Until very recently, debate about immigration policies in Ireland has focussed on
questions of who, how many and what kinds of migrants can come. In Ireland,
we are now seeing a shift in the discussion to concerns about how people can
‘integrate’ into an increasingly diverse Irish society. We are beginning to consider
what our integration policies and framework should focus on. We are starting to
realise that, when immigrants settle in a country, they have to find opportunities
to ‘belong’ and participate in that country. We realise that this is as true in the
practical sense (for example, in relation to employment) as in the social, political,
and cultural sense.
The Immigrant Council of Ireland (ICI) has been working directly with migrants in
accessing their social and legal rights since our inception. Through our work, we
see the barriers that migrants face in relation to economic, social, political and
cultural integration in Ireland. We see on a daily basis how our immigration
system can assist or prevent a migrant’s capacity to integrate or participate in
Irish society at varying levels. Last year, 10,000 migrants sought information and
support from the ICI. They shared experiences of problems and challenges,
arising through navigating Ireland’s immigration system. Their experiences show
how access to secure residency, access to family life, adequate healthcare,
housing, education and employment are so often linked to one’s immigration
status. Their stories demonstrate how all of these factors can act as barriers or
facilitators of integration.
The Irish Government is presently developing an ‘integration strategy’ for
immigrants. It is in this context that the ICI wanted to further explore issues that
arise through our services and work in supporting migrant communities. The ICI
commissioned this study to further document the immigration and integration
experiences of four nationalities, working with members of the Chinese, Indian,
Lithuanian and Nigerian communities. We wanted to explore how the immigration
experience of the research participants influenced their integration experience.
We wanted to look at key indicators for measuring integration internationally and
how these could be adapted to the Irish context. We wanted to investigate how
these proposed indicators could be measured against the experiences of these
key migrant communities living and contributing to Irish society.
In this report, Chinese, Indian, Lithuanian and Nigerian nationals tell their
migration stories. We see clearly how their migration experiences and outcomes
influence their integration experiences in Irish society. Whilst the stories are
different, there are common threads throughout, highlighting key considerations
for us in this work in the future. For all of us, the test of the success of Ireland’s
developing migration system and integration framework will be our cohesiveness
as a society, with opportunity for full participation and equal outcomes for all its
members. This is the right moment for Ireland to develop comprehensive
integration policies and procedures to ensure that the positive migration
experience is sustained. Although as a society we are new to the migration experience, we can benefit from promising practices in countries with a history
of migration. To be successful in our integration policies, we must ensure that we
take a holistic approach and consider the impact of related immigration and
social policies.
The ICI would like to thank the Migration and Citizenship Research Initiative’s
researchers, the postgraduate researchers, and the community researchers for
their work, and the participants who shared their experiences. In conclusion, we
invite the Minister for Integration and the Office of the Minister for Integration to
consider the findings and recommendations as they develop an integration
framework for Ireland
