Criminal gangs in the UK are taking advantage of “vulnerable” migrants by tricking them into paying for false offers of work in the Republic of Ireland according to Independent TD Michael McNamara.
Speaking in Leinster House today, McNamara raised the case of a young Indian man who had entered the UK on a student visa but ended up having his passport taken by a criminal gang after falling for a fake promise of work in Dublin.
McNamara said that the man’s student visa allows him to work for 10 hours a week only, and that he had hoped to find more work leading him to approach an agency in London he believed would help him secure a position.
“[H]e went to an agency in the United Kingdom who told him that they could get him full employment permission in Ireland and arrange travel and a work permit. They took £1,500 sterling from him and retained his passport so that he would pay an additional £1,000 when he started work.”
McNamara said that the criminal gang arranged for the man to travel to Liverpool and from there on a ferry to Belfast from where he traveled to Dublin.
“He was given the eircode and the postal address of his employer, and he turned up there and it was the IPO office in Dublin,” he said, adding that the man “obviously” didn’t know that he was being sent to the IPO office.
McNamara said that this man was one of five traveling in a similar way, organized by the same agents and that the man says he knows of 30 more people sent to Ireland by the same agency in the same way.
“He’s now in Ireland. He’s trying to get out of the asylum system and return back to the United Kingdom. He doesn’t have his passport.” said McNamara adding that it was “very clear that vulnerable people in a precarious position are being horribly exploited by bad actors” but that it was “equally clear that our state is being exploited by those bad actors” as well.
He accused the government of engaging in a “Punch and Judy show” with UK authorities over the border with Northern Ireland asking “what hope there is” of international cooperation to resolve the issue.
He warned that if one such agency existed in London, due to the nature of “the underworld” it was likely that there were many such others also operating in London.
In response Taoiseach Simon Harris said that the government response to instances of human trafficking was “to pass the human trafficking bill.”
“We did see the human trafficking bill, I believe, passed in the Dáil in recent days. And now moving forward into the Seanad,”,
He said this would make it “easier for victims of trafficking” to come forward, to be identified, and to access supports.
The Taoiseach said the passing of the law “shows how serious this country on a legislative basis wants to take the issue of human trafficking” saying that the issue is “indeed extremely important”.
He added that progress in relation to Ireland’s rating in the Trafficking in Persons Report had improved slightly, but added that this was “nothing to write home about”.
“We have a lot of work to do in relation to this situation, but we did see in 2022 some positive progress made in relation to that.”
Harris said that he felt that between the legislation Minister for Justice Helen McEntee is bringing forward and the human trafficking strategy that he was confident that steps were being taken to tackle the issue and that the Indian man in question and others like him should rest assured that anyone “seeking to exploit Ireland” should know “this is an issue we will take and do take extraordinarily seriously”.
He added that there was a “very significant collaboration” between An Garda Síochána, Europol, Interpol and the UK Police in regards to human trafficking.
Last March, Dr. Matt Treacy highlighted “serious questions” about the trafficking of children in Ireland.
On this platform he wrote, “The Liberties Rule of Law annual report, published this week, highlighted an “impunity and/or lack of accountability for human rights violations” as a problem specific to Ireland. The leading civil liberties network pointed to Ireland’s “widespread human rights violations” and/or “persistent protection failures” regarding children.
The report referenced a December 2023 investigation by Noteworthy which found that 62 asylum-seeking children had disappeared from State care after arriving in Ireland alone.”
You can read the full article here.
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I see — so a ‘young Indian man’, in the UK on a student visa, fell for a ‘fake promise of work in Dublin’ — why is someone allegedly on a student visa in the UK interested in working in Dublin? — don’t people on student visas normally study? — aren’t they expected to study and not work? — could it be he’s just another opportunistic, lying piece of you know what who took advantage of the ‘student visa’ scam to enter the UK, then since he was never a serious student anyway, decided to take a chance on a job in Ireland? — yes, I think that’s a possibility.
I hope I’m not expected to feel sorry for this guy.
Round them all up and send them back to the subcontinent where they belong — scammers.
And send the bill to the Indian embassy.
A graduate student visa, or those who complete a qualification above a certain level, are permitted to stay back for up to two years or one year after completing the course, to seek employment in UK/Ireland. The Irish student visa system also permits that for level 8 and 9. Foreign students provide billions of euros/dollars worth income to the host nation, in terms of study fees, food and accommdocation fees and other miscellaneous expenses. All these add to the local economy. The intention of the foreign student scheme is not to run charity. It is to get access to skilled pool of human resources from other countries, who have the potential to effectively contribute to the local skill shortage and resource shortage, and to the local economy as well. Foreign students bring millions to the host country in revenue. It is a big business in western countries. Although some foreign students in the UK are eligible to stay back for a few months or up to 2 years to seek employment, such students should not be entering the Republic of Ireland without a valid visa.
90% of Indian students who seek admission in colleges in western countries as well as ex-Soviet republics, are below average performers in India, who do not possess enough merit to gain admission in any decent institution within India. The remaining 10% are those who are extremely brilliant, and who get admission in top US universities or other top western universities like Cambridge, Imperial, etc on pure merit, and who later on end up as MNC CEOs, NASA scientists, etc. It is wrong to assume that all those Indian students who you see in the west come here for sake of studying alone. The main intention is to get a work visa and later on greencard/PR/citizenship, so that they can earn better than their compatriots back in India, who have more merit, but who works and lives in India earning lesser remunertion.
It is the social media posts made by those youngsters who travel to other countries that generate this aspiration to study abroad among rest of the folk, and this has been a growing trend in the last decade. Most of the folk who manage to go out of India for studies are from middle to lower economic class families, whose parents often need to pawn their land, homes and properties or take expensive educational loans to meet the aspirations of these kids to study abroad. However, in recent years, the government of India has been co-ordinating with various international universities around the world to open their campuses within India, so that this outflow of Indian money and resources to foreign countries can be stopped. Also, the growing economic recession, cost of living crisis, housing crisis and social disturbance in western countries following the sanctions war with Russia and China since the last two years has been prompting many Indians settled in the west to consider re-locating back to India or to Asian countries where the economy is growing and more exciting opportunities are present. This has also started many aspiring international students from India to reconsider their plans, as they consider study and career options within India to be comparatively better. So it won’t be long before which Irish students would be queuing in front of Indian and Chinese embassies seeking student visas and work permits. So before bashing Indians, it is sensible to spend some time regarding the future of your own country. The west is sinking, as the US debt crisis and de-dollarization accelerates, and when all tax money is channeled to fight global wars and sanctions regime. The flow of migrants is just the symptom. The root cause is deep beneath. So learn what causes the migration, and blame those who cause it, not the migrants. Because, in another decade, folks in the west will be migrating to the east. With the USD, the Euro will also collapse. So be considerate with those Indians and Chinese students. Your next generation will be working under them!
🤣🤣🤣🤣
In another decade we will be emigrating 😅😅😅😅 oh man i am framing that.To where, the two most polluted and overpopulated countries in the world? 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣 my sides hurt. You should get a job in stand up comedy. Very original 😅😅
Even your name is brilliant, after a virus .Thats certainly one thing you guys are better at spreading.
” Foreign students provide billions of euros/dollars worth income to the host nation “‘
“The intention of the foreign student scheme is not to run charity. It is to get access to skilled pool of human resources from other countries, who have the potential to effectively contribute to the local skill shortage and resource shortage, and to the local economy as well. Foreign students bring millions to the host country in revenue”
You lot have moved on from the “they’ll be paying our pensions” schtick.
You almost had me up to
” it won’t be long before which Irish students would be queuing in front of Indian and Chinese embassies seeking student visas and work permits ”
Thanks for the laugh.
This is a well researched essay on the benefits of the policy of granting education visas to foreign students. It is a good example of an intelligent and fair commentary on a Gript article. While one may not agree with everything in the comment, it sticks with the subject and doesn’t bore us with repetitive meanderings on pet conspiracy theories. More of this quality of comment please.
It’s pure propaganda. It’s supposition to say “ So be considerate with those Indians and Chinese students. Your next generation will be working under them! ”
It’s also completely contradictory and makes the argument against allowing foreign Indian students in to Ireland –
” The intention of the foreign student scheme is not to run charity. It is to get access to skilled pool of human resources from other countries, who have the potential to effectively contribute to the local skill shortage ”
And then goes on to say – “90% of Indian students who seek admission in colleges in western countries as well as ex-Soviet republics, are below average performers in India, who do not possess enough merit to gain admission in any decent institution within India.”
So, we’re not even getting the good ones. Just filler for the colleges and landlords.
We don’t want tons of foreign students. No matter how much money or ‘benefits’ they supposedly bring.
It’s pure bullshit that all these ‘student’s who end up delivery takeaways on e-bikes are “Foreign students bring millions to the host country in revenue.”
The colleges get a nice chunk in fees, sure. And some greedy fucks of landlords pack em in and get a nice rent roll and an inflationary squeeze on overall property prices – great for the asset owners, not so great for Native Irish wanting to buy their own home. Then some Centra gets a nice, compliant, low paid work-slave and native Irish have to compete for accommodation and these jobs. It’s fucken bullshit that “de Irish don’t wanna do dese jobs”.
To top it off, some poor Irish student gets raped by one of your pet foreigner students and cunts like you go very quiet.
” it is sensible to spend some time regarding the future of your own country ” -This is something we are definitely doing, don’t worry about that.
This is the kind of silly comment that will put people off reading Gript at all.
The problem with the original comment that you replied to is one that John McGuirk has written about recently here on Gript and that is that we were the sold the idea that immigration, all of it, and everything about it and in unlimited numbers, is good. Any concerns or discussion that there may be downsides has been verboten. This is where you guys went wrong and why you are finding that as you try to explain the ‘benefits’, nobody wants to listen to you anymore.
Goes some way to explaining where all the missing children are gone the political parties dont seem to care about. Seems like a perfectly normal event to that lot.
Simon Harris and Helen McEntee seem to think passing legislation is the answer.
I think it’s the ruthless application of existing legislation that’s the answer.
Empower and support the Gardai especially the National Immigration Bureau.
Empower there judges to sentence jail time despite lack of prison space.
It’s not a lack of funds, it’s a lack of will and ability.
Harris and McEntee have neither the will nor the ability.
They don’t care about human trafficking unfortunately, they want more if it.
https://freepress.ie/2022/05/candleofgracechildren/
Hi Michael, nice to see you here. Thanks for the link.
Uber,just eat,chinese ,Indian,veitnamese restaurants etc,taxis,construction,cleaning companies and many more in shops and retail. There needs to be active task forces set up to go in to these places and go through their books to see who works and when they work.Do like England and fine companies ten thousand pound for every illegal they have hired.
Scrape all those micky mouse courses too, they are just a back door into Ireland.The Brits are looking at scraping them too.The Brits are also hitting their social welfare payments. Germany went a step better and gave people asylum cards so money could only be spent in shops there.
Ukrainians all back to Ukraine regardless of if some kids have made Irish friends .We had a vote some time back that illegals that have kids here should not be intitled to Irish residency.That vote was in a response to scammer Nigerians who played the system.So for any bleeding hearts out there that have Ukrainian kids playing with your kids in school ‘it doesnt mean they are Irish’. They are not European and must all return home.They have temporary protection status until March 2025 and must all head home to Western Ukraine.
For Refugees i would prefer closed camps with set meals and daily community chores until their deportation.For some bizarre reason they cannot be deported then a very lengthy spell in a camp for re-education and assimilation.
The definition or refugee has to be respected and not allowed be exploited by scammers. All refugees finger printed and run through criminal database.Any offenders must be deported even after getting Irish Naturalisation.
All Afgan are Taliban, any Syrians running from Assad have tried unsuccessfully to topple a once stable country and fought with which militia? Nigeria is safe and return of all and any from 1990s must be discussed on a one to one basis ie review of their initial asylum claim,have they revisited Nigeria on holiday, who has committed crimes,long spells of idling,unemployment and if they are a burden on the state.
Somalians,sudanese,Etrieans all need serious vetting and return to a safe area in there countries set up by European military.We cant have the world come here.
Indians and Pakistanis….Give me a break…pakistanis are muslim so go be a doctor in Dubai or somewhere else.” Indians can stay at home,we can import your spices so don’t need the enrichment thanks.
And then, be ready to pay 20 euro for a burger, 50 euro for a hair cut, and 500 euro for a plumber! You folk in this comment section have zero understanding of economy! You must understand the fact that your old prosperous life is not going to come back! The world has changed beyond recognition since 2020 and 2022. The pandemic and Ukraine war has changed everything. The US economy is about to collapse, and the US dollar will cease to exist as world reserve currency in a few years time. The rest of the world has lost trust in America as the US and EU is illegally freezing Russian assets. When other countries stop using US dollar, it’s demand comes down, and that will prevent US from printing dollars to meet debt payments unfeasible. This will reduce liquidity for US financial institutions. This is why all western companies have frozen hiring and everyone is down sizing! It is layoffs everywhere. Office spaces are lying vacant. No more jobs. Because the companies are not foreseeing growth in immediate future due to higher costs for borrowing. When US ecomomy crumbles, Europe will crumble along with it. Europe is also facing energy crisis with the destruction of gas pipes that used to bring cheap gas from Russia. Moreover, the US is sanctioning China and Iran as well. All this is putting more pressure in oil and gas supplies, supplychains, and with growing demand in countries like India and Indonesia, the oil and gas prices are going to go up again and will stay like that until the sanctions are lifted. So Europe is now buying gas at 4 times the price of Russian gas from north America and Qatar. This has affected the profitability of European businesses and factories and many are shifting production to US and elsewhere. All this will keep in increasing the cost of living crisis in Europe. Add to this the ageing population, increased demand for healthcare, pension and welfare. Without access to at least cheap labour, cost of living crisis is not going to come down in Europe and US. Europe and US desperately need to bring back manufacturing and heavy industries. But for that, at least cheap laboour should be there. Hence they allow the immigration. There is no other easy way out. A systematic immigraion system will take years to take effect. By that time, China would have become the world police man. So do not expect any change to the flow of migrants. They make labour cheaper, and thus goods and services cheaper, thus bringing down cost of living. Only issue is the housing crisis which is unique for Ireland. So do not expect and form of ‘nationalist’ government can overturn the situation. Instead learn to get used to the new life and new world! The west you are familiar with a decade ago will not come back again. Because the US has been scamming the whole world with the petro-dollar system, and destroying all countries in the middle-east who tried to get out of this system. Now with the rising power of China, as an alternative pole, many countries have started challenging the US hegemony. But instead of gracefully accepting the situation, the US is trying to play world police with a crumbling economy and society. This is worsening the life in western world, and is causing wars and refugee crisis. So get used to seeing the migrant workers. They are here to stay, until they find greener pastures elsewhere. Or be ready to pay 50 euro for a burger, 20 euro for a coffee and 100 euro for a haircut!
So many contradictions in two posts above.I sense a troll.But you are funny 🤣🤣
Chinese the middle easts new friends.🤣 Will the chinese jail all them too. Have India just become best friends with Pakistan and china overnight? Too much crazy conspiracies to answer there.
Strange all the BRICS countries want to come here 🤣🤣🤣
Anyway stop dragging the chinese into it. China is not India. ” Please Sir,have you tried turning it on and off”
” then, be ready to pay 20 euro for a burger, 50 euro for a hair cut, and 500 euro for a plumber ”
The scaremongering to keep a fence around the herd. You lot must be sweating.
We weren’t paying through the nose for a plumber before Mass Immigration and we won’t after we’ve reversed it. I can do without an Afghan on a bike delivering me a sandwich, thank-you very much.
Totally agree Shane . Wish we could swap you for McEntee.
Headline ” Scammers got scammed”
The whole system is completely broken from student visas, work permits, iPas, etc. I read where a Syrian man in Cork prison had his fingerprints checked and it linked them to 27 different names across EU.
In the Irish Examiner yesterday
I think I saw something in the IT about this, possibly because of GRIPt’s reporting of the issue. Have the British helped the Indian man get his passport back?
Spot on , we need an all Ireland border system , only party who is most pro Irish with house referendum and against high rents and vulture funds is Sinn féin
Give it up Mary Lou, we all know it’s you.
nó , rightly so a very concerned Irish citizen that this country is going in wrong direction under ff/fg/g failureship,we are been shafted up the rear by English and Unionist again and been flooded by Indians and muslims from their, everybody here is screaming for change with craziest links and rabbit hole fairy tales ,but no one has a plan beyond ff/fg ,the people want Sinn Féin and its going to happen.A Nation Once Again once again ……
“the people want Sinn Féin and it’s going to happen”. I needed a good laugh today & here it is!
I’m not buying it Mary. You spent the last four years in silence or agreeing with FF/FG/Greens ludicrus immigration policies, but now your trying to sing a different tune.
another Jack Nicholson type from one flew over the Cookoo’s nest , brains like an onion, since when did opposition makes the rules,has ff/fg/g ministers been ón a tax payers funded 4 years holiday in Barbados and their doubles in Ireland are sinn féin controlled cyborgs,no wonder this country is fecked ,roll on the next General election and Sinn Féin blitz for a new Ireland 💚💚💚
Calm down Mary Lou or should I say, Mary hasn’t got a clue. it’s a pity you couldn’t show half as much enthusiasm when you’re speaking in Dáil Éireann. And thanks for the complement, I’m a huge Jack Nicholson fan.
Hay Mary Lou is your brother still wearing your Knickers. I hear he is a lot thinner than you ?.
You obviously have not seen videos of last Minday, which were shown world wide
Go up to the Shankill and explain your plan to the locals. I am sure they will be delighted to hear your plan.