Abstract (EN)

The extraordinary economic prosperity Ireland has enjoyed since the beginning of the 1990s has deeply transformed not only its structural development but the very nature of its population. After decades of emigration, very significant numbers are now entering—or re-entering—the country to stay, as three main categories can be distinguished: returning emigrants of Irish nationality, asylum seekers and refugees, and work permit holders from countries outside the European Union (with record numbers from Eastern Europe, but also from the Philippines, Malaysia and South Africa). While plans for further economic development include a wide-scale foreign recruitment policy, the state has been slow to respond to the increase in the number of asylum applications in terms of the setting up of adequate infrastructures as well as of clear legislative measures. This new phenomenon of immigration is bound to have profound effects on the country as a whole, some of which can already be assessed in comparison with the United Kingdom. Examples are the new legislative framework and diverse control and support measures put in place, a certain evolution on the political scene, notably with the creation of small anti-immigrant groups, and the as yet limited official reflection on the process of integration. Associations and individuals on the ground have up to now tried to make up for the near absence of concrete action at institutional level, to provide some support and at least encourage exchanges among the different parts of the population.