WELCOME TO European Union European Regional Development Fund Investing in your future WELCOME TO Welcome to Donegal 4 Ireland:The Facts 6 Getting to know Donegal a little better... 8 Immigration to Ireland 12 The Irish Social Welfare System 17 Moving to Ireland 23 Emergency Services 25 Health Service 27 Education 31 Things you should know 34 Eating in Ireland 38 Directory Foreign Embassies / Consulates 40 Government Departments in Donegal 45 Local government offices in Donegal 47 Social Welfare Offices in Donegal 48 Hospitals in Donegal 49 Citizens Information Centres in Donegal 50 Garda Stations in Donegal 52 Health Centres in Donegal 56 Library Service 60 Addresses of Resource Groups / Useful Contacts 63 WELCOME TO Acknowledgements This booklet was originally produced by Donegal Local Development Company with equal funding provided by the Citizens Information Board. The purpose of the booklet was to equip newly arrived foreign nationals to County Donegal with information on local public and voluntary services available and to give them a sense of the culture of the place in which they were coming to live and work.The booklet was published in a number of languages. The production of the original booklet was supported by a Steering Group who assisted the project managed by Karin White of Donegal Local Development Company with particular assistance from Sean Staunton of the Citizens information Board and Noirin Farren, of the Donegal Citizens information Service. This second revised edition is funded by the PEACE III programme as managed for the Special EU Programmes body by Donegal County Council. We would like to thank Francis Conaghan, Donegal County Council, Sean Staunton of the Citizens information Board and Karen white, Port na Failte, Donegal County Council. A special thank you goes to Bethel, volunteer at Port na Failte and Phil Tysall of Donegal county council for spending many hours on working on the revisions. It is hoped that the booklet will benefit many foreign nationals coming to the County and indeed the agencies and organisations which work with them. Caoimhin Mac Aoidh Chief Executive Donegal Local Development Company DONEGAL LOCAL DEVELOPMENT COMPANY Millennium Court, Pearse Road, Letterkenny, Co. Donegal Telephone: +353 74 91 27056 WELCOME TO 3 WELCOME TO Welcome to Donegal Donegal (Irish: Dún na nGall) in the Province of Ulster, one of the four historic provinces in Ireland. The county town is Lifford and Letterkenny is the county’s largest town.The Irish name for Donegal translates into English as ‘Castle of the Strangers’. Over the years Donegal has been well documented for its ability to improve a person’s quality of life and you have made the right choice in your selection of this region. This booklet is for people coming to live and work in Donegal. It details your rights and responsibilities as a new citizen whilst you live and work here.We have included some information on the services you may need and how you can access them. But first, a little information about your new home... Donegal is part of the North West region which comprises of three counties- Donegal, Sligo and Leitrim which combined with counties Derry, Tyrone, Fermanagh, Down, Antrim and Armagh make up the historic province of Ulster. After the partition of Ireland in 1922 Ulster was separated with Donegal, Sligo and Leitrim becoming part of the new Irish Republic and the other six counties making up Northern Ireland. The Donegal coastline is the longest in the country. The climate is temperate with cool damp summers and mild wet winters. Donegal is viewed as being divided into a number of areas both on an economic and physical basis – the three main parts of the county are the Inishowen Peninsula, Donegal Central & South and the Gaeltacht area to the North West. Donegal was occupied by people more than 9,000 years ago and is famous for its history and its archaeology. Christianity had a major influence in Donegal and many of the first Christian monuments can be seen today. The history of Donegal is dominated by two great families; the O’Donnells 4 and the O’Neills. For over 1,000 years the clans fought each other for control and finally the O’Donnells were victorious. The 17th century was perhaps the bloodiest in Ireland's history and as punishment for the failed rebellion of 1641, almost all lands owned by Irish Catholics were confiscated and given to British settlers.This was called the Plantation. History Potatoes were the main staple food of a poor yet rapidly growing population who were forced to live from the land, on often very poor ground. Potato blight led to crop failures. The Irish potato famine of 1846 led to the death and emigration of approximately two million Irish people. The 1890s saw some improvement in the treatment of poor tenants, but the question of Home Rule continued to be raised and led to a rebellion in 1916, known as the ‘Easter Rising’. In 1918 Republicans set up their own parliament in Dublin and declared war on British troops in Ireland. In 1921 the ‘Irish Free State’ was declared; however, six predominantly Protestant and Unionist counties in Ulster were not included and a civil war ensued for a brief period. More recently, in Donegal’s neighbouring counties of Northern Ireland, civil demonstrations by Catholics in 1968 led to political unrest. In 1998 the Good Friday Agreement was endorsed in referenda in the North and South.This saw the introduction of a separate Northern Ireland Assembly, the peace process and increasing levels of co-operation by both governments. Activities Donegal provides an excellent backdrop for lots of sporting and leisure activities,that the county offers.Golfers need not go far to find a green, surfers a high wave and anglers can cast upon the many lakes and rivers, or simply trek along the vast landscape on horseback or on foot. Donegal has it all- sandy beaches, rugged mountains, blissful isolation and enough shops for some serious retail therapy. Some Places of Interest Doe Castle, Glenveagh National Park, Donegal Castle, Grianán of Aileach, Glengesh Pass Forest, Inishowen Peninsula, Aranmore Island and the Bluestack mountains. Donegal Castle in Donegal Town 5 WELCOME TO Ireland: The Facts Area: 70,282 sq. km Donegal: The Donegal mainland coastline is the longest in the country at 1,134km and constitutes over 17% of the total national coastline. Climate: The climate is temperate with cool damp summers and mild wet winters. Population: 4.2 million (Census 2006) Capital City: Dublin (population: 1.2 million) County Donegal: population: 147,000 Languages: Irish (Gaelic) is the first official language, although English, the second official Language is almost universally used. Religions: Roman Catholic 88.4%, Church of Ireland 2.9%, Presbyterian 0.5%, Methodist 0.25%; Muslim 0.48%, Jewish 0.1%; Other 5.5% (2006 Census) Currency: Euro Government: The 1937 Constitution makes provision for a President, elected by the population every 7 years; a Dáil (pronounced 'doyle') or lower house of Parliament, with 166 members (called TDs); and a Seanad (pronounced 'shannad') or upper house with 60 members. Parliamentary elections are held every five years. The present government was formed in June 2007. Local government is very important in Ireland. Apart from Dáil Éireann and the presidency, it is the only other institution whose members are directly elected by all of the people. Local government is responsible for a range of services. Due to the role local authorities play,the range of matters for which they are responsible and their closeness to local communities, local government has a more immediate effect on the day-to-day lives of the people than most other sectors of public administration. 6 Donegal County Council has responsibility for local administration and this operates alongside Town Councils in Buncrana, Bundoran, Letterkenny and Ballyshannon. Both the Town Councils and the Donegal County Council have elections every five years usually along with elections to the National Parliament (Dáil Éireann) and sometimes alongside the European elections. For local elections, twenty-nine councillors are elected using the electoral system called ‘Proportional Representation’ and these councillors are elected in five main electoral areas in Inishowen, Stranolar. Glenties, Letterkenny and Donegal Town. The County Council main offices are at the County House in Lifford but they have outreach offices in Carndonagh, Milford, Dungloe, Letterkenny and Donegal Town. For National Elections Donegal is divided into two constituencies called Donegal South West and Donegal North East with both having three representatives attending the National Parliament in Dublin and also for the European elections Donegal is part of the North West constituency with Leitrim and Sligo. Donegal County Council, the Local Authority for County Donegal (exclusive of four Town Council areas), provides an extensive range of services in the county. These services range from planning control to the provision of social housing, the upkeep and improvement of roads, pollution control, fire services, sanitary services and cultural services such as museums and libraries. For more information about Donegal County County Council see: www.donegalcoco.ie 7 WELCOME TO Getting to know Donegal a little better... The main towns in Donegal: Ballyshannon, Ballybofey, Buncrana, Bundoran, Donegal, Dungloe, Killybegs, Letterkenny and Lifford. Physical features: Rivers/Lakes/Bays: Inishowen Peninsula, Malin Head,Lough Swilly,Lough Derg,Rossan Point,Donegal Bay: Mountains: Bluestack Mts, Derryveigh Mts: Islands include the populated islands of Arranmore and Tory. Population: Donegal County 146,956 Persons (2006); Letterkenny is the main area of population with approximately 17,700 people in the town. Transportation: Most road signs in Ireland are in both Irish (Gaelic) and English.In the Republic of Ireland the maximum speed limit is as follows, (the Northern Ireland speed limit is shown in miles).