Report criticises Ireland's handling of immigrants

IRELAND needs to accept that immigration is here to stay and learn to deal with it properly in order for the economy and society to benefit from the experience, a new European report has recommended.

The report, compiled for the European Migration Network (EMN) by the Economic and Social Research Institute, found that migration into Ireland has hugely benefited the booming economy since the mid-1990s by providing much-needed labour and opening up new trade and enterprise possibilities.

However, the EMN, in a series of four reports on immigrants and asylum seekers published yesterday, is critical of the often haphazard and ad-hoc manner in which the authorities in Ireland have reacted to the recent increase in non-nationals living and working here.