Brain drain begins in Mullingar

Doctors, nurses, estate agents and people working in the building trade have been using the IT Zone on Patrick Street to research emigration to Australia and Canada and print out online application forms from the Department of Justice.Rashid Butt who owns the internet and Moneygram business said that at least one client a week is going through the emigration application process.'This started back in September when more and more people were saying to me that they had no choice but to look into moving away as they couldn"t provide for their families here any more either because they had been made redundant or they were working short hours.'I would say that 50 per cent of the people applying are Irish and the other half had come to Ireland hoping for a new start. I have a lot of Pakistani doctor friends who have obtained their qualifications here in Ireland but are now moving on, mostly to Canada.'But the people looking to go abroad are from all walks of life and all types of professions. What we are going back to is a 1980s scenario where we are going to lose our brightest and best.'People forget that human resources are the best and more important resource that we have and the hardest to replace. What the business community needs now is help. I hate to be so pessimistic but if people continue to shop in bulk in Northern Ireland then we will be in serious trouble.'VAT should be cut back to 15 per cent as it has been in the UK so that business has a chance to recover.'This is not the time for petty political scoring. Political leader across the board must forget their party differences and work together to get us out of this crisis. We need collective leadership and all brains working together for the greater good of the State and its people,' he said.