integration in ireland april 2015

1 Integration in Ireland

Attitudes to Integration in Ireland

2008 to 2015

April 2015

© Amárach Research

2 Integration in Ireland Integration in Ireland

Note on Methodology

Amárach Research conducted an online survey of a nationally

representative sample of 1,000 adults aged 18+ in the Republic

of Ireland in September 2008 & again in April 2015.

The survey was about their opinions on Ireland’s experience of

immigration and the integration of immigrants into Irish society.

Some of the survey participants were themselves foreign

nationals living in Ireland, but they represent too small a sub-

sample in this survey to separate out for analysis purposes.

The following charts show the main findings from the surveys

and key trends in the past seven years.

Integration in Ireland

That was then,

this is now ...

4 Integration in Ireland Integration in Ireland

On Balance

54%

33%

13%

41% 37%

22%

Good Bad Little Difference

2008 2015

Q. All things considered, do you think that immigration has

been on balance good for Ireland, bad for Ireland or has

made little difference to Ireland?

Integration in Ireland

More diverse Ireland 57%

Boosts the economy 19%

Diversity in workforce 8%

Immigrants have good

skills/work attitude 7%

I am an immigrant 4%

Better life for immigrants 3%

Competition for young

Irish job seekers 35%

No jobs for the Irish

people 23%

Abuse the social

welfare system 19%

Illegal immigration 12%

Cost to taxpayer 10%

A Good Thing A Bad Thing

6 Integration in Ireland Integration in Ireland

Impact of Immigration - Education

35%

42%

23%

43% 40%

17%

Not at all worried A little worried Extremely worried

2008 2015

Q. To what extent do you worry about the impact of

immigration on our education services?

7 Integration in Ireland Integration in Ireland

Impact of Immigration - Health

28%

39%

33% 35%

37%

28%

Not at all worried A little worried Extremely worried

2008 2015

Q. To what extent do you worry about the impact of

immigration on our health services?

8 Integration in Ireland Integration in Ireland

Restrictions

66%

7%

27%

53%

17%

30%

Made morerestrictive

Made lessrestrictive

Left as is

2008 2015

Q. Given the outlook for the economy, do you think

immigration policy should be:

9 Integration in Ireland Integration in Ireland

Skilled Immigrants

45%

36%

19%

Yes No Don’t know

Q. Do you think the Government should provide fast track,

flexible work visas for highly skilled people from outside the

EU who want to migrate to Ireland?

Integration in Ireland

From immigration

to integration…

11 Integration in Ireland Integration in Ireland

Degrees of Integration

4%

61%

22%

10% 3%

9%

54%

24%

7% 6%

Almostcompletelyintegrated

A littleintegrated,

will gofurther

A little integrated, won’t go further

Hardlyintegrated

at all

Don’t know

2008 2015

Q. How well do you feel that immigrants to Ireland have

integrated into Irish society?

12 Integration in Ireland Integration in Ireland

Role of Government

30%

59%

11%

29%

59%

12%

Doing enough Doing too little Doing too much

2008 2015

Q. Thinking about the Government’s role in the integration of

immigrants, do you think that the Government is:

13 Integration in Ireland Integration in Ireland

Integration League Table

Q. Thinking about the following immigrant, ethnic and religious groups, how

well integrated into Irish society is each group on a scale of 1 to 10 where 1

is not at all integrated and 10 is fully integrated? People from:

2015 Low

Integration

Medium

Integration

High

Integration

The UK 5% 23% 72%

US, Canada, Australia, NZ 6% 48% 45%

Western Europe (France, Italy etc) 7% 50% 43%

Central & Eastern Europe 12% 59% 29%

China, Philippines, East Asia 18% 63% 19%

Brazil, Mexico, South America 18% 68% 14%

India & Pakistan 24% 62% 14%

Nigeria, South Africa, other Africa 33% 54% 13%

Traveller community 38% 47% 15%

Muslim community 39% 51% 11%

14 Integration in Ireland

30%

54%

16%

Yes No Not sure

Q. Have the recent attacks in Paris

changed your opinion about immigration?*

* Asked in January 2015

After Paris

Integration in Ireland

Taking the

initiative…

16 Integration in Ireland Integration in Ireland

Barriers to Integration

58%

17% 13%

7% 5%

Language skills Racialdiscrimination

Qualifications Lack ofexperience

Minimum wagelevels

Q. What do you think is the main barrier for immigrants

accessing employment in Ireland?

17 Integration in Ireland Integration in Ireland

Role of Third Level

57%

21% 22%

Yes No Don’t know

Q. Do you think that giving more access to third-level

education to immigrants would enable them contribute

positively in Ireland?

18 Integration in Ireland Integration in Ireland

The Educational System

Q. To what extent do you agree or disagree with each of the

following statements, on a scale of 1 to 5 where 1 is strongly

disagree and 5 strongly agree?

% Agree

2015

With regards to diversity, the pace of change in relation to primary school types

is too slow 33%

Schools need to change (ie: curriculum, admissions policy, management type)

in order to meet the needs of a more culturally diverse society 37%

All schools in my area equally accommodate children from culturally diverse

backgrounds 42%

The education system has adapted well to the increase in ethnic and cultural

diversity 31%

When classrooms are culturally diverse the overall standard of education for

each child, in comparison with mono cultural classrooms is better 35%

The ethnic mix of a school’s population is a factor when parents choose a

school for their children 42%

19 Integration in Ireland Integration in Ireland

In Conclusion

The ‘honeymoon’ is over in relation to the Irish experience of

immigration, but it has given way to consensus rather than conflict.

The process of integration was at an early stage back in 2008 and it

still is for several key groups in 2015.

Concerns about the impact of immigration on health and educational

services have abated somewhat – despite the greater pressure on

services after the recession.

Looking to the future, the majority of people want immigration policy to

be more restrictive, though they show greater flexibility in relation to

skills.

Education does and will play a key role in closing the ‘integration gap’.

Integration in Ireland

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