EUROPEAN MIGRATION NETWORK. Annual Policy Report on Migration and Asylum 2013: Ireland

The purpose of this report is to provide an overview of trends, policy developments and significant debates in the area of asylum and migration during 2013 in Ireland

EUROPEAN MIGRATION NETWORK. ATTRACTING HIGHLY QUALIFIED AND QUALIFIED THIRD-COUNTRY NATIONALS: IRELAND, AN EMN FOCUSSED STUDY

Since the early 2000s, Ireland has aimed to meet both labour and skills needs from within the EEA as far as possible, while limiting the issuing of employment permits to highly qualified and hard to find non-EEA workers. The employer-led employment permit system in Ireland comprises: Green Cards, work permits, Spousal/Dependent Employment Permit and Intra-company Transfers. National administrative data show that in recent years most employment permits issued were in respect of highly qualified and qualified workers. Separate permit types are available to self-employed third-country nationals and scientific researchers

EUROPEAN MIGRATION NETWORK. Policies and Practices on Unaccompanied Minors in Ireland

This study is a broad-ranging exploration of the policies and practices in place for unaccompanied minors in Ireland. Unaccompanied minors and separated children, broadly defined as children below the age of eighteen, who are not in the care of/accompanied by a responsible adult, form a particularly vulnerable migrant group. While at EU-level there are indications that the number of unaccompanied minors moving to and within the region is increasing, in Ireland the trend is downward. For example, between 2000 and 2008 some 5,688 unaccompanied minors were referred to the specialist TUSLA Social Work Team for Separated Children Seeking Asylum (SWTSCSA) in Dublin, while in the period January 2009 - October 2014, 661 referrals took place. In addition to reduced flows, recent years have seen the introduction of a generally improved model of care for such children. Notwithstanding these improvements key challenges remain and these are discussed in detail in this report

All Welcome Here? Studies on Anti-Immigration Attitudes and Discriminatory Behaviour towards Ethnic Minorities in Irish and European Contexts

The main aim of this thesis is to examine prejudice, via anti-immigration sentiment, and discriminatory behaviour in Ireland and other European countries. The thesis consists of four separate papers which constitute four empirical chapters. Studies 1, 2 and 3 use European Social Survey in addition to other datasets to examine attitudes towards different sub-groups of migrants. Study 4 examines discrimination via a field experiment. The thesis has three, broad, main aims: i) to examine the hypothesis that anti-migrant sentiment can be explained via the perceived objective and economic threat which migrants pose to the native population, ii) to examine attitudes towards specific sub-groups of migrants which reflect the current migratory inflows and public debate, with a particular focus on Muslim migrants and asylum seekers, and iii) to investigate the extent of discrimination towards ethnic minorities in the Irish context. Study 1 examines if individuals in occupations and sectors which i) are exposed to economic decline as measured by job losses, and ii) which have a greater share of migrants, are more likely to express anti-immigrant sentiment in the Irish context. The study finds that, consistent with the threat hypothesis, job losses and a greater share of migrants within occupational and sectoral levels are negatively associated with attitudes towards immigration and acceptance of migrants. Furthermore, the study finds that the change in job growth year-on-year has an impact on attitudes. Therefore suggesting that, in the short-term, job losses do lead to a decreased acceptance towards migrants for individuals affected by the economic decline. Study 2 considers the role of the threat hypothesis as a determinant of anti-asylum sentiment, cross-nationally. It considers i) if threat related to economic resources and the size of the ethnic group is associated with more negative sentiment and ii) if asylum seekers are perceived as a distinct sub-group of migrants in need of help and thus is there greater willingness to help and tolerance towards this group. The study finds that greater levels of generalised trust and trust in national institutions are associated with greater support towards asylum seekers. However, in contrast to the threat hypothesis, unemployed individuals and countries with higher rates of unemployment show greater support for asylum seekers rather than more resistance. Study 3 focusses on attitudes towards Muslim migrants. It examines i) if there is greater opposition towards Muslim migrants than towards migrants in general, and ii) if the threat hypothesis in relation to security, the size of ethnic group and integration account for anti-Muslim sentiment. The analysis shows that in most European countries there is significantly greater opposition to Muslim immigration than immigration in general, particularly in Eastern Europe. On the country level, objective measures of threat do not explain the pattern of cross-country variation. Countries with a higher share of Muslims and higher incidence of terrorist attacks are more welcoming towards further Muslim immigration. Furthermore, the study finds that women are more opposed to Muslim immigration than men. Study 4 collects primary data via a field experiment i) to detect discrimination in the Irish housing market and, ii) to measure the extent of this discrimination. The study uses established methods in the area of correspondence studies and focuses on Irish, Polish and Nigerian nationals. This field experiment is the first experiment on the housing rental market in the Irish context. The study finds evidence of ethnic and gender discrimination as ethnic minority applicants and men are less likely to be invited to view an apartment than Irish applicants and women. Findings suggest that Nigerian applicants are the most disadvantaged when looking for rental property

Austerity, short-term economic recovery and public perception of immigration in Ireland

The economic crisis of 2007/2008 did not affect all members of the European Union (EU) to the same extent. In the Irish case, the economic crisis and subsequent period of austerity paralleled an erosion in public support for immigration. However, little is known about how public perception changed during a period of short-term economic recovery, like that experienced in Ireland from 2014 to 2018. Using repeated cross-sectional survey data unique to Ireland, this work captures change in attitudes towards immigrants during the pre-crisis and late-austerity periods. Moreover, this research evaluates the importance placed on two immigrant attributes intimately linked to the labour market — education and skills. We provide evidence of an emergence of more moderate views of immigration during the recovery period, but only in the perceived importance of educational qualifications. Perception of skills remains notably unchanged. Of note, both attributes remain more important in the public eye relative to before the economic crisis. In other words, short-term economic recovery does not automatically translate into a more welcoming reception. We confirm that crises and periods of austerity erode public perception of newcomers, particularly when immigration is framed in terms of skill-based economic contribution. However, this work reveals some of the scars of a rapid and deep economic downturn alter the context of reception in a durable way, which remains notably resistant to short-term recovery