New documentary shows the harsh reality of the Irish looking for work in Australia

RTÉ One has a brand new documentary series airing tonight and it looks very interesting.

It's called Making it Down Under and details the experiences of Irish people who have emigrated to Australia for work. It shows the darker side of seeking work for Irish Immigrants. The most shocking revelation is that some Irish people applying for jobs are being told, “we only hire Australians”. The programme will follow Jake Haynes who moved from Dublin to Australia on a working holiday visa. He said, "In Ireland, I just finished in UCD, the year before I came and I thought when I came out here I would be able to use my degree but all the places I applied for were like ‘we only hire Australian people’. If you said that at home in Ireland – we only hire Irish people – there would be uproar”. He also adds: “They paint this picture of ‘it’s all cocktails and beaches’ but it’s really not. There really is an untold side to the story. Some people survive over here but some people don’t”. On tonight’s show Jake’s best friend, Philip Healy from Co Louth, also talks about the dark side of working in Oz. Philip, who has been living in Australia for more than a year, has a good job with a Sydney hairdressers. He tells the Making it Down Under cameras that Irish backpackers can be exploited by unscrupulous employers. “You can get used here,” Philip says, “Some people can see ‘backpacker, get them’. It has happened to people that I know. Underpay them, work them way over the hours that they are supposed to be working, don’t get holiday pay... They will use you, they will work you into the ground but they know that the Irish are the best workers, so, they will try to get what they can out of you”. Making it Down Under airs tonight on RTÉ One at 8.30pm.