Managing Migration in Ireland - European Commission - Europa

executive summaryxvTo date, most migrants have been young and single and in the case of accessionstate nationals and some categories of work permit holders their access to welfareentitlements were restricted until changes were announced in early 2006.Generally speaking, it is likely therefore that migrants have contributed more intaxes and social insurance contributions than they have received in welfarepayments in recent years. Unlike other countries in Europe few immigrants inIreland are unemployed or claim social assistance benefits. Migrants have alsohelped to reduce skill and labour shortages in the health and social care sectors ofemployment. And Ireland’s health sector has even actively sought to recruit healthworkers from countries like the Philippines, India and China, in recent years tomeet shortages in skilled labour.The Costs of MigrationOverall, there is little evidence that the sharp increase in migration to Ireland hasresulted in extensive negative economic or social effects, but there are somenegative aspects. As in many other countries, most of the concern about the labourmarket status of immigrants in Ireland concerns those in low-paid and unskilledjobs. Irish employers argue that migrants are filling jobs shunned by local workers,sustaining local industries and earning far more than they could at home. However,unions and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) stress that some migrants aresubject to low wages, poor treatment and inadequate housing, and there aresufficient allegations of such treatment to feed a steady diet of news stories.Although, there is little research to suggest that migration is systematicallylowering wages or raising unemployment among local workers, there have beensome recent high-profile cases where native workers’ wages and employmentopportunities may have been negatively affected. Unrestricted internationalmigration means that employers may choose among a larger number of prospectiveemployees and offer lower wages than they might offer to attract workers ina tighter labour market. The result can be lower wages, longer working hours andfewer benefits. The actual effects of international migration will vary dependingon broader economic trends in the country and policies chosen by the governmentto facilitate or restrict the hiring of non-EEA nationals. When an economy isgrowing, the capacity to absorb and benefit from new workers can be considerable.Recent Irish research conducted after the bulk of this report was written suggeststhat there is little solid evidence to assess the extent to which displacement ofIrish workers may be happening 1 . A study of non-nationals in the labour marketbased on an analysis of the third quarter 2005 Quarterly National HouseholdSurvey (QNHS) concluded that “the case regarding displacement remainsunproven”. The authors went on to comment:“By the very nature of the intensity of international competition, it is very likelythat some non-national workers have displaced Irish workers as companies seekto remain competitive. However, actual statistics on this issue are not availableso it is difficult to ascertain the scale on which this may be happening”(AIB, 2006, 1).1. AIB Global Treasury Economic Research, Non-National Workers in the Irish Economy, February 2006.