The level of calls to the Immigrant Council of Ireland’s (ICI ) information and referral service in the first half of 2010 has remained consistent with previous years and does not support the rhetoric that migrants are ‘going home’. Instead the opposite appears true as the data highlights that many migrants have in fact made Ireland their home.
“While some migrants have returned to their countries of origin, they are mainly migrants from the EU12 accession states,” said ICI Chief Executive Denise Charlton.
CSO population and migration figures released in September 2009 show that of the 65,100 people who left Ireland in the year ending April 2009 30,100 (46.23 per cent ) of those were nationals of the EU12 countries while 18,400 (28.26 per cent ) were Irish nationals. Statistics from the ICI’s client database show that 4,332 calls from people of 142 different nationalities were received by its information and referral service in the first six months of 2010. On average, the service deals with 722 calls each month.
“The trends also clearly demonstrate that the Immigration, Residence and Protection Bill, 2010, which was introduced this month, represents a missed opportunity to provide Ireland with a clear, fair, and comprehensive immigration system,” sadded Ms Charlton. “It is worth nothing that the vast majority of the top 10 issues raised by the ICI’s service users are not covered in the Bill as it exists at the moment.
“Questions relating to renewal of status, residency, and leave to remain are the most frequent, with citizenship and family reunifications also featuring in the top 10 issues raised this year with the service. ICI staff are reporting that queries are becoming ever more complex and that many are being referred for further support and legal advice to the Independent Law Centre operated by the ICI.”
Almost 700 calls about citizenship issues have been received by the agency so far this year, with a similar number of calls related to family reunification and leave to remain, issues generally, indicating a desire by callers to become part of the Irish nation and gain recognition that Ireland is now their home.
“These statistics show that the need to ensure migrants have access to clear information about their rights in Ireland remains as strong as ever, as does the need for a fair, transparent and efficient immigration system,” Mr Charlton added.
“We have heard rhetoric about the number of migrants who are supposedly ‘going home’ but these figures show that demand for our services has remained consistently high. Given the number of queries relating to residency, renewal of status, family reunification, and citizenship it does not look like these migrants are leaving their homes in Ireland.”
While citizenship issues continue to be of immense importance to the ICI’s service users, Ireland’s approach to the granting of citizenship remains problematic, with figures released last week by the EU’s statistical office, Eurostat, showing that Ireland has the second lowest rate of acquisition of citizenship in the EU after the Czech Republic.
The statistics also showed that more than 30 per cent of callers to the ICI’s information and referral service are the parents of Irish children. The types of issues they sought information about were varied but most focused on the renewal of their residency status and applying for citizenship.
The full report is available on www.immigrantcouncil.ie
