Irish Citizenship confers you automatically with EU Citizenship and
39% were not.
100
The thirtieth question was
30. Would you give up your own Citizenship in return for Irish Citizenship?
Yes
No
The results were as follows
30. Would you give up your own citizenship
in return for Irish Citizenship? (Overall)
15%
10%
■ Yes
H No
n Undecided
75%
Figure 31: Would you give up your own citizenship in return for Irish
Citizenship? (Overall)
This illustrates from the overall breakdown above, that 75% of respondents said
they wound not give up their own Citizenship for Irish Citizenship, 10% said
they would and 15% were undecided.
101
The thirty-first question was
31 . Are you aware that the Irish Government allows dual-citizenship?
Yes
No
The results were as follows
31. Are you aware that the Irish Government
allows dual-citizenship? (Overall)
62%
38%
I Yes
I No
Figure 32: Are you aware that the Irish Government allows dual-
citizenship? (Overall)
This illustrates from the overall breakdown above that 38% of respondents
were aware that the Irish Government allows dual-citizenship and 62% said
they weren't aware.
102
The thirty-second question was
32. The average working week in Ireland is 39 hours per week would this
influence your decision to relocate to Ireland?
Yes
No
Wouldn't affect
The results were as follows
32. The average working week
in Ireland is
39 hours per week would this
influence
your decision to relocate to Ireland?
(Overall)
1% 13%
^
>v
nYes
(
/ w^^
dNo
\ "^"^"^^
D Wouldn't affect
69% v__ y
D Undecided
Figure 33: The average working week in Ireland is 39 hours per week
would this influence your decision to relocate to Ireland? (Overall)
This illustrates from the overall breakdown above, that 69% of respondents said
the 39 working week in Ireland would not affect their decision to relocate either
way, 13% said it would influence, 17% said no it wouldn't and 1% were
undecided.
103
The thirty-third question was
33. The Irish Government designate 20 paid holidays per year with some
employers giving up to 30 per year, would this influence your decision to
relocate to Ireland?
Yes
No
The results were as follows
33. The Irish Government designate 20 paid
holidays per year with some employers
giving up to 30 per year, would this
influence your decision to relocate to
Ireland? (Overall)
n Yes
47% B No
4Qo/a\ \ I D Undecided
Figure 34: The Irish Government designate 20 paid holidays per year with
some employers giving up to 30 per year, would this influence your
decision to relocate to Ireland? (Overall)
This illustrates from the overall breakdown above, that 47% of respondents said
that the 20 designated paid holidays per year and some employers giving more
would influence their decision to relocate to Ireland, 48% said it wouldn't and
5% were undecided.
104
The thirty-fourth question was
34(a) Would you expect to get paid more or less than at home?
The results were as follows
34(a). Would you expect to get paid more or
less than in your country of residence?
(Overall)
6% 2%
AP\
D more
240/0/ \1 \
■ less
^ 50%
nSame
^ /
D Undecided
^^
■ N/A
18% ^^^
Figure 35: Would you expect to get paid more or less than in your country
of residence (Overall)
This illustrates from the overall breakdown above that the answers split as
follows
50% - more
24% - same
1 8% - less
6% - undecided
2% - N/A
105
The thirty-fifth question was
35.
If the Irish Government were
to
provide you
with free education
would
you
consider relocating to Ireland?
Yes
No
The results were as follows
35. If the Irish G
you with free ed
relocatin(
2°/
23% /^
overnment were to provide
ucation would you consider
c| to Ireland? (Overall)
A
■ Yes
H No
D Undecided
j
___--^75%
Figure 36: If the Irish Government were to provide you with free education
would you consider relocating to Ireland? (Overall)
This illustrates from the overall breakdown above, that if the Irish government
were to provide free education would they relocate to Ireland, 75% said yes,
23% said no and 2% were undecided.
106
The thirty-six question was
36. If you took up this free education would you consider staying in Ireland
to work?
Yes
No
The results were as follows
36. If you took up this free education would
you consider staying in Ireland to work?
2%
(Overall)
2%n
1 1
12% Jl
p.^^
■ Yes
/^
\
dNo
^
■ Not interested in free
V J
education
84%
D Undecided
Figure 37: If you took up this free education would you consider staying
in Ireland to work? (Overall)
This illustrates from the overall breakdown above, that if the respondent took up
this free education would they stay in Ireland to work after graduation, 84% said
yes, 12% said no, 2%) were undecided and 2% were not interested in free
education.
107
The thirty-seventh question was
37. In return for free education do you think it would be reasonable for the
Irish Government to put a condition that you work in Ireland for X number of
years?
One Year
Two Years
Three Years
The results were as follows
37. In return for free education do you think it
would be reasonable for the Irish
Government to put a condition that you work
in Ireland forX number of years? (Overall)
19%
31%
40%,
n One Year
■ Two Years
n Three Years
n Undecided
■ Yes
■ No
Figure 38: In return for free education do you think it would be reasonable
for the Irish Government to put a condition that you work in Ireland for X
number of years? (Overall)
108
This illustrates from the overall breakdown that the author can split the
categories as below.
Two Years - 40%
One Year -31%
Three Years -19%
Not acceptable - 5%
Acceptable - 3%
Undecided - 2%
109
The thirty-eight question was
38. What other factors would influence your decision to relocate or not
relocate to Ireland?
Please specify
The results were as follows
38. What other factors would influence yo
relocate? (Overall)
ur decision to
D Family / Work for Spouse
B Healthcare
D Economic / Raid More
D Job Opportunities
B Quality of Life
D School Education for Children
B Airfare costs
D Rolitical Climate
B Accommodation
B Education for self
D aimate
D Cultural / Learning about Ireland
i(^
^\ 25%
",^
__y,^/^i7%
15%
Figure 39: What other factors would influence your decision to relocate/
(Overall)
110
This illustrates from the above that in the overall breakdown the author can split
the categories as below and in descending order of importance.
Family / Work for spouse - 25%
Economic / Paid More - 1 7%
Job Opportunities -15%
Quality of Life - 7%
Education for Self - 6%
School Education for Children - 5%
Cultural / Learning about Ireland - 5%
Airfare Costs - 4%
Political Climate - 4%
Climate - 4%
Accommodation - 4%
Healthcare - 4%
111
CHAPTER 5
CONCLUSIONS & RECOMMENDATIONS
112
CHAPTER 5
Conclusions and Recommendations
Introduction
In this section the author will analysis the responses from the survey in
conjunction with the literature review to meet the aims and objectives of the
dissertation.
5.1 Analysis & Conclusions
The distribution between sexes was 52% Male and 48% Female.
This shows that the survey represents both sexes evenly and that no significant
sexual bias can be brought against the findings. There are differences in the
split between regions but overall it is very reflective of the Irish Diaspora as a
whole.
Question 1
In this the author shows that a very significant 98% of people surveyed were
aware that they have an Irish Surname.
What is interesting is that the 2% that weren't aware of their Irish surname were
all from the USA (See Appendix C). This represented 3% of the USA
respondents.
113
This could show that Irish-Americans respondents are less concerned and have
less knowledge about their heritage than the other Diaspora respondents.
However 2% is a small factor but it is worth noting.
Question 2
In this the author shows that the main age category surveyed was 18-25 year
olds at 33%. The next category was 25-30 at 22%. This means that 55% of the
respondents were between the ages of 1 8-30.
This is the age group where people would be more likely to move to another
country because they have fewer ties to their home country. It is also the age
group where people in the Creative Class are likely to do some of their most
innovative work according to Richard Florida. Also people in this age group
have some of the most up to date skills required in high-tech Creative Sectors.
Question 3
From this the author shows that 38% of those surveyed, that their link to Ireland
was through their Great-Grandparents.
This indicates that based on the 70 million figure given for the Irish Diaspora
worldwide, that approximately 26.6 million people of Irish ancestry are only one
generation from being able to obtain an Irish passport.
By calculating a generation further to Great-Great-Grandparents the
percentage is 18%. This would indicate 12.6 million people have Irish ancestry.
114
The numbers begin to reduce going back to Great-Great-Great-Grandparents
to 8% which would indicate 5.6 million people.
This indicates that the section of people that are closest to being eligible for
Irish citizenship is also the section that has the largest number of people of Irish
descent worldwide.
This suggests that any changes to citizenship rules should be applied here.
Comparison of potential numbers of Diaspora
in each Category
o 30
§■ 25
0)
Q. 20
o 15
^ 10
o
= 5
^
■ You are Irish Born
D Grandfather
■ Great Great Grandfather
■ Other
■ Your father
D Great Grandfather
D Great Great Great Grandfather
D Not Specified
Relationship with Ireland in terms of Ancestry
Figure 40: Comparison of potential numbers of Diaspora in each category
115
Question 4
Overall visit rates from the Irish Diaspora to Ireland in this survey were only
25%.
Of this 25%, 78% came to Ireland for holiday, 14% for work and 8% for
education.
This suggests that there is still great scope to attract more tourists to Ireland
from the 75% who have yet to come here.
New strategies need to be formulated to attract 'Diaspora tourism' and leverage
this opportunity.
Question 5
The author asked what year had they been to Ireland. This question was asked
as a lead in to Question 6.
Question 6
The author asked those that had been to Ireland more than once did they
notice any changes in the interval and whether they were good or bad.
73% answered that they thought things had changed for the better between
trips to Ireland.
This indicates that the 'Celtic Tiger' has been good for Ireland when viewed
from the outside by the Irish Diaspora.
116
The next four questions (7-10) were similar and were asked to get a sense of
whether the Diaspora has positive feelings towards Ireland and whether these
feelings could be used to help attract them back.
Question 7
The author asked what the respondents feelings were for Ireland. The answers
varied considerably and so the author analysed them qualitatively and grouped
them into positive, negative and undecided.
76% answered positively about their feelings for Ireland.
This indicates that the Diaspora have a positive feeling for Ireland and this can
be used in any campaigns to attract the Diaspora back.
Question 8
In this the author asked if the respondents felt that Ireland was their homeland.
(Note this is a group of people that were not born in Ireland and only 25% had
actually been to Ireland).
Although 63% felt it wasn't their homeland a very positive 29%) felt that Ireland
was their homeland.
This indicates that Ireland is considered the 'homeland' to a high percentage of
the Diaspora. This could be used to help attract the Diaspora back to Ireland to
recharge their 'Irishness' through courses on Irish history / culture.
117
Of the 29% that consider Ireland to be their homeland, only 33% have actually
been to Ireland.
Question 9
The author asked what the respondents thought it meant to be Irish. Again the
author analysed them qualitatively and grouped them into positive, negative,
undecided and nationality.
57% thought it was positive and only 15% thought that it meant that it was only
a nationality.
Again this is positive in trying to attract the Diaspora back and the ^5% shows
that the Diaspora believe that to be Irish does not require having to be born in
Ireland.
Question 10
118
This was similar to Question 9 in that the author asked what it meant to be of
Irish ancestry. Again the author analysed them qualitatively and grouped them
into positive, negative and undecided.
53% thought it was a positive thing. This is positive in the Irish Governments
efforts in trying to attract the Diaspora back to Ireland.
Question 11
The author asked the respondents what their profession /job was. Then the
author qualitatively grouped them into Creative and Non Creative jobs
according to Richard Florida's definition (see page 16/17 Literature Review).
The overall trend is that 49% of the respondents had jobs in the Creative Class
and 51% did not.
If the author compares the percentages versus Floridas percentages (Florida,
2007, pg 136) they compare as follows.
USA - 44% in the author's survey versus 26% in Florida's survey (See
Appendix C).
Canada - 50% in the author's versus 37% in Florida's survey (See Appendix
C).
Australia - 38% in the author's survey versus 43% in Florida's survey (See
Appendix C).
119
New Zealand - 58% in the author's survey versus 39% in Florida's survey (See
Appendix C).
Argentina - 73% in the author's survey versus 27%) in Florida's survey (See
Appendix C).
Some allowance will have to be made for the likelihood that because the survey
was taken online, that internet access was required and people with internet
access are more likely to have a job linked to the Creative Economy. People in
the Creative Economy tend to earn higher wages and are more able to afford
access to the internet and have more use for the internet.
In 4 out of the 5 cases above the percentage of the Irish Diaspora involved in
work in the Creative Economy is higher than Florida's national average. Even if
the author were to reduce these figures by an allowance of 10% due to internet
access they would still be higher than the national average.
The author can also compare this with the figures that (McWilliams, 2007, pg
245) gives of "40% of Irish-Americans are either professionals or work in
management". This is closer to the figure that the authors research indicates of
44% than the 26% given as the national average by Florida.
This would suggest that the Irish Diaspora are above the national average for
workers in the majority of the countries surveyed.
120
If the author used the overall percentage of 49% based on the 70 million
estimate for the worldwide Diaspora population, this would give 34.3 million
Creative Economy workers of Irish descent worldwide.
If the author were to allow for the internet bias by taking 1 0% off of the
percentage to give 39% this would still be a figure of 27.3 million people. In the
scheme of things both are very significant numbers from which the Irish
Economy could benefit if it was successful in attracting back even a fraction of
them.
(Coleman, 2007, pg 12) gives a comfortable density of people that Ireland can
handle as 8.8 million. If the author takes the 2008 population as being 4.4
million this means that Ireland could potentially hold an additional 4.4 million of
the Diaspora in Ireland.
This of course is very unlikely so for instance if Ireland aimed to only attract
back less than a quarter or 1 million. That is only 2%) of the high figure for the
Creative Class in the Diaspora Worldwide above or 3% of the low figure.
The next questions analyse the attractions that Ireland can offer to the
Diaspora.
121
Question 12
The author asked the respondents what there current level of pay was.
The answers for this were inconclusive as 23% opted not to answer (due to
privacy reasons).
If the author were to take the average industrial wage in Ireland as (CSO, 2006)
€32,471 and equate this to dollars $41 ,725 (Taken mid-October 2008
€1:$1.284)
This would mean that overall, 44% of the Diaspora are earning less than this
according to the respondents.
Therefore (not taking into account relative costs of living) wages in Ireland
would be attractive to at least 44% of the Diaspora worldwide.
The author can also see that 47% of the Diaspora in Argentina are earning less
than this threshold and the other 53% opted not to answer (Appendix C). This
may be a sector of the Diaspora that could be easily attracted based on the
higher wages available in Ireland. Similarly 58% of the Diaspora in New
Zealand answered that they earn less than the average industrial wage in
Ireland above and so this may also be a way to attract these members of the
Diaspora (Appendix C).
122
Question 13
The author asked the respondents what their average commute is to work each
day.
The author found that 28% of respondent's commute times are less than 15
minutes each way and 26% are between 15 and 30 minutes. This means that
54% are less than 30 minutes each way per day.
The average commuting time in Ireland is 39 minutes (Eurofound, 2002).
This would suggest that Ireland doesn't have much to offer the Diaspora in
terms of reduced commuting times to work and so this is an area that can not
be used as an attraction.
Question 14
The author asked the respondents would they move to Ireland if their commute
time was reduced.
83% said they wouldn't move only to reduce their commute time.
As Question 13 shows Ireland's average commute times are longer than the
majority of the Diaspora so this is not an area to target.
123
There was a subsection to Question 14 asking what time would the
respondents commute need to be reduced by, to move. 13% said less than 30
minutes and 9% said less than 15 minutes.
However it is not applicable after the vast majority said they would not move
only for reasons of commuting.
Question 15
The author asked how people travelled to work.
63% said by car and 1 7% on foot / bicycle.
With Irelands high levels of car usage, the majority of the Diaspora would find
this similar to their home countries. It is not likely to either attract or deflect the
Diaspora from returning to Ireland.
Question 16
The respondents were asked what their current level of education is.
The author found that 39% had Degrees with 1 1 % having a Masters and 4%
having PhDs.
This shows that the Diaspora are very talented academically. The author also
found that this is in line with (McWilliams, 2007, pg 245) statistics for Irish-
124
Americans "31% have bachelor's degrees or higher." Again if perhaps the
author allows 10% for the fact that the survey was conducted over the internet
and thus required internet access. This will be in line with McWilliams's
percentage.
This means that by attracting back members of the Diaspora, Ireland could
improve the educational qualifications and talents of the Country "for free"
because Ireland and its taxpayers haven't had to pay for these people to be
educated.
Question 17
The respondents were asked whether they wanted to further their education
and if so, what level they would like to achieve.
33%) said they would like to achieve a Masters and 16%) said they would like to
achieve a PhD. A further 14% said they would like to attain a Degree.
This shows that 63% of the Diaspora have ambitions to attain qualifications and
talents that economically are highly sought after by any economy.
This means that the Diaspora is actually in the process of educating itself
further and it is a question of whether they up-skill and benefit their own current
country of residence or whether Ireland can help them up-skill and share in
some of the benefits.
125
Question 18
The author then asked whether they would consider furthering their education
in Ireland.
Without the offer of any incentives, 64% said they would be interested in
furthering their education in Ireland.
This is very promising because if they come to Ireland to study, a significant
percentage will stay to live and work in Ireland (as per page 41/42 Literature
Review). It will also help improve our Research and Development capabilities,
bringing students over with fresh ideas and approaches creating a
"heterogeneous" mix which is desirable.
The next five questions are linked together and survey the Diaspora on their
plans to set-up their own businesses.
Question 19
The author asked did the respondent have an ambition to set-up a company or
expand on an idea.
49% said that they did.
126
Question 20
The author then asked what area it would be in. The author then qualitatively
grouped them together according to whether they were related to the Creative
Economy / Research and Development or Innovation.
The author found that 29% of the ideas listed could be described as part of the
Creative Economy / Research and Development or Innovation.
Question 21
The author then asked would they relocate to Ireland if offered a grant to help
with their above idea.
52% said they would relocate to Ireland if offered grant aid. (The level of aid is
referred to in Question 22).
This shows that the Diaspora have ideas that are new and innovative. If offered
assistance to develop these ideas, they would move to Ireland to fulfil their
ambitions to the benefit of the Irish Economy.
These ideas and their applications would then benefit the Irish Economy.
127
Question 22
In this question the author asked what percentage of the start-up costs they
would require to relocate to Ireland.
50% said they would require 50% of the costs, with 30% saying they would
require 70% of the costs.
Question 23
The author then asked did they have any idea of the start-up costs.
Here the figures varied widely and most probably many respondents didn't
have a firm estimate. Therefore if grants were to be offered they would need to
undergo a business case review process in line with current grant schemes.
Proper business plans etc would have to be put together. This of course should
also be open to indigenous businesses too. Competition between both
indigenous and Diaspora ideas would only improve the innovation and
businesses / products produced.
The next three questions were linked to the idea about bringing people over to
Gaeltacht style colleges.
128
Question 24
The author first asked if they would like to learn more about Irish culture /
language.
96% said they would like to learn more about Irish culture / language.
Question 25
The author then asked if they would come to Ireland to study Irish culture /
language.
93% said they would like to come to Ireland to study Irish culture / language.
Question 26
The author then asked if classes and accommodation were free, would they
come to Ireland to go to them.
88% said they would come to Ireland to study if classes and accommodation
were free.
These three questions show a real interest from the Diaspora in Irish culture
and history. Even if this quantity of people came to Ireland to study for a few
weeks in a Gaeltacht style structure, the benefit in terms of revenue spent by
these students to the Irish Economy would be significant. Taking the lowest
129
figure of 88% above, this indicates (based on the 70 million estimate) 61 .6
million people would have an interest in coming to Ireland to learn about Irish
culture.
(Tourism Ireland, 2006) shows that 8.7 million tourists visited Ireland in 2006,
spending €4.2 billion. That is an average of €482 per person. This includes 5
million trips from United Kingdom so in fact if you factor in air transport for the
Diaspora the revenue per person is probably far higher. If the whole 61 .6 million
came to Ireland over say the next 20-30 years this would be a potential €29.6
billion to the economy or say for 30 years at 2 million people a year, €0.94
billion to the Irish Economy per year. Of course the money generated from this
could be far greater depending on the length of stay for the course. Based on
the 2006 figure for total tourism of €4.2 billion this would be an additional 22%
spent by tourists in Ireland.
Question 27
The author then asked how long the respondents thought would be reasonable
to stay in Ireland for the classes.
39% said 3 months and 24% said 1 month. If the author took the revenue
generated in question 26 of €482 per tourist, it is likely that this is based on a
two week stay in Ireland.
130
As an example for a 3 month period the author took revenue of €2892 per stay
by 2 million per year the revenue increases to €5.64 billion per year. Therefore
the likely revenue would range between €1 billion and €5.6 billion per year.
The author will deal with the costs of running these Gaeltachts in the
Recommendations section. (Examining the possibility of free classes but then
charging at completion for the citizenship test)
Question 28
The author then asked if after completing these classes the respondent would
be interested in completing an exam for Irish Citizenship.
The author found in this situation that after completing the above course 81% of
the respondents would sit this exam and apply for Irish Citizenship.
As a prerequisite for taking part in the course a student (of whatever age) must
have first showed that they have some Irish ancestry. This is another
opportunity to generate revenue as the state could employ its own genealogists
to trace this ancestry. It could be either at a cost or not depending on where the
costs of the course are taken from.
Therefore for example you were 5"^ Generation Irish and you could prove that
you had this connection to Ireland, then after completing the course you could
sit an exam for Irish Citizenship.
131
It would help the Diaspora to become Irish citizens if they felt that way and also
educate them in what it means to be Irish. Thus hopefully attracting them to
come to Ireland or at least put Ireland first as a trading partner.
Question 29
The author asked are you aware that Irish Citizenship also gives you EU
Citizenship?
Only 39% were aware of this.
This is an area that Ireland needs to promote to the Diaspora. Tolerance is an
important quality that helps attract members of the Creative Class according to
Florida's theories on the Creative Economy. Europe and especially Northern
Europe has a reputation for being liberal and respecting diversity and creativity.
(Florida, 2007, pg 151) rates Sweden, Denmark, Netherlands and Norway as
the top four countries worldwide in Florida's Global Tolerance Index and 8 out
of the top 10 countries are members of the European Union.
It also would give members of the Diaspora that attain Irish Citizenship, the
option of working in any part of the EU. It is also possible that similarly to the
idea of by studying in Ireland they may become a trading partner (as per page
41/42 Literature Review). As Ireland has helped with this opportunity (to work in
the EU) it would place Ireland at the top of the list in terms of countries to trade.
132
Question 30
The author asked the respondents would they give up their own citizenship in
return for Irish citizenship.
75% said they would not. However 10% said they would, showing their level of
commitment to being Irish. What was interesting to note was that 24% of
respondents from Argentina said they would give up their own citizenship in
return for Irish Citizenship (Appendix C). This illustrates the strong allegiance to
Ireland among the Irish-Argentines.
Question 31
The author asked the respondents were they aware that Ireland allows dual-
citizenship.
62% said they were not aware of this.
Irish Government agencies need to get this message across clearer and with
better visibility. During the survey process the author found that many
respondents of Irish ancestry that were eligible for Irish citizenship were
unaware of this fact.
133
Question 32
The author asked if the working and holiday entitlements in Ireland would
influence their decision to return to Ireland.
69% said that the working conditions described as a 39 hour week wouldn't
affect their decision. 13% said yes it would.
This shows that according to the respondents that Irelands working hours are
not sufficiently different to the working hours in their own countries to attract the
majority to Ireland. So according to this survey this is not an area worth
highlighting. Alternatively it could suggest that the respondents were hard-
working and therefore worked on average more than 39 hours per week and
did not find this to be a problem.
Question 33
The author asked if the 20 paid state holidays or the increased entitlements of
30 days holidays that some employers optionally give would influence their
decision to move to Ireland.
48% said no it wouldn't, however 47% said that yes it would.
So perhaps this could be an attraction that could be highlighted to help bring
back some of the Diaspora to Ireland. The results are consistent with the level
of entitlements in each country (USA getting the least amount).
134
Predictably enough the breakdown for the USA is 52% saying yes it would it
would influence their decision. While the other countries the "no" answer is in
the majority.
Question 34
The author asked if the respondents would expect to get paid more, less or the
same if they came to Ireland to work.
50% said they expected to be paid more and 24% said the same as they are
currently earning.
Question 1 3 shows that 44%) of those surveyed earn less than the national
industrial wage.
This suggests that even though 50%) said they expected to be paid more to
come to Ireland, that at least in 44% of cases this would be possible.
Question 35
The author asked the respondents if the Irish Government offered free
education would they study in Ireland. This is similar to Question 16 except that
the Irish Government is providing an incentive.
75% said that yes they would.
135
(Florida, 2007, pg 148)" "Our idea is to get the best people to the universities"
said Nina Leemans, the London based director of the German Academic
Exchange Service or DAAD. "We hope that students from today will be our
partners tomorrow" she added. "If they go back to their home countries and go
into business, Germany will be the first port of call for their career."
This quote shows that even if the members of the Diaspora who are offered
free education do not stay in Ireland to work that Ireland still will benefit and so
in the medium and long term the investment in education pays off.
Question 36
The author asked if the respondent came to Ireland for free education would
they consider staying to work.
84% said that they would consider it; this shows that they would repay their free
education by providing their talents for the benefit of the Irish Economy. It also
shows that arguments about the return of investment of free education for the
Diaspora are unfounded because it should pay itself back through the talent
and taxes these graduates provide. This is without highlighting the indirect
benefits as per Question 35 above of trade etc. It will be self-financing in the
long-term.
136
Question 37
The author asked the respondents if the Irish Government provided free
education, in return how many years could they stipulate that the student would
have to work in Ireland to pay for the free education.
40% felt that two years would be fairest and another 31% felt one year.
Therefore from the survey it suggests a condition that they had to work
between one and two years seems to be fair.
However 84% of the respondents said they would consider remaining to work in
Ireland of their own accord, it suggests that the free education could be
provided without any conditions.
Question 38
In this question the author asked what other factors would influence their
decision to return to Ireland.
The author had to group these qualitatively and found the three main factors to
be
25% Family / Work for spouse
17% Economic/ Paid More
15% Job Opportunities
137
Missing their family and friends is the one main factor that the Irish government
has no control over. The Irish Government can ensure that Ireland has the best
communication technology for contacting their families inexpensively. Also the
cost of airfares was listed at 4% and perhaps this and the family factor could be
combined to make sure that Ireland is a cheap place to travel to.
The next two factors (Economic and Job Opportunities) the Irish Government
can influence. In aligning Ireland as a Creative Economy and putting in place
measures at attracting the Diaspora back to Ireland the government should
ensure that there is jobs growth in the Irish Economy. It is then a self-fulfilling
scenario as the members of the Diaspora with Creative Talents come back to
Ireland, they help create jobs and a culture of tolerance and this in turn attracts
more Creative Class members to Ireland.
138
5.2 Recommendations
The author has shown that jobs in the Creative Economy are growing; therefore
it should be an area that Ireland invests in and stimulates.
The Irish Government can help do this by attracting back members of the Irish
Diaspora worldwide.
The author outlines below areas where they can be attracted back and how
Ireland can help them as follows:
Offer of Citizenship -
An offer of citizenship will attract the Diaspora back to Ireland and work in
conjunction with other attractions as described in section 5.2.
From Question 3 of the survey the author shows that in 38% of those surveyed,
their genealogical link to Ireland was through their Great-Grandparents.
This indicates that the majority of the Diaspora are also the closest in terms of
qualifying for Irish Citizenship.
The author recommends allowing this group of the largest amount of the Irish
Diaspora the chance to apply for Irish Citizenship and that the Irish Citizenship
laws are extended by one generation more than currently applicable.
This could be done in a number of ways, either directly by proving one has an
Irish Great Grandparent or indirectly by extending the foreign birth register to
allow Irish people born abroad to be registered as Irish at any time not just at
birth (this is the current situation).
139
This would mean that if a person was truly endeavouring to get citizenship but
was one generation too late under current requirements, they could get their
parent for example to take out Irish citizenship (through the normal route) and
that it could be passed on to them by registering them as a foreign birth.
Ireland could also offer a path to citizenship by people that complete the
Gaeltacht courses. 81% of those surveyed said they would take a test for Irish
Citizenship after completion of the Gaeltacht course.
The author recommends both of these solutions as a way to attract the
Diaspora back to Ireland.
Education -
Provide Free Education to ttie Iristi Diaspora
In Question 17 the author found that the Irish Diaspora are well educated. In
Question 18 we show that the majority (63%) wish to further their education and
without offer of any incentives 64%) said they would consider furthering their
education in Ireland. Every effort should be made to market Irish Universities in
Diaspora countries. For example Trinity College Dublin recently was ranked
number 49 in the top universities in the world (RTE.ie, 2008).
Question 1 1 shows that there seems to be a higher than average number of the
Creative Class in the Irish Diaspora than in the national average for the
countries they live in. This shows that attracting the Diaspora back to Ireland
will benefit the skill and talent levels of the Irish Economy.
140
Free education should be provided to members of the Irish Diaspora, 75% of
those surveyed said they would come to Ireland for free education. 84% said
they would consider staying on to work in Ireland after graduation. This is a
good return in terms of investment in free education. The author has also
shown that even if they do go back to their home countries that it is likely that
due to their stay in Ireland they will contact Irish companies in preference in
terms of trade.
Grants for Research and Development / Starting New Companies -
Providing grants to ttie most innovative members of ttie Diaspora will attract
them to set up their companies in Ireland
In questions 19-23 the author examined the entrepreneurial spirit of the
Diaspora. The author found that by offering grants to help set up businesses in
Ireland, 52% would move to Ireland. More significantly 29%) of the respondents
wanted to set up in areas that could be classed as Research and Development
or in the Creative Economy. This would shift grant money away from the
company level to the individual level.
Irish Government grant aid needs to be marketed abroad in conjunction with
other measures to help attract members of the Creative Class to Ireland.
Companies that receive grant aid are more likely to move to lower cost
economies than people.
141
Teaching Irish Culture to create an awareness of an Irish Homeland/
Nation -
This will attract the Diaspora to Ireland to study and will benefit Ireland through
the revenue it produces in the short-term when they are studying but also in the
long term through trade and a feeling of "Irishness".
Next the author looked at connecting the Diaspora with their "Irishness" through
the setting up of courses or extending of the Gaeltachts.
The positive response to these courses was very high. This seems to be the
area in the survey that most of Diaspora were interested in.
The author recommends the creation of these courses to help instil a sense of
"Irishness" in members of the Irish Diaspora. Using the example of Israel (as
per page 43/44 Literature Review) it should encourage members of the
Diaspora to come to Ireland permanently or help form trade and networking
partnerships with their home countries.
The history and authenticity which is important in attracting the Creative Class
to an area can also be highlighted in these Gaeltacht classes. Also tolerance
and inclusiveness should be promoted as part of these classes generally and to
help attract members of the Creative Class.
These courses could be provided for free as the author shows that they would
bring revenue during their stay through the disposable income of the students.
Costings should be done on what is the most effective to run these courses.
Options include;
Student pays for course, accommodation, flights and living expenses
142
student pays for accommodation, flights and living expenses
Student pays for flights and living expenses only (this was the offer described in
the survey)
If there was no fee for the course and accommodation there could be a fee to
take the exam for Irish citizenship. This would help recoup some of the cost and
also help identify those that are serious about becoming an Irish Citizen.
The cost of running the courses could be kept down by negotiating with the
teachers unions in Ireland to provide staff for these courses at low costs.
The pilot schemes for these courses could be run during the summer months
when schools would be available for free (excluding running costs). It should be
examined whether these classes would be year round or only during the
summer months.
Availability of Housing
Cheap housing in comparison to where the Diaspora currently live, will help
attract them to Ireland. The oversupply of housing in Ireland currently could be
used to accommodate the Diaspora during the Gaeltacht classes and help
stabilise the housing market.
With the current oversupply in the housing market the Irish Government could
rent some of the better housing and use it as accommodation for the Gaeltacht
courses. The rent would aim to be at a level that would not fuel inflation in
property prices. This would help in stabilising the market.
143
Housing prices should be allowed to find their own market level. Having
reasonable housing prices will in itself help attract the Diaspora back to Ireland.
If housing prices are in line or lower than in Diaspora countries then this would
obviously be an attraction for people.
Marketing of all the above
(Better working conditions re working liours and benefits) / (Quality of Life /
Facilities) / (Economic Opportunities)
Marketing of the various ways of attracting the Diaspora back to Ireland is very
important.
Question 4 shows that only 25% of the people surveyed have actually been to
Ireland. This shows that with more marketing there is a vast pool of the
Diaspora that could be attracted to Ireland for tourism.
Questions 5-10 show that the Diaspora have a very positive view of Ireland.
This needs to be maintained and improved upon so that this remains the case.
29% believe that Ireland is their homeland. This shows that with the right
incentives the Diaspora could realise their wish to return to Ireland.
With such a large target pool of people (potentially 75% of 70 million people or
52.5 million) it represents an opportunity with a small investment to attract
higher numbers of the Diaspora back to Ireland for holidays. The author
recommends more funding to Irish tourism marketing abroad in that the returns
should far outweigh the investment.
144
Questions 29 & 31 show that better marketing must be done to show that dual
citizenship is allowed in Ireland and that being Irish allows free access to the
EU.
The Quality of Life in Ireland such as additional holidays (which were flagged as
being important by the Diaspora (Question 33)) needs to be communicated to
the Diaspora.
The image of Ireland as a tolerant and inclusive country must be conveyed to
the Diaspora.
Outdoor facilities and street-level culture which are very important to the
Creative Class must also be highlighted (as per page 24/25 Literature Review).
In terms of pay levels, the average industrial wage in Ireland is higher than 44%
of those surveyed. This would suggest that wages are an area that Ireland
could highlight to try and attract members of the Diaspora to Ireland. Ireland
could particularly concentrate on the countries of Argentina and New Zealand
where greater numbers of those surveyed are earning below the average
industrial wage in Ireland.
This could all be done through a new Diaspora website. This would be set-up to
handle tourism and information on the various schemes set up to attract the
Diaspora back to Ireland. It would have to be dynamic and an information one
stop shop.
The author includes a summary of the main survey findings and
recommendations from these findings in the next section.
145
5.3
SUMMARY OF RECOMMENDATIONS
1. OFFER OF CITIZENSHIP
38% of Diaspora's Genealogical link to Ireland is through
Great Grandparents.
38% is potentially 26.6 million of the Diaspora.
Therefore the majority of the Diaspora would be offered
Irish Citizenship by extending citizenship back one
generation.
Citizenship could also be attained by completing the
Gaeltacht course.
81% said they would complete an exam for Irish Citizenship
on completion of the course.
2. EDUCATION
63% wish to further their education.
64% would further their education in Ireland.
75% would come to Ireland to study in return for
free education
84% would consider staying in Ireland to study post free college
Studies suggest that people that study abroad will give that
country preference in terms of trading etc in business life post
graduation.
The offer of free education would attract back the Diaspora
and strengthen links for trading with Diaspora countries.
3. GRANTS FOR RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT /
STARTING NEW COMPANIES
52% would move to Ireland if offered grants to help in
research and development/ setting up a company.
29% had ideas to set up in areas of the Creative
Economy.
Competition for grant money between indigenous and
Diaspora members will lead to the most competitive use
of grant money.
Grants shifting away from companies to creative individuals.
Individuals are less likely to move to another country based
on cost.
4. TEACHING IRISH CULTURE TO CREATE AN
AWARENESS OF AN IRISH HOMELAND / NATION
96% would like to learn more about Irish Culture / Language.
93% would like to come to Ireland to study Irish Culture /
language.
88% would come to Ireland if free classes and
accommodation were offered.
Gaeltacht style courses would benefit Ireland in the:
Short-Term through the revenue generated by these
Students
Long-Term by creating a sense of Irishness that would
benefit Ireland through members of the Diaspora returning
to Ireland to live permanently and through trade and
networking when these Students enter business life.
5. AVAILABILITY OF HOUSING
Current falling prices in the property market will make
Ireland more attractive to the Diaspora.
The oversupply in the housing market makes it possible
for the Irish Government to rent accommodation at low
prices.
Therefore Ireland can use this accommodation to house
the Diaspora that are partaking in Irish courses cheaply and
At the same time help with the current housing crisis.
6. MARKETING
Only 39% are aware that Irish Citizenship also gives EU
Citizenship.
Only 28% are aware that Ireland allows dual citizenship.
Only 25% of Diaspora surveyed have been to Ireland.
This presents an opportunity to attract more of the Diaspora
to Ireland through greater marketing.
A marketing campaign is important to highlight all the
Attractions that Ireland has for the Diaspora.
146
BIBLIOGRAPHY
147
Bibliography
Barret, A (2008) Effects of Slump on Immigration,
http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/finance/2008/0926/1222357357241.html
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Berkshire, UK, Open University Press
Coleman, M. (2007), The Best is Yet to Come, First Edition, Dublin, Ireland,
Blackhall Publishing
Coogan, T-P. (2000) Wherever Green Is Worn - The Story of the Irish
Diaspora, Second Edition, UK, Arrow Books
Coonen, C. (2008) Dragon under Fire
http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/innovation/2008/0714/1215725808009.ht
ml
CSO, (2006) Manufacturing Industries - Average weekly earnings of industrial
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http://www.cso.ie/statistics/indearnings.htm
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CSO (2008) Population and Labour Force Projections 2011-2041, Cork,
Ireland, Government Publications
Denscombe, M. (2003), The Good Research Guide for small-scale social
research projects. Second Edition, Berkshire, UK, Open University Press
Eurofound, (2002) Better childcare and public transport seen as vital for work-
life balance.
http://www.eurofound.europa.eu/eiro/2002/07/feature/ie0207202f.htm
Florida, R. (2002), The Rise of the Creative Class... and how it is transforming
work, leisure, community and everyday life. First Edition, New York, USA, Basic
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where to live the most important decision of your life. First Edition, New York,
USA, Basic Books
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http://www.irelandroots.com
149
McWilliams, D. (2007) The Generation Game, First Edition, Cornwaii, UK,
MPG Books Ltd.
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Employment - http://www.oecd.org/dataoecd/34/42/35205504.pdf
Patterson, B (2002) The Irish in New Zealand : historical contexts and
perspectives, Victoria University of Wellington Stout Research Centre for New
Zealand Studies, Victoria University of Wellington, 2002
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48b7-9aa8-1 add5b1 55a55
150
APPENDICES
151
APPENDIX A
152
APPENDIX A
All information is strictly confidential and if you don't feel comfortable
answering any question feel free to leave it blank.
In the case of a yes/no answer put an x beside it or delete the one that is not
appropriate.
1 . Are you aware that you have an Irish Surname?
Yes
No
2. What age group are you in?
Under 18
18-25
25-30
30-35
35-45
45-55
55-65
65+
153
3. Do you know what generation of your family is / was Irish Bom? ie
Your Grand-father was born in Ireland.
You are Irish born
Yourfather(l^'Gen)
Grandfather (2"^ Gen)
Great Grandfather (3''' Gen)
Great Great Grandfather (4*'' Gen)
Great Great Great Grandfather (5*^ Gen)
Other
4. Have you ever been to Ireland?
Yes
No
For
Holiday / Travel
Work
Education
154
5.
What year were you in Ireland?
6.
If you have been more than once did
you
notice
many changes
for
good or bad in the interval?
Good
Bad
Please
specify feelings
7.
What are your feelings for Ireland?
Please
specify
8. Do you feel Ireland is your homeland?
Yes
No
155
What do you think it means to be Irish?
1 0. What do you think it means to be an Irish-American?
1 1 . What is your current profession / do you work at?
Please Specify
12. How much do you earn per annum? Approx, this info is confidential
and will not be shared with anyone.
US$1 0,000-20,000
US$20,000-30,000
US$30,000-40,000
US$40,000-50,000
US$50,000-60,000
US$60,000-70,000
US$70,000-80,000
US$80,000-90,000
US$1 00,000+
156
1 3. What is your current commute time to work per day?
14. If working in Ireland reduced your commute time would you consider
relocating because of this?
Yes
No
How long would the commute time need to be to relocate?
Reduced to 1.5hr
Reduced to 1 hr
Reduced to % hr
Reduced to % hr
1 5. How do you currently travel to work?
Bus
Car
Train
On foot / bicycle
157
16. What is your current standard of education?
High School / School
Certificate
Diploma
Degree
Masters
Phd
Other
1 7. Do you have plans to further your education? What level would your
goal be?
High School / School
Certificate
Diploma
Degree
Masters
Phd
Other
158
1 8. If you answered above that you would like to further your education,
would you consider furthering your education in Ireland?
Yes
No
1 9. Do you have an ambition to set-up your own company / expand on an
idea?
Yes
No
20. If yes what area would you set-up in / your idea be in?
Please specify
21 . Would you relocate to Ireland if provided a grant to help start up your
business / expand on this idea?
Yes
No
159
22. How much of the start-up costs would you require?
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
23. Do you have an idea how much your total start-up cost would be?
24. Would you like to learn more about Irish culture / language etc?
Yes
No
25. Would you like to come to Ireland to learn about the Irish language /
culture?
Yes
No
160
26. If the Irish Government sponsored your accommodation and classes
would you travel to Ireland to partake in them?
Yes
No
27. How long do you think would be a reasonable stay in Ireland for these
classes?
2 weeks
1 month
2 months
3 months
28. If after these classes you could sit an exam for Irish Citizenship, would
you like to complete this exam?
Yes
161
No
29. Are you aware that Irish Citizenship confers you automatically with EU
Citizenship?
Yes
No
30. Would you give up your US Citizenship in return for Irish Citizenship?
Yes
No
31 . Are you aware that the Irish Government allows dual-citizenship?
Yes
No
32. The average working week in Ireland is 39 hours per week would this
influence your decision to relocate to Ireland?
Yes
No
Wouldn't affect
162
33. The Irish Government designate 20 paid holidays per year with some
employers giving up to 30 per year, would this influence your decision to
relocate to Ireland?
Yes
No
34. What level of pay would you expect for relocating to Ireland?
Would you expect to get paid more or less than in America?
35. If the Irish Government were to provide you with free education would
you consider relocating to Ireland?
Yes
No
36. If you took up this free education would you consider staying in Ireland
to work?
Yes
No
163
37. In return for free education do you think it would be reasonable for the
Irish Government to put a condition that you work in Ireland for X number of
years?
One Year
Two Years
Three Years
38. What other factors would influence your decision to relocate or not
relocate to Ireland?
Please specify
164
APPENDIX B
165
APPENDIX B
Hi there, sorry for this unsolicited mail. I'm an Irish student currently doing a project
for my Masters in Planning in Development in Dublin Institute of Technology, here in
Ireland.
The basic idea of this project is based on Irish-Americans and whether they would
be interested in returning to live to Ireland and what the Irish government could do to
attract them.
Ideas of mine include Irish citizenship to anyone that can prove they have an Irish
ancestor.
I've noted that you have a very Irish sounding surname and was hoping you might
be able to answer a questionnaire that I have put together.
Could you please reply if you are interested? I'll send it on, can't see it taking more
than 10 mins.
All information will be strictly confidential.
Thanks
Derek Ryan
166
APPENDIX C
167
FIGURES AND TABLES
Figure 40: Percentage of Male / Female (USA)
Figure 41 : Percentage of Male / Female (Canada)
Figure 42: Percentage of Male / Female (Australia)
Figure 43: Percentage of Male / Female (NZ)
Figure 44: Percentage of Male / Female (Argentina)
Figure 45: Are you aware that you have an Irish Surname? (USA)
Figure 46: Are you aware that you have an Irish Surname? (Canada)
Figure 47: Are you aware that you have an Irish Surname? (Australia)
Figure 48: Are you aware that you have an Irish Surname? (NZ)
Figure 49: Are you aware that you have an Irish Surname? (Argentina)
Figure 50: What age group are you in? (USA)
Figure 51 : What age group are you in? (Canada)
Figure 52: What age group are you in? (Australia)
Figure 53: What age group are you in? (NZ)
Figure 54: What age group are you in? (Argentina)
Figure 55: Do you know what generation of your family is / was Irish Born? le your Grand-father was born in Ireland.
(USA)
Figure 56: Do you know what generation of your family is / was Irish Born? le your Grand-father was born in Ireland.
(Canada)
Figure 57: Do you know what generation of your family is / was Irish Born? le your Grand-father was born in Ireland.
(Australia)
Figure 58: Do you know what generation of your family is / was Irish Born? le your Grand-father was born in Ireland.
(NZ)
Figure 59: Do you know what generation of your family is / was Irish Born? le your Grand-father was born in Ireland.
(Argentina)
Figure 60: Have you ever been to Ireland? (USA)
Figure 61 : Have you ever been to Ireland? (Canada)
Figure 62: Have you ever been to Ireland? (Australia)
Figure 63: Have you ever been to Ireland? (NZ)
Figure 64: Have you ever been to Ireland? (Argentina)
Figure 65: Reason for going to Ireland? (USA)
Figure 66: Reason for going to Ireland? (Canada)
Figure 67: Reason for going to Ireland? (Australia)
Figure 68: Reason for going to Ireland? (NZ)
168
Figure 69: Reason for going to Ireland? (Argentina)
Figure 70: If you have been more tlian once did you notice many changes (USA)
Figure 71 : If you have been more than once did you notice many changes (Canada)
Figure 72: If you have been more than once did you notice many changes (Australia)
Figure 73: If you have been more than once did you notice many changes (NZ)
Figure 74: If you have been more than once did you notice many changes (Argentina)
Figure 75: What are your feelings for Ireland? (USA)
Figure 76: What are your feelings for Ireland? (Canada)
Figure 78: What are your feelings for Ireland? (Australia)
Figure 79: What are your feelings for Ireland? (NZ)
Figure 80: What are your feelings for Ireland? (Argentina)
Figure 81 : Do you feel Ireland is your homeland? (USA)
Figure 82: Do you feel Ireland is your homeland? (Canada)
Figure 83: Do you feel Ireland is your homeland? (Australia)
Figure 84: Do you feel Ireland is your homeland? (NZ)
Figure 85: Do you feel Ireland is your homeland? (Argentina)
Figure 86: What do you thinl< it means to be Irish? (USA)
Figure 87: What do you think it means to be Irish? (Canada)
Figure 88: What do you think it means to be Irish? (Australia)
Figure 89: What do you think it means to be Irish? (NZ)
Figure 90: What do you think it means to be Irish? (Argentina)
Figure 91: What do you think it means to be an Irish-American, Irish-Canadian, Irish-Australian, Irish-New Zealander,
Irish Argentine? (USA)
Figure 92: What do you think it means to be an Irish-American, Irish-Canadian, Irish-Australian, Irish-New Zealander,
Irish Argentine? (Canada)
Figure 93: What do you think it means to be an Irish-American, Irish-Canadian, Irish-Australian, Irish-New Zealander,
Irish Argentine? (Australia)
Figure 94: What do you think it means to be an Irish-American, Irish-Canadian, Irish-Australian, Irish-New Zealander,
Irish Argentine? (NZ)
Figure 95: What do you think it means to be an Irish-American, Irish-Canadian, Irish-Australian, Irish-New Zealander,
Irish Argentine? (Argentina)
Figure 96: Could this Job / Profession be defined as part of the Creative Economy? (USA)
Figure 97: Could this Job / Profession be defined as part of the Creative Economy? (Canada)
Figure 98: Could this Job / Profession be defined as part of the Creative Economy? (Australia)
Figure 99: Could this Job / Profession be defined as part of the Creative Economy? (NZ)
169
Figure 100: Could this Job / Profession be defined as part of the Creative Economy? (Argentina)
Figure 1 01 : How much do you earn per annum? (USA)
Figure 102: How much do you earn per annum? (Canada)
Figure 103: How much do you earn per annum? (Australia)
Figure 104: How much do you earn per annum? (NZ)
Figure 105: How much do you earn per annum? (Argentina)
Figure 106: What is your current commute time to work per day (each way)? (USA)
Figure 107: What is your current commute time to work per day (each way)? (Canada)
Figure 108: What is your current commute time to work per day (each way)? (Australia)
Figure 109: What is your current commute time to work per day (each way)? (NZ)
Figure 110: What is your current commute time to work per day (each way)? (Argentina)
Figure 111: If working in Ireland reduced your commute time would you consider relocating because of this (USA)
Figure 112: If working in Ireland reduced your commute time would you consider relocating because of this (Canada)
Figure 113: If working in Ireland reduced your commute time would you consider relocating because of this (Australia)
Figure 114: If working in Ireland reduced your commute time would you consider relocating because of this (NZ)
Figure 115: If working in Ireland reduced your commute time would you consider relocating because of this (Argentina)
Figure 1 1 6: How long would the commute time need to be to relocate? (USA)
Figure 1 1 7: How long would the commute time need to be to relocate? (Canada)
Figure 118: How long would the commute time need to be to relocate? (Australia)
Figure 119: How long would the commute time need to be to relocate? (NZ)
Figure 120: How long would the commute time need to be to relocate? (Argentina)
Figure 1 21 : How do you currently travel to work? (USA)
Figure 1 22: How do you currently travel to work? (Canada)
Figure 123: How do you currently travel to work? (Australia)
Figure 124: How do you currently travel to work? (NZ)
Figure 125: How do you currently travel to work? (Argentina)
Figure 1 26: What is your current standard of education (USA)
Figure 1 27: What is your current standard of education (Canada)
Figure 1 28: What is your current standard of education (Australia)
Figure 1 29: What is your current standard of education (NZ)
Figure 1 30: What is your current standard of education (Argentina)
Figure 1 31 : Do you have plans to further your education? What level would your goal be? (USA)
Figure 1 32: Do you have plans to further your education? What level would your goal be? (Canada)
Figure 1 33: Do you have plans to further your education? What level would your goal be? (Australia)
Figure 1 34: Do you have plans to further your education? What level would your goal be? (NZ)
170
Figure 1 35: Do you have plans to further your education? What level would your goal be? (Argentina)
Figure 1 36: If you answered above that you would like to further you education, would you consider furthering your
education in Ireland? (USA)
Figure 1 37: If you answered above that you would like to further you education, would you consider furthering your
education in Ireland? (Canada)
Figure 1 38: If you answered above that you would like to further you education, would you consider furthering your
education in Ireland? (Australia)
Figure 1 39: If you answered above that you would like to further you education, would you consider furthering your
education in Ireland? (NZ)
Figure 140: If you answered above that you would like to further you education, would you consider furthering your
education in Ireland? (Argentina)
Figure 1 41 : Do you have an ambition to set-up your own company / expand on an idea? (USA)
Figure 1 42: Do you have an ambition to set-up your own company / expand on an idea? (Canada)
Figure 143: Do you have an ambition to set-up your own company / expand on an idea? (Australia)
Figure 144: Do you have an ambition to set-up your own company / expand on an idea? (NZ)
Figure 145: Do you have an ambition to set-up your own company / expand on an idea? (Argentina)
Figure 1 46: If yes, could that area be defined as part of the Creative Economy / Research and Development or
Innovation? (USA)
Figure 1 47: If yes, could that area be defined as part of the Creative Economy / Research and Development or
Innovation? (Canada)
Figure 1 48: If yes, could that area be defined as part of the Creative Economy / Research and Development or
Innovation? (Australia)
Figure 149: If yes, could that area be defined as part of the Creative Economy / Research and Development or
Innovation? (NZ)
Figure 1 50: If yes, could that area be defined as part of the Creative Economy / Research and Development or
Innovation? (Argentina)
Figure 1 51 : Would you relocate to Ireland if provided a grant to help start up your business / expand on this idea?
(USA)
Figure 1 52: Would you relocate to Ireland if provided a grant to help start up your business / expand on this idea?
(Canada)
Figure 1 53: Would you relocate to Ireland if provided a grant to help start up your business / expand on this idea?
(Australia)
Figure 1 54: Would you relocate to Ireland if provided a grant to help start up your business / expand on this idea? (NZ)
Figure 1 55: Would you relocate to Ireland if provided a grant to help start up your business / expand on this idea?
(Argentina)
171
Figure 156: How much of the start-up costs would you require? (USA)
Figure 157: How much of the start-up costs would you require? (Canada)
Figure 158: How much of the start-up costs would you require? (Australia)
Figure 159: How much of the start-up costs would you require? (NZ)
Figure 160: How much of the start-up costs would you require? (Argentina)
Figure 161 : Would you like to learn more about Irish Culture / Language etc? (USA)
Figure 162: Would you like to learn more about Irish Culture / Language etc? (Canada)
Figure 163: Would you like to learn more about Irish Culture / Language etc? (Australia)
Figure 164: Would you like to learn more about Irish Culture / Language etc? (NZ)
Figure 165: Would you like to learn more about Irish Culture / Language etc? (Argentina)
Figure 166: Would you like to come to Ireland to learn about the Irish language / culture? (USA)
Figure 167: Would you like to come to Ireland to learn about the Irish language / culture? (Canada)
Figure 168: Would you like to come to Ireland to learn about the Irish language / culture? (Australia)
Figure 169: Would you like to come to Ireland to learn about the Irish language / culture? (NZ)
Figure 170: Would you like to come to Ireland to learn about the Irish language / culture? (Argentina)
Figure 171 : If the Irish Government sponsored your accommodation and classes would you travel to Ireland to partake
in them? (USA)
Figure 172: If the Irish Government sponsored your accommodation and classes would you travel to Ireland to partake
in them? (Canada)
Figure 173: If the Irish Government sponsored your accommodation and classes would you travel to Ireland to partake
in them? (Australia)
Figure 174: If the Irish Government sponsored your accommodation and classes would you travel to Ireland to partake
in them? (NZ)
Figure 175: If the Irish Government sponsored your accommodation and classes would you travel to Ireland to partake
in them? (Argentina)
Figure 176: How long do you think would be a reasonable stay in Ireland for these classes? (USA)
Figure 177: How long do you think would be a reasonable stay in Ireland for these classes? (Canada)
Figure 178: How long do you think would be a reasonable stay in Ireland for these classes? (Australia)
Figure 179: How long do you think would be a reasonable stay in Ireland for these classes? (NZ)
Figure 180: How long do you think would be a reasonable stay in Ireland for these classes? (Argentina)
Figure 181: If after these classes you could sit an exam for Irish Citizenship, would you like to complete this exam?
(USA)
Figure 1 82: If after these classes you could sit an exam for Irish Citizenship, would you like to complete this exam?
(Canada)
172
Figure 1 83: If after these classes you could sit an exam for Irish Citizenship, would you like to complete this exam?
(Australia)
Figure 1 84: If after these classes you could sit an exam for Irish Citizenship, would you like to complete this exam?
(NZ)
Figure 1 85: If after these classes you could sit an exam for Irish Citizenship, would you like to complete this exam?
(Argentina)
Figure 186: Are you aware that Irish Citizenship confers you automatically with EU Citizenship? (USA)
Figure 1 87: Are you aware that Irish Citizenship confers you automatically with EU Citizenship? (Canada)
Figure 188: Are you aware that Irish Citizenship confers you automatically with EU Citizenship? (Australia)
Figure 189: Are you aware that Irish Citizenship confers you automatically with EU Citizenship? (NZ)
Figure 190: Are you aware that Irish Citizenship confers you automatically with EU Citizenship? (Argentina)
Figure 191 : Would you give up your own citizenship in return for Irish Citizenship? (USA)
Figure 192: Would you give up your own citizenship in return for Irish Citizenship? (Canada)
Figure 193: Would you give up your own citizenship in return for Irish Citizenship? (Australia)
Figure 194: Would you give up your own citizenship in return for Irish Citizenship? (NZ)
Figure 195: Would you give up your own citizenship in return for Irish Citizenship? (Argentina)
Figure 196: Are you aware that the Irish Government allows dual-citizenship? (USA)
Figure 197: Are you aware that the Irish Government allows dual-citizenship? (Canada)
Figure 198: Are you aware that the Irish Government allows dual-citizenship? (Australia)
Figure 201 : Are you aware that the Irish Government allows dual-citizenship? (NZ)
Figure 202: Are you aware that the Irish Government allows dual-citizenship? (Argentina)
Figure 203: The average working week in Ireland is 39 hours per week would this influence your decision to relocate to
Ireland? (USA)
Figure 204: The average working week in Ireland is 39 hours per week would this influence your decision to relocate to
Ireland? (Canada)
Figure 205: The average working week in Ireland is 39 hours per week would this influence your decision to relocate to
Ireland? (Australia)
Figure 206: The average working week in Ireland is 39 hours per week would this influence your decision to relocate to
Ireland? (NZ)
Figure 207: The average working week in Ireland is 39 hours per week would this influence your decision to relocate to
Ireland? (Argentina)
Figure 208: The Irish Government designate 20 paid holidays per year with some employers giving up to 30 per year,
would this influence your decision to relocate to Ireland? (USA)
Figure 209: The Irish Government designate 20 paid holidays per year with some employers giving up to 30 per year,
would this influence your decision to relocate to Ireland? (Canada)
173
Figure 21 0: The Irish Government designate 20 paid holidays per year with some employers giving up to 30 per year,
would this influence your decision to relocate to Ireland? (Australia)
Figure 21 1 : The Irish Government designate 20 paid holidays per year with some employers giving up to 30 per year,
would this influence your decision to relocate to Ireland? (NZ)
Figure 21 2: The Irish Government designate 20 paid holidays per year with some employers giving up to 30 per year,
would this influence your decision to relocate to Ireland? (Argentina)
Figure 21 3: Would you expect to get paid more or less than in your country of residence (USA)
Figure 21 4: Would you expect to get paid more or less than in your country of residence (Canada)
Figure 215: Would you expect to get paid more or less than in your country of residence (Australia)
Figure 21 6: Would you expect to get paid more or less than in your country of residence (NZ)
Figure 217: Would you expect to get paid more or less than in your country of residence (Argentina)
Figure 218: If the Irish Government were to provide you with free education would you consider relocating to Ireland?
(USA)
Figure 219: If the Irish Government were to provide you with free education would you consider relocating to Ireland?
(Canada)
Figure 220: If the Irish Government were to provide you with free education would you consider relocating to Ireland?
(Australia)
Figure 221 : If the Irish Government were to provide you with free education would you consider relocating to Ireland?
(NZ)
Figure 222: If the Irish Government were to provide you with free education would you consider relocating to Ireland?
(Argentina)
Figure 223: If you took up this free education would you consider staying in Ireland to work? (USA)
Figure 224: If you took up this free education would you consider staying in Ireland to work? (Canada)
Figure 225: If you took up this free education would you consider staying in Ireland to work? (Australia)
Figure 226: If you took up this free education would you consider staying in Ireland to work? (NZ)
Figure 227: If you took up this free education would you consider staying in Ireland to work? (Argentina)
Figure 228: In return for free education do you think it would be reasonable for the Irish Government to put a condition
that you work in Ireland for X number of years? (USA)
Figure 229: In return for free education do you think it would be reasonable for the Irish Government to put a condition
that you work in Ireland for X number of years? (Canada)
Figure 230: In return for free education do you think it would be reasonable for the Irish Government to put a condition
that you work in Ireland for X number of years? (Australia)
Figure 231 : In return for free education do you think it would be reasonable for the Irish Government to put a condition
that you work in Ireland for X number of years? (NZ)
174
Figure 232: In return for free education do you think it would be reasonable for the Irish Government to put a condition
that you work in Ireland for X number of years? (Argentina)
Figure 233: What other factors would influence your decision to relocate? (USA)
Figure 234: What other factors would influence your decision to relocate? (Canada)
Figure 235: What other factors would influence your decision to relocate? (Australia)
Figure 236: What other factors would influence your decision to relocate? (NZ)
Figure 237: What other factors would influence your decision to relocate? (Argentina)
175
APPENDIX C
The author breaks down each question per region.
This breakdown can be downloaded at
http://www.archive.org/details/SurveyOflrishDiaspora
176
APPENDIX D
177
APPENDIX D
Example of the Random Generator used for randomly selecting who would be
surveyed.
New Jersey
Sent
Received
Sent
Received
MURPHY
1
KELLY
2
O'SULLIVAN
3
WALSH
4
SMITH
5
O'BRIEN
6
BYRNE
7
X
3
Alaina Byrne
Sent via
Email
Received
5
Jacqui Byrne
RYAN
8
O'CONNOR
9
O'NEILL
10
O'REILLY
11
DOYLE
12
X
3
Dorothy
Doyle
5
Sean Doyle
MCCARTHY
13
GALLAGHER.
14
DOHERTY
15
KENNEDY
16
LYNCH
17
X
3
Jean Lynch
Sent via
FB
5
Kevin Lynch
MURRAY
18
QUINN
19
MOORE
20
Mclaughlin
21
O'CARROLL
22
X
3
Peter Carroll
5
Meghan
Carroll
Sent
via FB
Received
CONNOLLY
23
DALY
24
O'CONNELL
25
WILSON
26
DUNNE
27
X
3
Micheal
Dunne
5
Brian Dunne
Sent
via FB
BRENNAN
28
BURKE
29
COLLINS
30
CAMPBELL
31
CLARKE
32
JOHNSTON
33
HUGHES
34
O'FARRELL
35
FITZGERALD
36
BROWNE
37
178
MARTIN
38
MAGUIRE
39
NOLAN
40
FLYNN
41
THOMPSON
42
O'CALLAGHAN
43
O'DONNELL
44
DUFFY
45
MAHONEY
46
BOYLE
47
HEALY
48
O'SHEA
49
WHITE
50
SWEENEY
51
HAYES
52
KAVANAGH
53
POWER
54
McGRATH
55
MORAN
56
BRADY
57
STEWART
58
CASEY
59
FOLEY
60
FITZPATRICK
61
O'LEARY
62
McDonnell
63
McMAHON
64
DONNELLY
65
REGAN
66
O'DONOVAN
67
BURNS
68
FLANAGAN
69
MULLAN
70
BARRY
71
KANE
72
ROBINSON
73
CUNNINGHAM
74
GRIFFIN
75
KENNEY
76
SHEEHAN
77
WARD
78
WHELAN
79
LYONS
80
REID
81
GRAHAM
82
HIGGINS
83
CULLEN
84
KEANE
85
179
KING
86
MAHER
87
McKENNA
88
BELL
89
SCOTT
90
HOGAN
91
O'KEEFFE
92
MAGEE
93
McNAMARA
94
Mcdonald
95
McDERMOTT
96
MOLONEY
97
O'ROURKE
98
BUCKLEY
99
DWYER
100
180
APPENDIX E
181
APPENDIX E
Example of completed questionnaires.
(USA)
1. Are you aware that you have an Irish Surname?
YesX
No
2. What age group are you in?
Under 18
18-25
25-30
30-35X
35-45
45-55
55-65
65H-
3. Do you know what generation of your family is / was Irish Born? ie Your Grand-father was born in Ireland.
You are Irish born
Your father (1st Gen)
Grandfather (2nd Gen)X
Great Grandfather (3rd Gen)
Great Great Grandfather (4th Gen)
Great Great Great Grandfather (5th Gen)
Other
4. Have you ever been to Ireland?
YesX
182
No
For
Holiday / TravelX
Work
Education
5. Winat year were you in Ireland?
1999
6. If you have been more than once did you notice many changes for good or bad in the interval?
Good
Bad
Please Specif/ feelings
Not applicable
7. What are your feelings for Ireland?
Please specif/ - 1 like it and would like to return
8. Do you feel Ireland is you homeland?
YesX
No
9. What do you think it means to be Irish?
10. What do you think it means to be an Irish-American?
183
11. What is your current profession / do you work at?
Please Specify
attorney
12. How mucli do you earn per annum? Approx, this info is confidential and will not be shared with anyone.
US$10,000-20,000
US$20,000-30,000
US$30,000-40,000
US$40,000-50,000
US$50,000-60,000
US$60,000-70,000
US$70,000-80,000
US$80,000-90,000
US$100,000+X
13. What is your current commute time to work per day? 10 min
14. If working in Ireland reduced your commute time would you consider relocating because of this?
Yes
NoX
How long would the commute time need to be to relocate?
Reduced to 1.5hr
184
Reduced to Ihr
Reduced to Vi hr
Reduced to V4 hr - not applicable
15. How do currently travel to work?
Bus
CarX
Train
On foot / bicycle
17. What is your current standard of education?
High School / School
Certificate
Diploma
Degree
IMasters
PhdX
Other
17. Do you have plans to further your education? What level would your goal be?
High School / School
Certificate
Diploma
Degree
Masters
Phd
Other
not applicable
185
18. If you answered above that you would like to further your education, would you consider furthering your education
in Ireland?
Yes
No
19. Do you have an ambition to set-up your own company / expand on an idea?
YesX
No
20. If yes what area would you set-up in / your idea be in?
Please specif/ - new Orleans
21. Would you relocate to Ireland if provided a grant to help start up your business / expand on this idea?
YesX
No
22. How much of the start-up costs would you require?
20%
30%
40%
50%
60 %X
70%
23. Do you have an idea how much your total start-up cost would be? no
186
24. Would you like to learn more about Irish culture / language etc?
Yes
No
25. Would you like to come to Ireland to learn about the Irish language / culture?
YesX
No
26. If the Irish Government sponsored your accommodation and classes would you travel to Ireland to partake in
them?
YesX
No
27. How long do you think would be a reasonable stay in Ireland for these classes?
2 weeksX
1 month
2 months
3 months
28. If after these classes you could sit an exam for Irish Citizenship, would you like to complete this exam?
YesX
187
No
29. Are you aware that Irish Citizenship confers you automatically with EU Citizenship?
YesX
No
30. Would you give up your US Citizenship in return for Irish Citizenship?
Yes
NoX
31. Are you aware that the Irish Government allows dual-citizenship?
YesX
No
32. The average working week in Ireland is 39 hours per week would this influence your decision to relocate to
Ireland?
YesX
No
Wouldn't affect
33. The Irish Government designate 20 paid holidays per year with some employers giving up to 30 per year, would
this influence your decision to relocate to Ireland?
YesX
No
188
34. What level of pay would you expect for relocating to Ireland? $150K
Would you expect to get paid more or less than in America? same
35. If the Irish Government were to provide you with free education would you consider relocating to Ireland?
Yes
NoX
36. If you took up this free education would you consider staying in Ireland to work?
Yes
No
37. In return for free education do you think it would be reasonable for the Irish Government to put a condition that
you work in Ireland for X number of years?
One Yearx
Two Years
Three Years
38. What other factors would influence your decision to relocate or not relocate to Ireland? Money, family distance
(Canada)
Please see the below.
All information is strictly confidential and if you don't feel comfortable answering any question feel free to leave it
blank.
In the case of a yes/no answer put an x beside it or delete the one that is not appropriate.
1. Are you aware that you have an Irish Surname?
Yes
2. What age group are you in?
Under 18
189
30-35
3. Do you know what generation of your family is / was Irish Born? le Your Grand-father was born in Ireland.
You are Irish born
Great Grandfather (3rd Gen)
4. Have you ever been to Ireland?
No
5. What year were you in Ireland?
n/a
6. If you have been more than once did you notice many changes for good or bad in the interval?
na
7. What are your feelings for Ireland?
Fond, I would like to visit some day.
8. Do you feel Ireland is you homeland?
Yes
9. What do you think it means to be Irish?
At least have lived in Ireland.
10. What do you think it means to be an Irish-Canadian?
Lived in Ireland, moved to Canada
11. What is your current profession / do you work at?
Aircraft Structures Tech
12. How much do you earn per annum? Approx, this info is confidential and will not be shared with anyone.
US$40,000-50,000
13. What is your current commute time to work per day?
lOmins
14. If working in Ireland reduced your commute time would you consider relocating because of this?
No
How long would the commute time need to be to relocate?
190
n/a
15. How do currently travel to work?
Car
17. What is your current standard of education?
High School / School
Trade Certificate(collage)
Some university
17. Do you have plans to further your education? What level would your goal be?
I would like to finish my university degreee
18. If you answered above that you would like to further your education, would you consider furthering your
education in Ireland?
Yes
19. Do you have an ambition to set-up your own company / expand on an idea?
Yes
20. If yes what area would you set-up in / your idea be in?
I'd like to open a public shooting range with a gun store.
21. Would you relocate to Ireland if provided a grant to help start up your business / expand on this idea?
Yes
22. How much of the start-up costs would you require?
30%
23. Do you have an idea how much your total start-up cost would be?
depends on real estate costs - $80,000 to 120,000 + cost of building and reno ($200,000-300,000 here)
24. Would you like to learn more about Irish culture / language etc?
Yes
25. Would you like to come to Ireland to learn about the Irish language / culture?
Yes
26. If the Irish Government sponsored your accommodation and classes would you travel to Ireland to partake in
them?
Yes
191
27. How long do you think would be a reasonable stay in Ireland for these classes?
1 -2 months
fter these classes you could sit an exam for Irish Citizenship, would you like to complete this exam?
Yes
29. Are you aware that Irish Citizenship confers you automatically with EU Citizenship?
No
30. Would you give up your Canadian Citizenship in return for Irish Citizenship?
No
31. Are you aware that the Irish Government allows dual-citizenship?
No
32. The average working week in Ireland is 39 hours per week would this influence your decision to relocate to
Ireland?
Wouldn't affect
33. The Irish Government designate 20 paid holidays per year with some employers giving up to 30 per year,
would this influence your decision to relocate to Ireland?
No
34. What level of pay would you expect for relocating to Ireland?
comparable to current
Would you expect to get paid more or less than in Canada?
35. If the Irish Government were to provide you with free education would you consider relocating to Ireland?
Yes
36. If you took up this free education would you consider staying in Ireland to work?
Yes
37. In return for free education do you think it would be reasonable for the Irish Government to put a condition
that you work in Ireland for X number of years?
Two Years
38. What other factors would influence your decision to relocate or not relocate to Ireland?
192
l)Gun laws-I am a sport shooter and collector.
2)Average cost of living
3)Family
4)Work available/economy
5)Healthcare cost and quality
(Australia)
In the case of a yes/no answer put an x beside it or delete the one that is not appropriate.
1. Are you aware that you have an Irish Surname?
Yesx
No
2. What age group are you in?
Under 18
18-25 X
25-30
30-35
35-45
45-55
55-65
65H-
3. Do you know what generation of your family is / was Irish Born? ie Your Grand-father was born in Ireland.
You are Irish born
Your father (1st Gen)
Grandfather (2nd Gen) x
Great Grandfather (3rd Gen)
Great Great Grandfather (4th Gen)
Great Great Great Grandfather (5th Gen)
Other
193
4. Have you ever been to Ireland?
Yes
Nox
For
Holiday / Travel
Work
Education
5. What year were you in Ireland?
6. If you have been more than once did you notice many changes for good or bad in the interval?
Good
Bad
Please Specif/ feelings
7. What are your feelings for Ireland?
i am very proud of my heritage and embrace it fully, i have the tattoos to prove it.
Please specif/
8. Do you feel Ireland is you homeland?
Yes X but at the same time australia will always be home
No
9. What do you think it means to be Irish?
194
10. What do you think it means to be an Irish-Australian?
11. What is your current profession / do you work at?
Please Specify
panel beater
12. How much do you earn per annum? Approx, this info is confidential and will not be shared with anyone.
US$10,000-20,000
US$20,000-30,000 x
US$30,000-40,000
US$40,000-50,000
US$50,000-60,000
US$60,000-70,000
US$70,000-80,000
US$80,000-90,000
US$100,000+
13. What is your current commute time to work per day?
30-40 mins each way
14. If working in Ireland reduced your commute time would you consider relocating because of this?
Yes
Nox
How long would the commute time need to be to relocate?
Reduced to 1.5hr
Reduced to Ihr
Reduced to Vi hr
195
Reduced to V4 hr x
15. How do currently travel to work?
Bus
Car X
Train
On foot / bicycle
17. What is your current standard of education?
High School / School x
Certificate
Diploma
Degree
IMasters
Phd
Other X trade apprenticeship
17. Do you have plans to further your education? What level would your goal be?
High School / School
Certificate
Diploma
Degree
Masters
Phd
Other trade related areas
18. If you answered above that you would like to further your education, would you consider furthering your education
in Ireland?
Yes
No
196
possibly, not sure
19. Do you have an ambition to set-up your own company / expand on an idea?
Yesx
No
20. If yes winat area would you set-up in / your idea be in?
Please specify
nothing specific in mind, just a thought
21. Would you relocate to Ireland if provided a grant to help start up your business / expand on this idea?
Yes
No
22. How much of the start-up costs would you require?
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
23. Do you have an idea how much your total start-up cost would be?
24. Would you like to learn more about Irish culture / language etc?
Yesx
197
No
25. Would you like to come to Ireland to learn about the Irish language / culture?
Yesx
No
26. If the Irish Government sponsored your accommodation and classes would you travel to Ireland to partake in
them?
Yesx
No
27. How long do you think would be a reasonable stay in Ireland for these classes?
2 weeks
1 month
2 months
3 months x or more
28. If after these classes you could sit an exam for Irish Citizenship, would you like to complete this exam?
Yesx
No
29. Are you aware that Irish Citizenship confers you automatically with EL) Citizenship?
Yes
Nox
30. Would you give up your Australian Citizenship in return for Irish Citizenship?
Yes
198
No X never
31. Are you aware that the Irish Government allows dual-citizenship?
Yes
No X but it doesnt seem out of the ordinary
32. The average working week in Ireland is 39 hours per week would this influence your decision to relocate to
Ireland?
Yes
No
Wouldn't affect x i work more than that now even tho we hav a 38 hr week
33. The Irish Government designate 20 paid holidays per year with some employers giving up to 30 per year, would
this influence your decision to relocate to Ireland?
Yes
Nox
34. What level of pay would you expect for relocating to Ireland?
considerably more than im on now thats for sure
Would you expect to get paid more or less than in New Zealand?
i dont know about pay rates in nz
35. If the Irish Government were to provide you with free education would you consider relocating to Ireland?
Yesx
No
199
36. If you took up this free education would you consider staying in Ireland to work?
Yesx
No
37. In return for free education do you think it would be reasonable for the Irish Government to put a condition that
you work in Ireland for X number of years?
One Year x
Two Years
Three Years
38. What other factors would influence your decision to relocate or not relocate to Ireland?
Please specify
(New Zealand)
1. Are you aware that you have an Irish Surname?
Yes
2. What age group are you in?
25-30
3. Do you know what generation of your family is / was Irish Born? ie Your Grand-father was born in Ireland.
You are Irish born
Great Grandfather (3rd Gen)
200
4. Have you ever been to Ireland?
No
7. What are your feelings for Ireland?
it a place I would really like to visit, especially due to my ancestry. I'm very interested in the history and I love the
people.
8. Do you feel Ireland is you homeland?
No
9. What do you think it means to be Irish?
Being born in Island or being a citizen of Ireland
10. What do you think it means to be an Irish-New Zealander?
Having a interest in the history and where I came from and a connection with it.
11. What is your current profession / do you work at?
I'm a Post Grad student, studying teaching.
12. How much do you earn per annum? Approx, this info is confidential and will not be shared with anyone.
201
US$10,000-20,000 (I'm a full time student)
13. What is your current commute time to work per day?
15- 30 minutes
14. If working in Ireland reduced your commute time would you consider relocating because of this?
Yes
How long would the commute time need to be to relocate?
Reduced to V4 hr
15. How do currently travel to work?
Bus
Car
17. What is your current standard of education?
Degree
17. Do you have plans to further your education? What level would your goal be?
Masters
202
18. If you answered above that you would like to further your education, would you consider furthering your education
in Ireland?
Yes
19. Do you have an ambition to set-up your own company / expand on an idea?
No
24. Would you like to learn more about Irish culture / language etc?
Yes
26. If the Irish Government sponsored your accommodation and classes would you travel to Ireland to partake in
them?
Yes
27. How long do you think would be a reasonable stay in Ireland for these classes?
3 months
28. If after these classes you could sit an exam for Irish Citizenship, would you like to complete this exam?
Yes
29. Are you aware that Irish Citizenship confers you automatically with EU Citizenship?
No
203
30. Would you give up your NZ Citizenship in return for Irisln Citizensinip?
No
31. Are you aware that the Irish Government allows dual-citizenship?
No
32. The average working week in Ireland is 39 hours per week would this influence your decision to relocate to
Ireland?
Wouldn't affect
33. The Irish Government designate 20 paid holidays per year with some employers giving up to 30 per year, would
this influence your decision to relocate to Ireland?
No
34. What level of pay would you expect for relocating to Ireland?
As a teacher, I would expect to receive about ¥115 per day
Would you expect to get paid more or less than in New Zealand?
Less
35. If the Irish Government were to provide you with free education would you consider relocating to Ireland?
Yes
204
36. If you took up this free education would you consider staying in Ireland to work?
Yes
37. In return for free education do you think it would be reasonable for the Irish Government to put a condition that
you work in Ireland for X number of years?
Two Years
38. What other factors would influence your decision to relocate or not relocate to Ireland?
Wanting a change of scenery
Seeing what work conditions for teaching is like over there
Having a partner who lived there or wanted to move there.
(Argentina)
1. Are you aware that you have an Irish Surname?
Yes
2. What age group are you in?
30-35
3. Do you know what generation of your family is / was Irish Born? ie Your Grand-father was born in Ireland.
I don't know. (5th Gen or more)
My Great Great Grandfather was Argentinean
4. Have you ever been to Ireland?
205
No
5. What year were you in Ireland?
not apply
6. If you have been more than once did you notice many changes for good or bad in the interval?
not apply.
7. What are your feelings for Ireland?
Well, I sympathy with Ireland because my surname is Irish. In Argentinen isn't very common it.
But, I haven't got great feelings for Ireland. However, I like their culture.
8. Do you feel Ireland is you homeland?
No.
9. What do you think it means to be Irish?
I haven't got an idea about it.
10. What do you think it means to be an Irish-Argentinian?
Well, It's good. But, in Argentina, there are not many Irish traditions.
Then, I don't know its means really.
11. What is your current profession / do you work at?
I'^^y profression is Computer Enginner and Photographer Professional.
I'm developer and researcher in a system's company.
12. How much do you earn per annum? Approx, this info is confidential and will not be shared with anyone.
US$20,000-30,000
13. What is your current commute time to work per day?
1 hour per trip. (2 hours roundtrip)
206
14. If working in Ireland reduced your commute time would you consider relocating because of this?
No
How long would the commute time need to be to relocate?
Reduced to Vi hr per trip
15. How do currently travel to work?
Train (metro)
and On foot
17. What is your current standard of education?
Degree (engineer)
17. Do you have plans to further your education? What level would your goal be?
none for now.
18. If you answered above that you would like to further your education, would you consider furthering your education
in Ireland?
no apply.
19. Do you have an ambition to set-up your own company / expand on an idea?
Yes
20. If yes what area would you set-up in / your idea be in?
Computers.
21. Would you relocate to Ireland if provided a grant to help start up your business / expand on this idea?
No
207
22. How much of the start-up costs would you require?
no apply
23. Do you have an idea how much your total start-up cost would be?
no apply.
24. Would you like to learn more about Irish culture / language etc?
Yes, sure.
25. Would you like to come to Ireland to learn about the Irish language / culture?
Yes
26. If the Irish Government sponsored your accommodation and classes would you travel to Ireland to partake in
them?
Yes
27. How long do you think would be a reasonable stay in Ireland for these classes?
2 weeks
28. If after these classes you could sit an exam for Irish Citizenship, would you like to complete this exam?
Yes
29. Are you aware that Irish Citizenship confers you automatically with EU Citizenship?
Yes
30. Would you give up your Argentinian Citizenship in return for Irish Citizenship?
No
208
31. Are you aware that the Irish Government allows dual-citizenship?
No
32. The average working week in Ireland is 39 hours per week would this influence your decision to relocate to
Ireland?
Yes
33. The Irish Government designate 20 paid holidays per year with some employers giving up to 30 per year, would
this influence your decision to relocate to Ireland?
Yes
34. What level of pay would you expect for relocating to Ireland?
I don't know it.
Would you expect to get paid more or less than in Argentina?
IMore.
35. If the Irish Government were to provide you with free education would you consider relocating to Ireland?
No
36. If you took up this free education would you consider staying in Ireland to work?
Yes
37. In return for free education do you think it would be reasonable for the Irish Government to put a condition that
you work in Ireland for X number of years?
Two Years
209
38. What other factors would influence your decision to relocate or not relocate to Ireland?
Well, my main factor is the language.
IMy spoken english is very poor.
210
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