Marie Curie Actions: Inspiring Researchers - Imdea

Cross-border careerpaths for womenIn Ireland, from the Great Famine of 1845-47 to the 1950s, thenatural increase in the population was, in fact, continually offsetby out-migration on a scale higher than in any other Europeancountry, according to the Irish Centre for Migration Studies.This led to an almost continuous decline in the population formore than a century.Economic reforms in the 1950s and Irish entry in 1973 intowhat later became the EU contributed to a brief period of netin-migration, mainly of returning Irish migrants, in the 1970s,which was followed by mass emigration again in the 1980s andearly 1990s. However, the recent economic boom of the late1990s and 2000s has been accompanied by net in-migrationon an unprecedented scale involving immigration from manyparts of the world, particularly eastern Europe.Ireland’s levels of emigration were once well above the Europeannorm, and its recent levels of immigration have also beenhigher than average. In the period 1995-2000, approximately aquarter of a million people migrated to Ireland, of whom abouthalf were returning Irish. This represents an astonishing 7 % ofthe 1996 population (3.6 million). Before the recent recession, itwas forecast that by 2020 the population of Ireland would havegrown to 5.3 million, of which 1 million, or about a fi fth, wouldhave been immigrants.Many Irish people believe that their country’s history of migrationmeans they have a duty to extend a warm welcome to peoplecoming to settle in Ireland. Despite this attitude, Ireland experiencessimilar challenges to other European countries in dealing with newimmigrants, such as controversies over asylum seekers, integrationand competition for jobs.Home away from homeAlthough rewarding in many ways, migration can be diffi cultfor children. Moving away from their friends and family andhaving the routines of their short lives disrupted can make theearly days extremely traumatic. They frequently face challengesin adapting to new circumstances, making new friends andnegotiating cultural differences, and they become highlycompetent in dealing with the social and cultural demands ofdiverse settings.Irish landscape165