Immigration in Ireland

Category: Immigration

Elena Saenz

The population of Ireland as of July 2007 is 4,109,086. Most of the population is Celtic and English. The birth rate is approximately 1368 births / 1000 population and the death rate is about 9 deaths/ 1000 population. The net migration rate is 4.82 migrants/ 1000 population while the country receives 10,000 to 15,000 immigrants per year. Most of Ireland’s immigrants come from the UK and Northern Ireland, some also come from Eastern Europe, and a smaller portion come from regions in Africa and Asia.
Historically, Ireland has been a country that is known for its significant emigration flow. During the “age of mass migration” (1871-1926) and the post-WW II era (1951-61) Ireland’s rate of emigration was at a high, the outflow of people significantly surpass the natural increase in population, because the economy was lagging in development. During the 1990’s, however, Ireland experienced an economic boom and following it a new surge of migrants, some of whom had previously emigrated from Ireland. This swift economic increase created a huge labor demand in Ireland that had never been seen before. The immigration rate in Ireland kept increasing, when, in 1996 Ireland became the last EU member state to become a country of net migration. Immigrants were not only laborers, but also asylum seekers.
In a Supreme Court ruling in 2003, the right to automatic permanent residence for parents of Irish-born children was eliminated. This ruling was followed by a proposed “citizenship referendum,” in which Irish-born children to non-Irish parents would not be given automatic citizenship. Despite these policies, the Irish policies with regard to labor immigration are considered some of the most liberal in Europe. Because there are no quotas in Ireland, the amount of work permits issued to non-citizens increased from less than 6,000 in 1999 to roughly 50,000 in 2003.