Tropical Storm Nesat – safety message

29 September 2011

On Friday 30 September, the north of Vietnam will be affected by the tropical cyclone Nesat which, having crossed the Philippines, is currently over the South China Sea. Nesat is expected to reach the coast of Vietnam as a tropical storm.

The Embassy of Ireland recommends that members of the Irish community living in or passing through the north of Vietnam, in particular the coastal regions and Haiphong/Halong/Hanoi, keep themselves informed at regular interviews as to the meteorological situation (for example by checking www.tropicalstormrisk.com) and exercise due caution before considering making trips on Friday 30 September or on Saturday 1 or Sunday 2 October.

In addition to heavy rain, a tropical storm may be accompanied by high winds of up to 100 km / hr, causing trees and objects to fall. You should also prepare for the risk of localised flooding and water and electricity cuts.

The Embassy of Ireland can be contacted at +84 4 3974 3291 (office hours) or +84 91 876 3163 (duty officer).

 

 

 

* Application deadline extended until 30 September *

The Farmleigh Fellowship: MBS in Asian Business

 The MBS in Asian Business is an Ireland Asia work-study scholarship programme for those who want a career in international business in one of the world’s fastest growing regions.  The winners of this scholarship will gain first-hand experience with leading Irish and Irish connected companies while studying for a Master’s in Asian Business awarded by UCC and delivered in partnership with one of the world’s leading business schools at NTU in Singapore. The MBS is open to experienced professionals and those who are just starting out with their career so if you are ambitious, talented and committed visit www.farmleighfellowship.com or click here for more information. Applications open until 23 September.

 

 

 

Launch of the Short Stay Visa Programme, 30 June 2011

Remarks by Mr Alan Shatter TD, Minister for Justice, Equality and Defence at the launch of Ireland’s first Visa Waiver Programme on Thursday, 30th June 2011

Ladies and Gentlemen, I am delighted to be here today to launch the first ever Irish Visa Waiver Programme as an integral part of the Government’s Jobs Initiative.  This Programme, which I initiated in my Department shortly after my appointment, will make it easier for tourist and business visitors to the UK to come to Ireland without the need for an Irish visa.

It is designed to give a much needed boost to our tourist industry and to encourage business development.  It demonstrates the innovative and imaginative approach of this Government and the public sector to working our way to economic recovery.  I think it is also right that, in launching the programme, I acknowledge the cooperation of the British government in its development.

I am, of course, delighted that An Taoiseach and An Tanaiste have joined Minister Leo Varadkar and myself to mark the launch of the Programme.

Their presence here this morning signifies in a potent way the importance this government attaches to finding innovative ways to help our tourist industry and to develop our economy. I also want to specially welcome all of you in the audience here – whether you are a provider of tourism services or whether you work to support our tourism industry.

This week, I signed into law the Statutory Instrument which will give effect to the Programme at its start date tomorrow, 1st July.  As of tomorrow, nationals of 16 specified countries can travel to Ireland from the UK without the need for an Irish visa.  The Programme will run as a pilot up to the end of October 2012 but may be added to or amended at any point depending on our experience of the pilot.

This Programme is a major breakthrough and I know that tourist industry interests also see it as such.  It is also of considerable importance that it will facilitate those visiting Britain, who are interested in business development, to include this State in their itinerary.  For the tourist industry this measure represents real practical assistance at a time when it is clearly needed.

I am also pleased to announce today that nationals of the 16 countries involved in the Programme, who are long term legal residents in the UK, will have the cost of a visa to Ireland waived as part of this scheme.

There are very substantial numbers of people in this category in the UK – some estimates suggest that it is a million plus.  This further announcement will, I believe, open up further opportunities for our tourism industry.  These potential visitors – who may never have considered coming here for a break – will now be able to come here with relative ease with no add-on visa fee.

This concession is, I believe, a further significant development of practical assistance and I know you will use it as a further opportunity to generate additional  badly needed  tourism activity.  Like the Waiver Programme, this measure also comes into force tomorrow.

Today's launch marks, in many ways, a significant shift in the way policy and public services are developed in this country.  Put at it’s simplest, it is joined-up Government in action.  The main players came together in an open dialogue where there was a shared acceptance that things needed to change to help one of our major employers up off its knees.  The Visa Waiver Programme, as well as the waiving of the visa charge for long-term UK residents, is a real and tangible outcome of this process of engagement, facilitated and led by my Department.

I would also like to take this opportunity to thank the Garda National Immigration Bureau for their help and cooperation in developing this Programme.  Officers of the Bureau, in their capacity as Immigration Officers, will be, of course, on the “front line” in ensuring that the Programme runs smoothly as they are responsible for clearing visitors to enter the State at airports and other points of entry.  The Bureau has also been a valuable liaison with air and other carriers.

I am also grateful for the cooperation shown by the UK authorities.  My Department works very closely with the UK Border Agency on all aspects of immigration and border control.  This initiative is, I hope, just the first step to even greater cooperation within the context of the Common Travel Area.  In this respect, my officials have had preliminary discussions with their UK counterparts to explore the feasibility of introducing reciprocal arrangements.  I have also personally been supported in this initiative by my colleague, the Home Secretary, Theresa May, with whom I first discussed it on the margins of the first European Council meeting of Justice and Home Affairs Ministers that I attended in Luxembourg.

In conclusion, the task for you all now is to do your utmost in getting the message out to the target countries; I urge you to keep at it and wish you every success.

Thank you

Remarks by the Tánaiste at the Launch of the Short Stay Visa Programme
30 June 2011

I warmly welcome the introduction of the Short Stay Visa Programme and look forward to enhancing our tourism and business links with the sixteen countries included in the initial programme.

As a small, open economy with relatively modest levels of domestic demand, Ireland is reliant on trade.  The Government believes that Ireland’s recovery will necessarily be export-led and that employment will be created through direct jobs and substantial secondary employment.

The promotion of Ireland’s trade and economic interests is a core element of the work of the Department of Foreign Affairs.  The recent transfer of the trade promotion functions to what is now the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade has strengthened this responsibility.

Since the announcement of the Short Stay Visa Waiver Programme in May, my Department and our Embassies have been actively informing the relevant Government authorities and travel interests in the countries concerned about the programme and the opportunities which flow from it.

On a wider front, we have been active in efforts to support both the restoration of Ireland’s international reputation and the export led growth, which is crucial to our recovery. 

Our enhanced responsibilities under the banner of Trade Promotion will allow the Embassy network to develop further their role in supporting Irish business and, more importantly, in building economic linkages between Ireland and our priority trading partners.

When I spoke to the conference of Ambassadors at the beginning of this month in Dublin, I stressed that the task of Embassies is to turn our network of contacts into an asset which will secure tangible returns for the Irish economy. 

Under the new arrangements, I will chair the management of the Export Trade Council.  The Council will bring together relevant Government Departments, the State Agencies and private sector participants with experience of the export sector.  It will monitor implementation of the Government’s Trading and Investing in a Smart Economy Strategy.

The government recognises that, as a relatively small player in the global market place, it is critical that we go forward as a coherent team when promoting our economic interests abroad.  This joined up approach is even more necessary when trying to gain or increase our foothold in new high growth potential markets. 

One of the key challenges identified in the Strategy for Government is how to make Ireland competitive on all fronts – including the ease and affordability of immigration procedures.

While acknowledging clearly that immigration and border controls generally are broad and very complex issues, involving social policy, national sovereignty and security considerations, there was a clear recognition amongst all of the relevant Departments and State Agencies that the current Irish visa regime sometimes acts as a constraint on the expansion of trade, tourism and investment, particularly in relation to new and high-growth markets outside the EU and the US.  

We all recognise that critical importance of measures to facilitate entrepreneurial, business and tourist travel to Ireland.  Without them Ireland will find itself at a competitive disadvantage.  In a fast changing global economic climate we need to have a visa system that responds to the many new ways of doing business. 

The visa waiver programme announced today is the first tangible outcome of that new mechanism and represents the kind of joined up action required of Government if we are to meet the challenge of export led recovery. I am confident that this initiative will help to give tourist numbers from new high growth markets a much needed boost.

I look forward to further such programmes to facilitate entrepreneurs and investors who wish to do business in Ireland, at the earliest opportunity.  While there  is potential for Irish companies to further grow our existing key markets such as the UK, the US and the Eurozone, we are all well aware of the  significant potential for them to increase or gain a foothold in other high-growth and high-potential markets.

The new and high potential growth markets such as Brazil, China, India, Russia, and the Gulf States, present distinct challenges, not only in terms of language and cultural attributes, but also in terms of business cultures, practices and regulation. When the problems of access are added to this list the end result has been that many Irish companies are put off doing business with these markets.  However, I do not need to remind anyone here today that these are among the fastest growing economies in the world and that we cannot afford to ignore them.   

I am determined that my Department, working with the other Departments and the state agencies, will do everything within its capacity to help Irish companies break into these markets.

We need joined up action as well as joined up thinking.  The introduction of the visa waiver programme is an example of the kind of practical solutions we can come up with dealing with our economic challenges.  I am confident that, working in partnership, the Government, its agencies and private enterprise can together come up with further creative and imaginative initiatives which will help achieve the Government’s priority of sustainable export led recovery.

 

http://www.inis.gov.ie/en/INIS/Pages/WP11000005

Important Notice for Women Over 30

Final Campaign for the Anti-D/Hepatitis C National Screening Programme

 

Please answer these three simple Yes/No questions carefully.

1. Did you have a miscarriage or a baby in Ireland between

§  1^st May 1977 and 31^st July 1979 or

§  1^st March 1991 and 18^th February 1994?

2. Are you Rhesus negative?
3. Did you receive Anti-D to prevent ‘blue baby syndrome’ during either of these periods?

 

If your answers are ‘Yes’, and you have not already tested for Hepatitis C, then you need to contact the Irish Blood Transfusion Service (IBTS) to arrange for a Hepatitis C blood test with your local GP.

 

Certain batches of Anti-D that were issued during the above periods were unsafe and caused Hepatitis C infection in some women. As records are not complete, we do not have a full list of everyone who received contaminated Anti-D.

 

Most women who received Anti-D have already been tested. We are now in the final stages of tracing any remaining women who received Anti-D during these periods and who have not already been tested for Hepatitis C.

 

We are aware that some women affected by this may be living abroad and we are anxious to make contact with them. If you or someone you know fits this category (for example your sister, mother or friend) please ask them to contact us.

The IBTS will treat all contact in complete confidence and will pay for your GP appointment.

 

HOW TO CONTACT US

Freephone Helpline 1800 222 111

If calling from outside Ireland: Please phone: +353 1 432 2872

Email: RecipientTracing@ibts.ie

 

Further Information is available on our website

www.giveblood.ie/ Clinic_Services/Monitoring_Programmes

 

 

 

Ronan Keating visited Vietnam on 19 September 2009. During his short stay in Hanoi, the Embassy arranged a surprise visit to Thanh Xuan Peace Village, where the children entertained him with singing and dance performances. He responded with the traditional Irish love song "She Moves Through the Fair". He is pictured here with Hoang Duc Tho, aged 12, from Tam Nong district of Phu Tho Province, north of Hanoi.

Ronan Keating tới Việt Nam ngày 19/9/2009. Trong chuyến thăm ngắn ngày tại Hà Nội, Đại Sứ quán đã tổ chức một chuyến thăm bất ngời tới Làng Hòa Bình Thanh Xuân, tại đây các em đã biểu diễn hát và nhảy. Ronan Keating đã hát tặng các em một bài hát truyền thống Ai Len "She Moves Through the Fair". Trong ảnh là em Hoàn Đức Thọ, 12 tuổi, từ huyện Tam Nông tỉnh Phúc Thọ.

Thanh Xuan Peace Village was established in 1991 to provide rehabilitation, treatment, care and support, and counselling service to 130 children with disabilities and victims of agent orange/dioxin. The Village has 55 staff members including 11 doctors. Ireland Aid has supported with a grant of €3,000 from a fund-raising event. Working with people with disabilities is a key part of Irish Aid's country strategy in Vietnam [link to CSP here]. Seen here, Ronan Keating gives a "thumbs up" to the many talented children of Thanh Xuan Peace Village on 19 September 2009.

Làng Hòa Bình Thanh Xuân được thành lập năm 1991 với chức năng cung cấp các dịch vụ phục hồi chức năng, điều trị, chăm sóc và hỗ trợ, và tư vấn cho 130 trẻ em khuyết tật và nạn nhân chất độc màu da cam và điôxin. Làng có 55 nhân viên bao gồm 11 bác sĩ. Ai Len đã tài trợ €3,000 cho Làng từ một hoạt động gây quỹ từ thiện. Hỗ trợ người khuyết tật là một trọng tâm trong chiến lược viện trợ của Irish Aid tại Việt Nam. Ronan Keating với các các em nhỏ Làng Hòa Bình Thanh Xuân, ngày 19/9/2009

Country Strategy Paper - English (PDF 10402kb)   Vietnamese (PDF 10439kb)