Immigration news

Micheàl Martin, T.D., Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment confirmed in an interview last week that the first Irish "green cards" for foreign workers will be issued "early" in 2007. The Minister said that the regulations providing for the green cards will be signed into law sometime during January.

The minister expected that as many as 10,000 people from all over the world would come to Ireland to avail of the scheme when it was fully operational - with a take-up of about 5,000 in the first year.

The city of Farmers Branch, Texas is one of dozens of municipalities around the United States that, frustrated with federal deadlock on immigration reform, adopted tough measures on illegal immigration last year.

Amanda Vanstone, Australia's Minister for Immigration and Multicultural Affairs, had some nice things to say about the new movie Happy Feet, an animated film about a tap-dancing penguin.

As of 19 January, "non-citizens" of Latvia and Estonia will be able to travel without visas to Norway, Iceland and European Union Member Sates, excepting Great Britain and Ireland.

The new regulations permit visa-free travel to approximately half a million 'aliens' - stateless persons living in Estonia and Latvia.

On 01 January 2007, Slovenia has become Europe's first former communist country to adopt the euro ( € ) as its official currency; it is also the first of the ten States that joined to form the EU-25 in May 2004.

The euro symbol was displayed on flags, balloons and t-shirts at New Year's Eve celebrations in the capital Ljubljana as Slovenes prepared for the switch.

Over the past several months there have been reports of shortages for doctors and nurses in several regions of Canada. In some cases, hospitals have been closing down beds on some days and some surgeries have been rescheduled.