Managing Migration in Ireland - European Commission - Europa

xiAims of the StudyThis report has been prepared on behalf of the National Economic and SocialCouncil (NESC) of Ireland. The International Organization for Migration (IOM) wasinvited by NESC to examine the social and economic effects of recent immigrationto Ireland and to suggest ways in which Ireland could manage migration moreeffectively to enhance the benefits of migration while minimizing its costs.The bulk of the study was undertaken between 1 January and 30 June 2005. Inpreparing this study, IOM assembled a team of international experts andorganized two policy workshops in Dublin in April 2005 to discuss the economicand social implications of migration to Ireland. The Irish government is in theprocess of elaborating a more comprehensive and managed approach to migration.This report is intended as a contribution to the current policy debate.Policy ContextThe recent substantial increase in migration to Ireland poses a number ofopportunities and challenges for the Irish economy and society. In less than adecade, Ireland has changed from being principally a country of emigration to acountry of immigration. The growth in immigration to Ireland was very muchinfluenced by Ireland’s economic boom and subsequent policy responses thatfacilitated immigration and the return of Irish nationals living abroad. In the yearup to April 2005, over 70,000 people moved to Ireland, resulting in net immigrationof just over 53,000, nearly double the net level of 2000.A distinctive feature of immigration to Ireland in recent years is the growingproportion of non-nationals. Already by 2000, the share of non-nationals in inwardmigration increased from about half in 2000 to nearly three-quarters in 2004. Inaddition, there has been an increase in the number of non-national migrantscoming from outside the European Union and the English-speaking world.However, as a result of EU enlargement and the increase in migration from thenew accession states, the majority of immigrants arriving in Ireland today are EUnationals. Recent research indicates that between April 2004 and April 2005, 70per cent of non-Irish immigrants arriving in Ireland were from other EU countries.The bulk of migrants arriving in Ireland during the 1990s were skilled workers.More recently, there has been an influx of migrants into less-skilled occupations.The non-Irish migrant workforce is still predominantly made up of young peoplewithout dependants, but the experience of other countries suggests that thispattern may change as more migrants choose to settle in Ireland and are joined bytheir family members.