Seven out of 10 favour immigration restrictions
Poll reveals public concern over welfare strain from 'new' EU citizens
Sunday June 28 2009
a LARGE majority believe immigration from new EU member states into Ireland should be restricted because the perilous economic situation means we no longer have enough jobs, a Sunday Independent poll has revealed.
Nearly seven out of ten Irish people now want the inflow of foreign nationals to be curtailed fearing that further new arrivals will strain the social welfare system.
The poll was conducted after it was revealed in the Sunday Independent last week that the number of foreign nationals on the Live Register is now about 80,000 -- or around 20 per cent of the total.
Asked: "Do you think Ireland, in line with most other European countries, should restrict immigrants from new EU accession countries?" 67 per cent of respondents replied Yes and 33 per cent answered No.
Many respondents believed it was unsustainable to allow more and more people in given the size of the country and the economic crisis.
Others pointed out that there had been a need for labour during the boom years but that demand was gone.
Some respondents also expressed fears that more immigration from these countries would lead to a strain on the welfare system and a small minority believed that fraud was an issue.
"We do not have the jobs anymore and if people come over and just end up on the dole that is just going to cause problems," according to one respondent.
There was a feeling among a significant number of respondents that the whole issue of immigration had been badly dealt with over the boom years and that the State needed to be more careful in the future.
Many who see no need for new restrictions expressed the view that because the Celtic Tiger economy had waned few people would want to come to Ireland.
"Luck would be a fine thing. Who would want to come here now?" was one response.
Others believed that free movement of labour between member states was a key part of the EU and that Ireland had benefited from those who had come here during the boom as much as they had.
The poll conducted by Quantum Research for the Sunday Independent came as new figures from the Department of Social Welfare showed that between May 2008 and May 2009 the numbers signing on at social welfare local offices throughout the State has risen by more than 97 per cent from more than 201,700 to more than 396,800.
In May Alan Barrett, an economist with the ESRI, in a paper titled The Labour Market in Recession suggested that during a downturn, migrant workers do not immediately go home.
"A significant proportion of immigrants appear to be reacting to job losses by remaining here," Mr Barrett said.
He said this could be explained by labour market conditions abroad, but he added that "welfare entitlement here may also be playing a role".
On May 1, 2004, 10 countries joined the European Union. Only three countries, Ireland, the UK and Sweden, opened their labour markets to people from these accession states.
Most other countries sought a two-year "stay" before they opened up their country to citizens, but since 2006 most of our European neighbours have retained restrictions on workers from new EU countries.
- JEROME REILLY
