Irish attitudes towards immigration broadly positive, report finds

Asylum seekers arrive at the International Protection Office in Dublin in 2024. The project aims to help communities adjust to the arrival of international protection applicants; to engage seriously with legitimate community concerns about migration and integration; and to counter misinformation in the context of migration and integration locally. File photo: Leah Farrell / © RollingNews.ie

Rapid demographic change is reshaping communities across Ireland but local integration work can prevent dangerous tensions from forming and hardening, new research has found.

Two reports were published analysing work by the Community Connection Project (CCP), a State-funded initiative delivered by Local Development Companies (LDCs) across Ireland.

The project aims to help communities adjust to the arrival of international protection applicants; to engage seriously with legitimate community concerns about migration and integration; and to counter misinformation in the context of migration and integration locally.

Integration is most effective when it focuses on improving conditions for everyone in a community rather than focusing singularly on projects for migrants — like by improving housing stock and amenities and providing projects for everyone in the local area.

But targeted measures for particularly vulnerable groups are also beneficial as part of that overall community development, according to one of the reports, a scoping review called Building Cohesive Communities — Community Connection Project.

Irish attitudes towards immigration remain broadly positive by European standards, but are increasingly fragile where it intersects with existing disadvantage, the report found.

“Housing pressures, educational environments and the dynamics of rural integration are the most significant structural drivers of community tension. Addressing these root causes is essential to any sustainable integration strategy,” it said.

While research in Ireland finds that residents in rural areas tend to report less positive attitudes towards immigration compared with urban residents, this difference is not fixed.

Evidence suggests that attitudes become more positive in rural areas as migrant populations increase and communities have greater opportunities for meaningful contact, the report said.

When the migrant population reaches around 25% in rural areas, the difference between rural and urban attitudes towards immigration largely disappears, the report noted.

It warned that the introduction of the new international protection legislation which is designed to speed up the asylum decision-making process, may lead to more people being quickly accepted and needing more immediate supports like housing.

But perhaps more significantly, faster processing will also produce a greater number of rejected applicants in a shorter period, the report noted.

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“These individuals have limited rights — including, in most cases, no right to work — yet returns tend to be lengthy, meaning many are likely to remain in the country for a considerable period in a kind of legal limbo.

“This risks creating new sources of tension in communities. Some have voiced concerns that certain measures (such as expanded detention options or streamlined returns) could reduce protections for vulnerable asylum seekers if not carefully implemented.” 

Taoiseach Micheál Martin spoke at the Local Development Companies Network National Conference in Cork where the reports were launched this week.

“Local communities understand their communities best,” Mr Martin said. “They know the challenges they face, the opportunities that are there to be seized upon and what really would make a difference in their local community.” 

Projects initiated by the CCP to support integration include welcome cafés, community gardens, cultural events, women's groups, sports programmes and school-based projects that bring people together through shared activities and create opportunities for relationships and trust to develop over time.