This report provides an analysis of statistics relating to migration and asylum in Ireland and is the fifth in the current series.1 The legally-resident population in Ireland has grown steadily during the period in question to reach just over 4.3 million in January 2007.2 This growth has been driven both by net immigration and natural increase. Immigration flows reached a high of 103,260 during 2007. Previously, there had been a decline in immigration in 2004 to 58,875. This decline may have reflected tightening immigration policy and a decline in asylum applications, while the subsequent increase from 2005 onwards may possibly represent increased flows since the enlargement of the European Union (EU) in 2004. The net migration rate fell slightly during 2007. The main migration- and asylum-related event of interest in 2007 centered on the publication of the Immigration, Residence and Protection Bill in April 2007. For the first time a definition of a ‘foreign national’ was proposed as being with reference to third-country nationals from outside the European Union only. A category of statutory long-term resident status was also proposed
