188 shades of green: Loner Brits to Brazilian butchers
These are some of the findings of research into Ireland’s new arrivals and the particular quirks and characteristics they bring with them.
While Census 2006 revealed how 420,000 people resident here — one in 10 of the population — were non-Irish, those bare figures have since been analysed in detail to show where each nationality is most likely to live, who they’re living with and what they’re doing here.
A total of 188 different nationalities were recorded but the vast majority of non-Irish (82%) come from a mere 10 countries, the single biggest group coming from Britain with 112,548.
By contrast 45 nationalities are unlikely to see a fellow countryman very often as there are 10 or fewer of each living here.
Non-Irish people living here are more likely to be male and in their 20s or 30s than the Irish, to be better educated, but also to be in lower social classes. But apart from those broad similarities, they represent a very diverse mix of people.
Contrary to the trend for migrants to flock to cities, half the British people here live in rural areas, and a greater proportion of Britons live in detached dwellings in rural Ireland than Irish people.
The Chinese are the opposite, sticking to the cities where 80% of them say they have no religion — by far the biggest proportion of any nationality.
The Chinese also have one of the highest proportions of single people (69%) but they are outdone by the French of whom 71% are unattached.
Relationships provide some striking statistics.
About 13% of all Latvian women here are divorced and 40% of married Lithuanian men are not living with their wives — a situation also common among other groups.
Filipinos buck the trend that sees all other groups having more men than women here. Women make up 59% of Filipinos and the majority (70%) work in healthcare, primarily as nurses, midwives and care attendants.
Some other stereotypes also stand up to scrutiny. Italians are most likely found working in hotels and restaurants, Russians as cleaners, Brazilians as butchers and Americans in management and the professions.
Census 2006 was only the second time people were asked to state their nationality and the first time detailed questions were asked, so comparisons with the past are difficult.
Denise Charlton, chief executive of the Immigrant Council of Ireland, said that overall the Irish population had adjusted well to the upsurge in non-Irish but she said Irish officialdom still had work to do.
“There is a general mindset that immigration is a hugely positive thing but one thing we have not done is invest in minimising the challenges it presents,” she said.
“We have not invested in English language class provision for example. It sounds great that you have a primary school with 47 nationalities, but you have to invest in helping it cope with that level of diversity.”
THE Poles emerge as a sociable group — in addition to the 63,276 resident here, 10,126 were visiting on Census night.
Almost all (93%) are in private rented accommodation — the highest proportion of any group — and they had the biggest male-female disparity with men outnumbering women two to one.
The vast majority (84%) are in employment, predominantly construction, manufacturing, shops, hotels and restaurants.
A very significant number of married Poles are not living with their spouse — 59% of males and 18% of females.
A high proportion (15%) of adults did not complete second-level education.
NIGERIANS are the most urbanised of immigrants, with 40% living in Dublin and just 4% in rural areas.
Their population (16,300) is an 82% increase on the number recorded in the 2002 Census. They are the fourth largest foreign group in Ireland.
Their age profile differs from the other main groups in that there are many children (25% are under 15) and relatively few in their 20s (15%).
Four out of five have people of Irish nationality in their household — usually their Irish-born children or an Irish partner.
The majority (80%) live in private rented accommodation and just 38% were at work — the lowest of all the groups analysed.
Some of the lesser-known countries with 10 or fewer people living in Ireland:
South Pacific island with a population of less than 1,500.
small peninsula off China that is largely autonomous but linked to China under a 50-year rule that began in 1999.
former British colony in south America between Venezuela and Suriname.
British territorial island in the Caribbean with 14,000 inhabitants.
largely Islamic former Soviet bloc country located between Iran and Uzbekistan.
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