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“Ireland is one of the only countries in the EU which does not allow spouses or partners of highly-skilled workers to have direct access to employment and self-employment.” - Sorcha Pollak, The Irish Times.
“All the women in my family had a career and contributed to the family income – my mum was a doctor and my grandmother was a biology teacher. We planned our life in Ireland keeping in mind that we would have two working professionals in the family. I feel worthless, isolated and powerless. I cannot integrate as I cannot work.” - Nadia Bocharskaia in the Irish Times.
“The people with Stamp 3 permits are highly skilled people with third level qualifications that can fill various job vacancies that currently can’t be filled. So why are these people not allowed to look for a job knowing that if they get if a job offer there will be no delays? In other EU countries, this is not an issue, even in the UK where you might think this would be an issue, it isn’t.” - Ronan Leonard, Irish Tech News.
“We don’t want to move back to the US any time soon, but that’s the option if things don’t change, unfortunately.” - Kevin Kline in The Dublin Gazette
“Stamp 3 holders – many of whom are well qualified and experienced – face significant challenges to accessing employment because of the slower process to get an employment permit once they have secured a job offer as it is not possible to get an employment permit without a job offer. This process can sometimes take up to four months.” - Business in the Community.
"Is it not more logical when people come here to allow people to work. Because work creates a thing called taxes…. Effectively it appears the state is denying people the right to earn money for the state.” - George Mulcahy, NearFM
"We’re not homemakers; we’re modern families, we’re modern females."
“It’s not good enough encouraging one partner to come over and then refuse somebody else access to work,” Labour Party Senator Kevin Humphreys said. “It just shouldn’t be allowed.” - Sorcha Pollak, The Irish Times
“I encountered a couple of employers who had no idea what a Stamp 3 meant. I went for a job interview and they said I’m sorry, we can’t employ you, we only take people on Stamp 4 and Irish citizens.”
"The system is crippling Ireland’s best intentions. This country wants to draw the most talented people here but if you have a family, the system doesn’t work. " - Sorcha Pollak, The Irish Times
"Many of us unemployed spouses are dying to work. A lot of us are highly educated and had real, successful careers before moving here. We want to pay taxes, contribute to society, and make ourselves useful. Unfortunately, most of us simply aren’t even given the chance because of two words: Stamp 3." - Stack in Ireland