For once, instead of emigration being on the minds of the Irish, immigration has come into the spotlight. In the past 10 years, Ireland has been gaining a large immigrant population that’s bolstered the economy.
The Numbers
According to a 2006 census, about 420,000 foreign nationals, which is about 10 percent of the population, now live in Ireland. 9% of the Irish workforce is foreign (to compare, foreigners in the U.S. workplace make up about 14.8%). About half of the immigrants are returning Irish from other parts of the world, but the other half contains peoples from all over. And in some primary schools in Dublin, some 50% of the children are from non-national backgrounds. In some districts, the number of immigrants has even risen by 120% since 2002.
Immigrants Now
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| Rotimi Adebari; first elected black mayor in Ireland. Mayor of Port Laoise, in County Laois, in the Province of Leinster |
Immigrants have come a long way in Ireland. In 2007, Rotimi Adebari became Ireland’s first elected black mayor. Originally raised in Nigeria, he came to Ireland for asylum. Non-nationals are even allowed to vote in elections as a way to give themselves a voice. The Irish police force, An Garda Síochána, even changed its entry requirements to allow non-nationals to apply for positions.
Irish Racism
But many immigrants don't feel welcome, let alone integrated. A 2006 report from the Irish-based Economic and Social Research Institute found that 35% of immigrants were insulted, threatened, or harassed in public because of their ethnic or national origin, a figure that climbed to 53% for black Africans. On a slightly more positive note, the report found that the incidence of racism in Ireland is lower than other European countries.
The generally lower incidence of racism, and possibly a reason why the immigrant population in Ireland is thriving, has to do with Irish history. Many Irish emigrants were themselves the victims of racism. Many British boardinghouses had signs that read "No blacks, no Irish, no dogs”, and signs of “Help wanted - Irish need not apply” in major U.S. cities like Boston and New York were commonplace in the late 1800s. These experiences may have helped temper the Irish attitude towards these new arrivals.
Ireland Today
Immigration has helped form Ireland into the modern country it is today. During the economic boom, the ‘Celtic Tiger’, from 1995-2007, immigration increased exponentially, adding to the economic prosperity through more workers. The opinion towards immigration is generally positive in Ireland, and for the good. Stopping the immigration to Ireland with the now crashed economy would undoubtedly slow the country down. The worry that immigrants take jobs from the nationals is baseless and tighter controls on immigration would only lead to unhappiness and a defunct workplace. Diversity is part of what’s been leading Ireland into modernity.
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| Dublin today - the Grafton Street Shops |
