Discrimination and Inequality in Housing in Ireland. ESRI Research Series, June 2018

Access to housing is a fundamental human right protected under international conventions such as the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the European Social Charter. Adequate housing is also necessary for the achievement of other basic rights such as health and family life and is central to quality of life of adults and children. In Ireland, discrimination in the provision of housing is prohibited under the Equal Status Acts (2000- 2015). Starting from these legislative protections, in this study we consider whether certain groups in Ireland experience higher levels of discrimination in access to housing and whether they experience unequal housing outcomes. Membership of these groups is linked to other relevant characteristics, most importantly socio-economic background. Therefore, this study investigates whether equality groups experience disadvantages in housing outcomes that cannot be fully explained by their socio-economic resources. The study of housing discrimination and outcomes has become even more pressing in recent years because of the marked undersupply of housing in Ireland and problems of affordability

MONITORING REPORT ON INTEGRATION 2018. ESRI Report, November 2018

Given that a significant proportion of the population living in Ireland is of non-Irish origin, how are non-Irish nationals integrating into Irish society? How do they compare to the Irish population in terms of employment rates, educational qualifications, income and poverty rates, health outcomes, housing and participation in Irish political life? This Integration Monitor is the sixth of a series of reports which consider outcomes in a wide range of life domains, including employment, education, social inclusion and active citizenship. It is based on indicators proposed at the European Ministerial Conference on Integration held in Zaragoza in 2010. These indicators are comparable across European Union (EU) Member States, based on existing data and focused on outcomes. It should be noted that some differences between Irish and non-Irish may be a result of differences in age, gender, duration in Ireland, educational background and work experience. Accounting for these differences using statistical modelling is beyond the scope of this report, but readers are alerted to relevant differences. This Monitor’s special topic is: ‘Muslims in Ireland’, based primarily on data from the 2016 Irish Census

Disability and Discrimination in Ireland: Evidence from the QNHS Equality Modules 2004, 2010, 2014. ESRI Research Series, October 2018

This report has been conducted by the Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI) under a joint programme of research with the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission. The Research Programme on Human Rights and Equality investigates issues relating to equality and discrimination among the ten equality grounds set out in Irish legislation. Using data from the 2004, 2010 and 2014 Equality modules of the Quarterly National Household Survey this report focuses on disability and discrimination in Ireland

DIVERSE NEIGHBOURHOODS: AN ANALYSIS OF THE RESIDENTIAL DISTRIBUTION OF IMMIGRANTS IN IRELAND. ESRI Survey and Statistical Report, June 2019

Rapid immigration during the economic boom of the late 1990s and early 2000s means that Ireland now has one of the highest proportions of foreign-born residents in the EU. This report investigates residential patterns among Ireland’s migrant population. Where migrants live has an important influence on their integration prospects: some commentators argue that spatial concentration makes it difficult for migrants and minorities to achieve full social integration into the host society (Massey and Mullen, 1984). The report seeks to answer the following research questions: 1. How is the migrant population distributed around Ireland and in the major cities? 2. To what extent are migrants residentially segregated from the Irish and UK-born population? 3. Has there been change over time in the level of residential segregation? 4. How can the areas in which immigrants are concentrated be characterised in terms of deprivation/affluence and the housing stock

Attitudes to Diversity in Ireland. ESRI Research Series, March 2018

Traditionally a country of emigration, rapid immigration during the economic boom has meant that Ireland has become considerably more diverse in terms of national and ethnic origin in recent decades. Increasing diversity can challenge existing ideas about national identity and culture and may influence attitudes to immigrants and immigration. Using evidence from the European Social Survey, this study considers whether attitudes to immigration in Ireland have changed among the Irish-born population since 2002. Exploiting a special module of the European Social Survey in 2014, it investigates Irish attitudes to Muslims and Roma immigrants. The report also examines beliefs about racial and cultural superiority among Irish people, and the quality and frequency of their contact with those of a different race/ethnic group in 2014. The results for Ireland are compared with averages from ten other West European countries to set Ireland in comparative context. Drawing on theories of social identity, ethnic group competition and social contact, the report also examines how such attitudes are formed – are they influenced by factors such as social contact, attitudes to race/ethnicity, education and financial difficulties

Irish attitudes to Muslim immigrants

This paper uses data from the 2014 Special Module of the European Social Survey on attitudes to immigration to investigate attitudes towards Muslim and 'White immigrants in Ireland. Drawing on theories of social identity, ethnic threat and social distance, the paper develops hypotheses about which factors influence attitudes to Muslim immigrants, and how and why they might differ from attitudes to White immigrants. Comparing these attitudes, we find evidence of an "ethnic hierarchy" in Ireland, with more positive attitudes to White than to Muslim immigrants. We also find that age and religious practice are associated with attitudes towards Muslim immigrants, but have only weak effects on attitudes towards White immigrants. The analysis reveals that an international terrorist attack had a negative effect on attitudes to Muslim immigrants but not on attitudes to White immigrants.Irish Human Rights and Equality Commissio

Evaluation of policies and practices to support safe and appropriate analgesic and sedative prescribing: the CDRx (controlled drug prescribing) protocol

Medications provide many therapeutic benefits; however, these must be balanced against the potential for patient harm. Two high-risk medications are benzodiazepine receptor agonists or BZRAs (including benzodiazepines and Z-drugs hypnotics) and opioid analgesics, which carry a risk of dependence, misuse, and abuse. Use of these medications has been growing internationally, along with associated morbidity and mortality. These medications are often classified as ‘controlled drugs’ and subject to legal restrictions in order to balance therapeutic benefits and risks of misuse. The aim of this project is to evaluate prescribing of analgesic and sedative drugs, in particular opioid and BZRA medications, to characterise time trends, the impact of policy changes, and regional and GP practice variation. This will be addressed across three workpackages, primarily using data on prescriptions dispensed to individuals eligible for the General Medical Services scheme in Ireland, held by the HSE Primary Care Reimbursement Service, along with other national and international data collections. Workpackage 1 will derive volume and patterns of utilisation indicators of controlled drugs and related medications and describe time trends in primary care in Ireland between 2014 and 2021 in two repeated cross-sectional studies. Workpackage 2 will consist of two interrupted time series studies on the impact of recent policy changes on prescribing. Workpackage 3 is a cohort study of GP practices, which will aim to quantify and explain regional and GP practice-level variation in analgesic and sedative prescribing, and, in relation to policy changes. This research will provide data-driven insights to inform policy-makers’ decisions and clinical practice to optimise regulation and use of these medications for the benefit of patients and society