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IRISH PEOPLE WILL continue to benefit from social welfare rights in the UK and vice-versa despite Brexit, the Department of Social Protection has said.
The reassurance comes after Minister Social Protection Heather Humphreys signed the commencement order for a Convention on Social Security with the UK.
The Common Travel Area (CTA) between Ireland and the UK has been maintained despite Brexit, meaning citizens from either country are free to live, work and study in the other.
The convention therefore seeks to extend these freedoms to social welfare entitlements.
“I am pleased to re-assure people that my department has good news for citizens, the social welfare arrangements that we already have in place will continue without any change,” Humphreys has said today.
As of a result of commencing the convention now, I can assure you that if you are an Irish citizen living in the UK, or a British citizen living in Ireland, your social welfare rights will not change after 1 January 2021.
The agreement covers a range of different benefits including those for sickness, parents, pensions and unemployment.
Under the terms of the convention, Ireland will also recognise UK social insurance contributions made by EU citizens in the UK for the purposes of social security benefits in Ireland.
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Ditch the CTA we are with Europe not the UK. They don’t want foreigners in little England and we are foreign.
@Gary Garden: I’d say the thousands of Irish in the UK and British in Ireland will disagree with you there
@Gary Garden: let’s ditch a mutually beneficial arrangement. Let’s not let Brexit destroy everything.
@Gary Garden: what a ridiculous comment. there are 320000 Irish working in the UK, are you suggesting the freedoms and rights should be revoked?
@Stephen Nix: Absolutely nothing ridiculous about it, EU citizens have their rights protected and part of the withdrawal agreement, Irish citizens their would avail of same and the same would be applied to existing UK citizens in Ireland. We are not apart of the same structure anymore and we should have the same structure as the other 26 EU nations. Why should we be treating UK different and vice versa! Can we not stand alone and be properly EU? It’s this subservient mindset which you and others have keep us in lockstep with the UK. Be strong and be independant for god sake smh.
@Gary Garden: why can’t we have both?
@Gary Garden: ‘little England’ is not the UK. There are other ‘parts’ of the UK that voted strongly in favour of remaining in the EU. One of them is part of this island and another is where I come from. Or are you in favour of a hard border in the north?
@Iain MacLaren: 100% not. I think if you bothered to read the Withdrawal Agreement you would have understood this was dealt with adequately. The CTA should not be in the discussion regarding N.I anyways, Britain is a separate entity.
@Gary Garden: Can you walk me through the negative points of the agreement? I see nothing but positive points for Irish Citizens. As a country it makes complete sense to act in the interest of our citizens and this is certainly in our interest. What am I missing exactly?
@Gary Garden:
The I’m alright Jack attitude stinks.
I’m English, lived here since childhood, worked all my life, never unemployed and helped pay the dole of others.
Yet you want me to be stripped of pension rights even though I’ve only ever worked in Ireland and for a couple of years in Denmark?
Not very cost effective bearing in mind the massive Irish population in the U.K.
@Gavin Conran: Hi Gavin, HNY. Right, you seem to miss the whole point of my statement. Existing rights would be protected under the WA, that goes for existing UK and Ireland citizens. Status quo If you will. The basis of my argument is going forward we are separate entities, why should we be treating UK citizens as if they are Irish?? Maybe you can enlighten me there? In the case of the North, yes 100% but GB no. Are we EU or just a servant neighbour to UK? Why cant we be a sovereign equal EU state??
@Gary Garden: That’s some drivel.
@Tommy Berry: I’d say you made a living from drivel Tommy the westy.
@Gary Garden: Ridiculous. Thousands of Irish people live in the UK and many more there identity as Irish. As things stand we will enjoy access to both the UK and EU in these areas despite the silliness from fanatical EU political ideologues like yourself.
@Matt Anson: Indeed. But Gary in his wisdom tells us they’ll be kicking all the ‘foreigners’ out of England..
@Gavin Conran: yes . Interestingly in 2018 , the net immigrant flow was from U.K. to Ireland . Now what happens if brexit is a complete disaster and we have 20-40,000 coming into the republic every year . That’s why it’s good to discuss these issues .
@Gary Garden: you say the CTA should not be up for discussion
@Gary Garden: you say the CTA should not be up for discussion regarding NI, and Britain is a separate entity.. I don’t think you know the difference between Britain, The United Kingdom and England. So until you do stop pretending to be all knowledgeable about it eh!
@Matt Anson: Chalk it down my family had to emigrate to GB in 50s like millions of others and now this guy want to abolish the CTA with all its consequences for countless numbers of people,a quite lunatic suggestion if ever there was one.
@Gary Garden: the more I see your comments the more I can tell you’re the kind of man that no-one would like. what utter bollo**s you talk its constant and its dribble why for the love of God just keep your moth shut
@Gary Garden: seems like anyone tells you how embarrassing you are. You just try label them westy mr Gary scruff bag button it ye muppet
@Gary Garden: tell that to the hundreds of thousand of irish in the uk….
I’m from the UK, living in Ireland since 72.
…does that make me a foreigner!!
..
@Gary Garden: sovereign state.. Dependent on usa investment.
What does Ireland produce outside of booze and agriculture!!
Garry Garden what’s planted in your brain sawdust
@FlopFlipU: Chartered Engineer with Masters I’d hazard a guess I’ve more than sawdust. Lol I.diot.
@Gary Garden:
Sad little man
@Gary Garden: Congrats
@billy bound: I’m happy and 6 foot 2 :)
@Gary Garden: You’d fit in really well in little England.
@Tim Cookson: I’m just a patriot Timmy.
@Gary Garden: Define a patriot Gary, is it someone who hates England? I think you forget that for centuries England has been a place where most Irish people went for work, and had it not been for the UK this little Island of ours would have been a third world country up to about 1990.I hate the fact that the UK has left the EU, but I applaud our government for keeping the CTA and reciprocal rights for the citizens of both nations.
@The Firestarter: I dont hate England, i was born there, worked there, have many friend there. I want Ireland to move forward independently as a single and sovereign country which is not in servitude to a country which has bestowed so much misery onto Ireland, you know like famine, illegally occupying us for hundreds of years and still they think they have some hold over us. They cant even put up a map without including ireland on it. Are with Europe or not?? An institution that’s had out best interests at heart from Day 1. I just dont get why there are so many people who have the subservient attitude. Like serious can we not take ourselves serious enough to break away????
@Gary Garden: But we are an independent and sovereign country, and bar maybe television and sports, there is very little that we depend on the UK for. Like it or not they are the closest country to us in many ways, but I think it’s somewhat disingenuous to state that we are still dependent on the UK.
@FlopFlipU: he actually makes some very interesting points . While your comment just shows you up
@The Firestarter: you need to read about economic history of Ireland in the 19th century. Focus on the industrial acts .. their motives and consequences.
@Gary Garden: if you want to move independently and maintain sovereignty you best have a chat with those fellas in Brussels bud…….given you’re already in a monetary union and moving towards full fiscal union
@Gary Garden: omg you have some cheek calling anyone westy ye brit do u have nothing better to do than troll the journal. god help ye if I come a cross ye 6.2 or not id break ya
@Michael Patrick: Hi Mick, I feel bad for myself responding to such low level tripe, did you read my messages, they were very pro Brit you dummy weren’t they, not 1 drop of British blood in me so dont you dare call me a Brit. I’ve lived all my life in Ireland bar 2 months. I’d love to meet you on the streets and crack your filthy mouth. It wouldn’t take long believe me.
@Gary Garden: pal im in tullamore any time you wanna dance i won’t be hard to find
@Michael Patrick: Fair play to you Michael. There’s no space for awful trolls like that and hopefully more will grow a back bone and tell these journal trolliers where to go
@Michael Patrick: Fair play to you Michael. There’s no space for awful malicious dopes like that and hopefully more will grow a back bone and tell these journal trolliers where to go
@Michael Patrick: Fair play to you Michael. There’s no space for malicious dopes like that and hopefully more will grow a back bone and tell these journal trolliers where to go
@Michael Patrick: Fair play to you Michael. Bullies need to leave
@Michael Patrick: Fair play to you Michael. He’s not nice
@HonestGrump:
Obviously I got stung by the “failed to post” bug
@Gary Garden: I think that you, ve a touch of cognitive dissonance dissonance!!!
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