Polish waitress packs in job for 'good life' on Irish welfare

[Ash Smoker]

Polish waitress packs in job for 'good life' on Irish welfare

A POLISH waitress living here has sparked fury after she boasted about living the good life on Irish welfare benefits. 'Magda' (36), not her real name, described her life on the dole in Donegal as a 'Hawaiian massage'.

She revealed how she had packed in her job so she could spend her days walking along beaches with her partner.

He in turn bragged about the county's wonderful golf courses.

Magda claimed she earned €67 more a week on the dole than she did while working and that her welfare payments are €182 more every week than back in her native Poland.

The shocking boasts in a Polish newspaper have ignited another debate on welfare tourism, with one Labour senator last night offering to pay for her flight home.

The ex-waitress told the Polish newspaper 'Gazeta Wyborcza' that instead of working she takes advantage of free education courses and goes surfing.

"How do I live? Wonderfully. I get an allowance of €188 a week plus €59 for the flat. In the winter I get an extra €20 for fuel. It's €267 a week," she said.

Magda doesn't identify the town in Co Donegal where she lives but she does call it a "s***hole".

Asked to describe her lifestyle, she went on: "The day starts in the same way. I go to the beach to watch the sunrise. It energises me for the rest for the day.

"Sometimes I sleep till noon and the nearest beach is five minutes away.

"What's our house like? Well, you can hear the ocean from the windows," she added.

Her partner Robert also bragged about life on the dole in Ireland, saying: "I won't get out of bed for €8 an hour especially when I have the sound of the ocean, golf courses and beautiful scenery."

Welfare

The Polish newspaper article compares Madga's life on benefits with what she would earn working as a waitress in Poland, where the average weekly wage is just €85.

Dole payments in Poland are less than in Ireland, averaging just €36.50 a week.

There is no housing benefit and there are strict time limits on social welfare payments.

Welfare claimants can only claim for three months if they quit a job and six months if they are fired, said the report.

Instead of working Madga said she spent her time at a local surf school and learned how to do sign language at the local VEC college.

She also noted the 'generous' winter fuel payments of €20 a week which compared with no such payments in Poland, where temperatures yesterday dipped to -13C.

Last night a Labour senator based in Donegal said the claims were 'outrageous'.

Senator Jimmy Harte told the Irish Independent: "This woman is doing an enormous disservice to the Polish community in Co Donegal and to other hard-working non-nationals.

"She has clearly taken advantage of Irish hospitality. I would like to see her go back to Poland and if we can find out who she is, I'd gladly pay for her flight home."

He added: "Apart from her clear intent to take advantage of our social welfare system, to describe her home as a s***hole just adds insult to injury."

http://www.independent.ie/national-news/polish-waitress-packs-in-job-for-good-life-on-irish-welfare-3005781.html

[blewuporstuffed]

"She has clearly taken advantage of Irish hospitality. I would like to see her go back to Poland and if we can find out who she is, I'd gladly pay for her flight home."

that sort of sums it up does it not 

[Fear ón Srath Bán]

Magda doesn't identify the town in Co Donegal where she lives but she does call it a "s***hole".

From the proximity to the sea and the VEC courses I'd say she's holed up in Gortahork somewhere -- the pitchforks could be out tonight! 

[Rois]

Magda doesn't identify the town in Co Donegal where she lives but she does call it a "s***hole".

From the proximity to the sea and the VEC courses I'd say she's holed up in Gortahork somewhere -- the pitchforks could be out tonight! 

I was thinking Bundoran myself...moreso the s'hole comment and the surfing though.

[playwiththewind1st]

If Poland was so great, why did she not stay in her own native S******E?

[Geoff Tipps]

If Poland was so great, why did she not stay in her own native S******E?

You seem to have missed the whole point of the article.

[Hardy]

According to the John Murray programme this morning, the article in the Indo is a travesty of what was in the Polish paper it was "taken" from. (What a surprise.) Misquotes, invented quotes and quotes taken out of context. 

The article was one of a series looking at the social welfare systems of various European countries. Apparently the woman is doing a FÁS course, with a view to starting her own business.

According to a Polish guy on the programme (an RTÉ researcher, I think), the "Hawaiian massage" reference  is made up - doesn't appear in the original article. The beach reference was to contrast her current life with her early days of unemployment when she had nothing to get up for. Now, she is energised and motivated by the training course to get up early and go to the beach. Also, he maintains she says she loves Donegal and has nothing negative to say about it.

Yer man said he'd translate the full article and post it on the show's web page.

Sounds like the yellow journalism we expect from the Indo, except more sinister given that it increases the probability of some Polish person getting a glass in his face this weekend.

[Fear ón Srath Bán]

It's a heavily negatively loaded article, rather typical of the sensationalist reactionary edge of that particular organ's reportage: "she boasted"... "He in turn bragged "... "The shocking boasts"... "Her partner Robert also bragged"...

Then that Labour councillor goes and makes an ass of himself: "...and to other hard-working non-nationals."

So they're from nowhere, nowhere at all, these other overseas visitors!

[saffron sam2]

One day when I was in a chip shop in a border town / city, I met a boy I used to teach. He told me he was living in Dundalk and signing on the dole.

"Why", says he, "should you sign on in the north, when you can sign on in the south?"

[EC Unique]

This is the problem when you open the floodgates, all is grand when there is loads of work to go around like 5 or 6 years ago but the shit is hitting the fan now. If an open Europe is demanded then all states within it should offer the same amounts in benifits or else close the doors.

[deiseach]

According to the John Murray programme this morning, the article in the Indo is a travesty of what was in the Polish paper it was "taken" from. (What a surprise.) Misquotes, invented quotes and quotes taken out of context. 

The article was one of a series looking at the social welfare systems of various European countries. Apparently the woman is doing a FÁS course, with a view to starting her own business.

According to a Polish guy on the programme (an RTÉ researcher, I think), the "Hawaiian massage" reference  is made up - doesn't appear in the original article. The beach reference was to contrast her current life with her early days of unemployment when she had nothing to get up for. Now, she is energised and motivated by the training course to get up early and go to the beach. Also, he maintains she says she loves Donegal and has nothing negative to say about it.

Yer man said he'd translate the full article and post it on the show's web page.

Sounds like the yellow journalism we expect from the Indo, except more sinister given that it increases the probability of some Polish person getting a glass in his face this weekend.

+1. Anyone who takes this article at face value is a fool.

[Dinny Breen]

According to the John Murray programme this morning, the article in the Indo is a travesty of what was in the Polish paper it was "taken" from. (What a surprise.) Misquotes, invented quotes and quotes taken out of context. 

The article was one of a series looking at the social welfare systems of various European countries. Apparently the woman is doing a FÁS course, with a view to starting her own business.

According to a Polish guy on the programme (an RTÉ researcher, I think), the "Hawaiian massage" reference  is made up - doesn't appear in the original article. The beach reference was to contrast her current life with her early days of unemployment when she had nothing to get up for. Now, she is energised and motivated by the training course to get up early and go to the beach. Also, he maintains she says she loves Donegal and has nothing negative to say about it.

Yer man said he'd translate the full article and post it on the show's web page.

Sounds like the yellow journalism we expect from the Indo, except more sinister given that it increases the probability of some Polish person getting a glass in his face this weekend.

+1. Anyone who takes this article at face value is a fool.

^
^

[playwiththewind1st]

If Poland was so great, why did she not stay in her own native S******E?

You seem to have missed the whole point of the article.

Thanks for that, I'll not attempt my brand of "sarcasm" again. I'll take a wild guess & try to work it out - Poland is a shithole, but Ireland's a shithole where you can get more money for sitting on your lazy hole, doing nothing? When can I pick up my degree in either Economics or the politics of the EU?

[whiskeysteve]

Just another shit stir from a repugnant rag. Comment on it from Reddit that sets out to compare the indo's translation with the actual translation:

From the Indo:

    'Magda' (36), not her real name, described her life on the dole in Donegal as a 'Hawaiian massage'.

Original Article (badly translated)

    Magda is doing a basic massage, Hawaiian and hot stone, which she learned at the free course of office work: hot stones moves on the back, until they go down all the tension.

Indo

    Magda doesn't identify the town in Co Donegal where she lives but she does call it a "s***hole".

Original

    Donegal, a county on the northern tip of Ireland, but for some the most beautiful place in the world, for others - the biggest shithole. Wherever you look carefully, green hills and beaches to the horizon, like a postcard.

Indo

    Sometimes I sleep till noon and the nearest beach is five minutes away

Original

    Day start is always the same: go to the beach to see the sunrise. It charges me for the rest of the day. Once, I slept until noon, now pity that life.

Indo

    Apart from her clear intent to take advantage of our social welfare system, to describe her home as a s***hole just adds insult to injury

Original

    Do I have a problem with the fact that I am on benefit? Wonders. Yes. I do not want to live at the expense of the state, so I treat it as a support that will allow me to set up their own business. In the afternoon we go for coffee for 3 euros. The same can drink at home, but the point is - explains Magda - to support local businesses.

Indo

    He in turn bragged about the county's wonderful golf courses.

**This last one confused me as I could not find any reference in the original article to the guy playing golf. Notice this though, it does not actually say he plays golf. Just that he is "bragging" about the golf courses. This is an interesting line as it creates a false illusion in your mind. He says in the original article that donegal has nice scenery and good beaches and golf courses - is this 'bragging' or stating a fact?

http://www.reddit.com/r/ireland/comments/p6028/polish_waitress_packs_in_job_for_good_life_on/c3msb3a

The Hawaiian massage one is particularly brutal. Goes beyond shoddy journalism. Feel sorry for 'Magda'  - actually transpires that she looking to start a business here with FAS

[omagh_gael]

What a joke.