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Non EEA Students can apply for permission to remain in the State and work! Closing date for applications 20th January 2019. Minister Flanagan announced a Special Scheme allowing certain non-EEA nationals to apply for permission to remain in the State <ul> <li>Non-EEA nationals resident in the State who held a valid student permission from 2005 to 2010 to benefit </li><li>Scheme expected to address a significant cohort of the &#39;undocumented&#39; persons in the State</li></ul> The Minister for Justice and Equality, Charlie Flanagan, T.D., recently announced the launch of a scheme which will allow certain non-EEA nationals, who came to Ireland to study between January 2005 and December 2010, to apply for permission to remain in the State. The scheme will be open for 3 months, from Monday 15th October 2018 to Sunday 20th January 2019, and is open to non-EEA nationals resident in the State who held a valid student permission during the period of 1 January 2005 to 31 December 2010 and who have not in the intervening period acquired an alternative immigration permission. In welcoming the scheme, the Minister made the point that he expects that those who benefit from it are in turn going to benefit the economy, saying: &quot;I am pleased that the scheme provides that permission will be granted for an initial probationary period of two years at the end of which qualifying persons must be able to clearly demonstrate that they are self-sufficient and did not become an unreasonable burden on the State. In these circumstances, beneficiaries can be expected to be net contributors to the economy.&quot; INIS has developed an online application form for eligible applicants to apply under the scheme. Eligible applicants may apply to the Minister for Justice and Equality for a permission to remain in the State including the right to reside and work in the State and will be subject to renewal after two years. Modest fees will be charged under the scheme. The Scheme addresses a significant cohort of people who have been in the State for a long number of years and who form part of the &quot;undocumented&quot; persons in the State by virtue of them having moved from a position of having permission to be in the State some years ago to having fallen out of permission. While family reunification is not permitted under this scheme, the family circumstances of persons present in the State will be taken into consideration. For persons qualifying under this Scheme, the family unit who have been residing with them in the State may be given permission to remain under the scheme. Full details and criteria for the scheme together with the online application form are set-out on the INIS website www.inis.gov.ie. Who is eligible for this scheme? Non-EEA nationals resident in the State who held a student permission during the period of 1 January 2005 and 31 December 2010, who have not in the intervening period acquired an alternative immigration permission. Other conditions include not having a criminal record. How long will the scheme be open for? The scheme will be open for 3 months, from Monday 15 October 2018 to Sunday 20 January 2019 (inclusive). INIS has developed an online application form for eligible applicants to apply under the scheme. Can people currently not residing in Ireland apply for permission under this scheme? No, applications are only accepted from people who are residing in Ireland. Is there a fee for applying to this scheme? Yes. A non-refundable administration fee of €250 applies to the processing of this application, which must be paid at the time of application. An additional €450 fee must also be paid at the time of application, and this will be refunded if the application is unsuccessful. Successful applicants will be issued with an initial 2 year registration at a reduced fee of €300 (normal fees would be €600 i.e. €300 paid annually). What immigration stamp will successful applicants receive and can they access the labour market? Successful applicants will be granted a stamp 4S permission that will provide an immigration permission to live and work in the State without the need for an Employment Permit, for 2 years. At the end of the 2 year permission period applicants will be granted a Stamp 4 permission for 1 year if they can provide evidence that they have complied with the terms of the temporary stamp 4S conditions. If applicants are granted a Stamp 4S permission, can their family members obtain this permission also? Under this scheme, family reunification is not permitted - i.e. spouse or partner and dependent children living outside the State, cannot seek to join the applicant in Ireland. However, the family circumstances of persons present in the State will be taken into consideration. This means that where a person qualifies under this Scheme, the family unit who have been residing with them in the State may be given permission to remain under the scheme. What are the conditions attached to this permission? The following conditions apply to the temporary permission on Stamp 4S conditions to remain in Ireland: <ul> <li>That they will obey the laws of the State; </li><li>That they have and will in the future not become involved in criminal activity; </li><li>That they will reside continuously in the State; </li><li>That they will make every effort to gain employment and not be an undue burden on the State; </li><li>That they accept that the granting of this temporary permission does not confer any entitlement or legitimate expectation on any other person, whether related to you or not, to enter or remain in the State; </li><li>That at the end of the 2 year period they have acquired at least the minimum English language skills as set out in the Scheme Notice.</li></ul> What happens at the end of the 2 year period? After two years, if applicants have adhered to the terms of their permission they will be granted a Stamp 4 permission for a further 12 months. The permission to reside on Stamp 4 conditions is renewable after 12 months if they have adhered to the conditions of that permission. <a href="http://www.inis.gov.ie/en/INIS/Pages/press-release-special-scheme-for-students-launched-151018">Source</a> To find work in Ireland go to <a href="www.jobalert.ie">www.jobalert.ie</a>

"Undocumented” may be entitled to Reside and Work in the State! 

A new Affordable Childcare Scheme is opening up to all Irish parents from October 2019! In this article, we look at 8 different examples given on what parents and parents to be can expect, as Minister for Children and Youth Affairs, Dr. Katherine Zappone continues to prepare for its&#39; implementation. While this scheme makes great strides in the right direction, will it do enough to support parents who want to continue working after having a family? Amount of subsidy available is based on net household income and number and age of children. Examples <ul> <li>Lone parent on net annual income of €26,000, with one child aged 2 years in need of 40 hours of childcare per week will get a weekly subsidy of €175 </li><li>Family with a net annual income of €30,000, with two children aged 1 and 2.5 years and in need of 25 hours of childcare per week will get a weekly subsidy of €220 </li><li>Family with net annual income of €34,600, with a 1 year old and 2 year old twins in need of 40 hours of childcare per week; €522 </li><li>Family with net annual income of €35,000, with two children aged 1 and 2.5 years and in need of 25 hours of childcare per week: €192 </li><li>Family with net annual income of €47,500, with two children aged 2 years (40 hours childcare per week) and 5 years (17 hours out-of-school care per week): €128 </li><li>Family with net annual income of €53,000, with two children aged 2 years (40 hours childcare per week) and 5 years (17 hours out-of-school care per week) (Making 10% pension contribution); €93 </li><li>Family with net annual income of €60,000, with a 1 year old and 2 year old twins in need of 40 hours of childcare per week; €176</li> <li> Family with net annual income of €60,000, with three children aged 2 years (40 hours childcare per week) and 5 years (17 hours out-of-school care per week) and 7 (17 hours out-of-school care per week). (Making 10% pension contribution); €92 </li></ul> Of course, it&#39;s always &quot;worth it&quot; to have a healthy beautiful family, but is it worth continuing to work? Are parents being forced out of the workforce, predominantly women due to the costs associated with childcare? This is the question that faces a lot of parents as they decide whether one parent should stay at home - at least until the children are school going age. During a time of almost &quot;full employment&quot; can we afford to lose key skilled professionals? It&#39;s fine if it&#39;s by choice, but what if we are forcing people out of the workforce! According to recent data from the Central Statistics Office (CSO) there is a massive financial burden on working parents around the country since the crash as costs for childcare continue to soar. We now rank amongst the highest in Europe. The latest household budget surveys revealed that on average, a Dublin household with children up to the age of 14 was spending 36pc more than it had been paying five years ago with some families outlaying more on childcare than on their mortgage. Full Time childcare costs can range between €850 - €1,300 a month for 1 child depending on the location of the Childcare service. An average of almost €13,000 a year. The minister&#39;s office has announced that comprehensive information, training and support will be available to parents, childcare providers and other stakeholders from early next year and that these changes will mean that more families will benefit. Further information will continue to be available on <a href="http://www.affordablechildcare.ie">www.affordablechildcare.ie</a> over the coming months.

Childcare subsidy for "Irish Triplets" 

Minister for Children and Youth Affairs, Dr Katherine Zappone, has announced that the new Affordable Childcare Scheme will open for applications in mid- October 2019, with payments flowing from November 2019.  The scheme will offer a single, easy to access system of financial subsidies towards childcare for families in Ireland.  Through this, it will enhance affordability and accessibility, and provide a platform for investment in quality childcare to benefit current and future generations.  “I have been steadfast in my commitment to deliver the crucial change that families need, and so I am delighted to be able to announce the timeframe for the introduction of the new Affordable Childcare Scheme” commented Minister Zappone.  “We are building the radical new childcare infrastructure needed to transform childcare in Ireland from one of the most expensive in the world into one of the very best. This involves putting in place a legislative framework, through the Childcare Support Act 2018, and building a world class IT system to allow parents to access tailored childcare supports that will meet the needs of each family.  By lowering childcare costs, the Affordable Childcare Scheme aims to support parents to return to work and training, to reduce child poverty and to improve child outcomes.” From October 2019 everyone will be able to apply for the new Affordable Childcare Scheme.  To ensure a smooth transition for both parents and providers, the current childcare subsidy schemes will remain in place for the 2019/20 programme year.  People will be able to register for the current schemes as normal, from August 2019 up until the new Affordable Childcare Scheme launches.  After the launch date, people can choose to move over to the new Scheme or to remain on their old scheme for the remainder of the programme year.  This will provide certainty for current scheme beneficiaries, offer ample time to apply for the new scheme and ensure that no family is worse off during the transition period.  Once the Affordable Childcare Scheme is in place in October 2019, registrations under the existing schemes will cease. Comprehensive information, training and supports will be available to parents, childcare providers and other stakeholders from early next year in readiness for the launch of the scheme.  Enhancements to the Affordable Childcare Scheme announced as part of Budget 2019 will mean that an even greater number of families will now benefit from the scheme.  The significant increase in the maximum net income threshold to €60,000 per annum means that an estimated 7,500 additional children will benefit from the scheme relative to the original proposals, including some families with gross income of up to €100,000 per annum.  Over 40,000 other children, already eligible, will see increases to their subsidies.  Childcare providers, who play an integral role in the delivery of all of the DCYA childcare schemes, will continue to receive a Programme Support Payment (PSP) in 2019. Budget 2019 provided funding of €19.4m for PSP, an increase of nearly 8%, which will bring the total amount of PSP paid to childcare providers since 2017 to over €55m in recognition of the administrative support they offer in delivering the schemes’ benefits to parents. Further information relating to the launch of the scheme will be made available at <a href="http://affordablechildcare.ie/">www.affordablechildcare.ie</a> over the coming months. Families can also find information on the website in relation to existing supports to make childcare more affordable in Ireland.  What will the Affordable Childcare Scheme mean for different families? The amount of subsidy available under the new scheme is tailored to every individual household’s circumstances, i.e. it is based on the net income of the household, the number of children and the ages of the children. The table below provides examples based on 8 common family circumstances <a href="https://www.dcya.gov.ie/documents/earlyyears/20181106TableEarlyYearsScheme06Oct2018.pdf">(Click Here).</a> <a href="http://affordablechildcare.ie/?fbclid=IwAR0zlHNnKzwxAjR9g9lITzufemFy0Ec75EF0oYCJysomu4p2xPtQybKdL8M">Source</a>

New Affordable Childcare Scheme to open for applications in October 2019

Retail giants Argos have announced they&#39;re hiring 310 staff in Dublin and Ireland to manage the busy Black Friday and Christmas periods. The UK retailer is looking for customer advisors and stock assistants to help meet customer demand during these peak shopping times. The company says it will offer mostly 20 hours per week contracts with fewer hours available on request. New team members are promised &#39;competitive hourly rates, a variety of shifts, a fun and friendly team culture and the chance to develop new skills through training&#39;. There is also potential for some seasonal roles to become permanent, where vacancies exist. Angie Risley, Group HR Director said: “Black Friday and Christmas are busy times in retail and it’s really exciting to work with us during the festive period. &quot;If you enjoy helping people, like working in a team with friendly, enthusiastic colleagues and want to learn new skills, then this is the right job for you.” For more information on how to apply <a href="https://www.jobalert.ie/job/christmas-staff-argos-argos">click here</a>

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