Time for Plan B? Or extend things further?

I don't want to know what my phone bill is going to look like for all the 1 min calls to Dublin this morning that ultimately yielded in not getting through once to that particular number. Nothing quite like being told repeatedly that the queue is full and that they won't even let you hold, and then having a recording telling you to call back later because they only take calls from 10:00 until 12:30-- at 12:20.

I'm too tired to have a full out blow up right now, so I sucked it up and tried calling back to the other number that I'd gotten on Monday. The one that had bounced me back to the first number to begin with.

Got through to someone right away and they actually spoke with me and addressed my questions.

And then I felt even worse.

According to this person I spoke with, it seems that while yes, technically it's possible to get permission to stay in Ireland beyond 30 days while working remotely for my US employer, it seems that I would not only have to provide proof of said employment and insurance, but unless I'm able to demonstrate that there's a business need for why the work would need to be done in Ireland, the chances of getting approved are slim. I'm welcome to write in and try, apparently, but I shouldn't expect a response in any less than 6 months.

Okay, lets try a glass-half-full perspective: At least that's one more option that I can cross off the list, narrowing down the choices for an easy decision! Right.

So continuing with my current employer while in Ireland for a year is off the list. Where does that leave me. Plan B is still there for the taking--3 month sabbatical to just completely unwind and spend the time maxing out my enjoyment of the time I have over there (not to mention decimating my savings). IF my employer can agree to 3 months off and guarantee me I'll have a job that can be done from Michigan when I return, this isn't too bad of an option, all things considered.

But if 3 months is too long--and it very well may be--I'm faced with not only a reduced experience in Ireland, but likely the grim prospect of trying to find a job in Michigan when I return. Should be interesting to see what yesterday's stock market thud will do to the already obliterated Michigan economy.

It seems my only choice if I want to stay beyond 3 months is to continue to pursue employment with an Irish company. That's going to mean pushing back my timeframe somewhat indefinitely. It looks as though most of my leads thus far have dried up, so I'll be basically setting myself back to where I was in mid-January, and without any definite end-time in sight.

Lessons learned:
The good... Not much, other than finally getting some fairly definite answers.
The bad... That continuing with my current job while in Ireland is basically unlikely.
The ugly... The Immigration Department's call center.