Integration changes cultures - lecturer

INTEGRATION IS sometimes used as a euphemism for assimilation in European countries, a senior psychology professor said during a public lecture at Trinity College Dublin last night.

Prof John Berry, of Queen’s University, Kingston, Ontario, Canada, said young people from immigrant or ethnic minority groups were sometimes expected to keep their heritage culture only in the private sphere.

“In other words, the public culture is the culture of the dominant group and all other cultures are down and out,” he said.

Prof Berry said most interaction with immigrants tended to take place in schools or in the workplace.

Both cultures would change as a result of this interaction, and “school, health and possibly policing will be changing here in Ireland”.

http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/ireland/2009/0430/1224245683003.html

High levels of racism uncovered in EU report

DISCRIMINATION against immigrants is widespread in Ireland and the country is one of the most difficult in Europe for minorities according to a major report.

The Irish Human Rights Commission said it is gravely concerned at the findings of the report, the first of its kind, which was published by the EU’s Fundamental Rights Agency.

Three out of four immigrants from Africa feel helpless in the face of abuse and discrimination that they say affects every sphere of their lives, from ordering a coffee in a cafe to having their children educated.

Even immigrants from other EU countries in central and eastern Europe say they suffer from discrimination with 25% saying abuse is widespread in the country, while more than half of them say they do not know of any organisation that could support or help them.

The figures released in Brussels, which the agency says is just a taster of the full report, shows Africans in Ireland among the top 10 worst groups in four out of five important areas.

http://www.irishexaminer.com/ireland/snauausnoj/

Problems with rural integration - report

Not enough is being done to integrate foreign nationals into rural communities, according to a new report published today.

The report, Reaching Out, which has been compiled by Irish Rural Link, finds that prejudice about race and identity is a huge problem for people from abroad living in Ireland.

http://www.rte.ie/news/2009/0303/integration.html

Report.

http://www.rte.ie/news/2009/0303/ruralireland.pdf

Immigrants not factored into job loss estimates

TAOISEACH Brian Cowen's prediction last Wednesday that unemployment could hit 400,000 by the end of this year came despite the Government making no provision for Irish and non-Irish nationals who may leave or enter the country as a result of the global downturn, the Sunday Independent has learned.

Given the failure by government officials to factor in any estimates on the expected outflow of workers who lose their jobs during 2009, Mr Cowen's grim forecast could yet turn out to be hopelessly optimistic to the tune of tens of thousands.

For in the case of non-Irish nationals from Eastern Europe, being unemployed in Ireland could still present a more attractive option than a return to one's home country.

The weekly entitlement to jobseeker's benefit stands at over €200 per week here and matches -- and in some cases outstrips -- professional salaries in EU accession countries such as Poland and the Baltic states of Lithuania and Latvia.

http://www.independent.ie/national-news/immigrants-not-factored-into-job-loss-estimates-1632513.html

Warning on dangers of migrant segregation

THE CLUSTERING of migrants in some areas may develop into segregation unless social integration is made a key aim of housing policy, according to a Government-funded report to be published tomorrow.

Although it has found there is currently little evidence of segregation, the study warns this could change where low incomes narrowed newcomers' choice of neighbourhood and Irish residents chose to move out because they felt their area had become too diverse.

The emergence of segregated schools could compound the problem.

http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/ireland/2008/1008/1223335466229.html

Non-Irish seeking unemployment benefit up 80%

The number of foreign nationals applying for unemployment benefit has increased by almost 80 per cent over the past year, new figures show.

The increase has been felt most sharply by members of former EU accession states where numbers have jumped by some 144 per cent since September of last year.

Overall, a breakdown of live register figures for last month by the Central Statistics Office shows a total of 240,000 people were signing on last month, an increase of almost 50 per cent compared to the same period year.

Of this, the vast majority were Irish (83 per cent, or 199,000) and the remainder were foreign nationals (17 per cent, or 41,200). The CSO's figures - based on data supplied by the Department of Social and Family Affairs - do not provide a breakdown by nationality.

http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/breaking/2008/1003/breaking57.htm

Scheme to teach English to migrants goes nationwide

A Meath-based project which involves older people teaching conversational English to new migrants will be extended nationwide, it has been announced.

Some 147 people from 19 countries have taken party in the weekly classes in Summerhill, Co Meath. Volunteers are now working with students from Poland, Lithuania, Italy, Argentina, France, Germany, Moldova, Ukraine, Latvia, Algeria, Brazil, Slovakia, China, Spain, Czech Republic, Holland, Hungary, Sweden and Uzbekistan.

http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/breaking/2008/0930/breaking34.htm

Senator wants new migrants to sit exam in English

THE row over immigrants' language skills deepened last night after a Fine Gael senator called for a mandatory English test for all foreigners entering the country.

It comes just two days after controversial remarks by her party colleague, Fine Gael frontbencher Brian Hayes, calling for the "segregation" of immigrant children in secondary schools until they can speak English.

Senator Fidelma Healy-Eames last night said immigrants who wanted to work in the country should have to pass an English language test to improve the process of integration.

"We really need to let foreign nationals know that English is a requirement to live here. It is absolutely ridiculous that some people are here for years without an English competency," she told the Irish Independent.

http://www.independent.ie/national-news/senator-wants-new-migrants-to-sit-exam-in-english-1460198.html

Teachers back call to segregate immigrants

TEACHERS last night gave a guarded backing to calls for immigrant children who cannot speak English properly to be "segregated" in our classrooms.

This followed a Fine Gael call yesterday for the Government to separate immigrant children with poor language skills from the rest of their classmates.

The party’s education spokesman, Brian Hayes, said children should not be put into a mainstream class until they have a competence for it.

He added: “And if that requires segregation, well then we have got to segregate the child in the best interests of that child.”

He said he was also aware that many parents were frustrated at the effect the lack of segregation was having on the education of their Englishspeaking children.

http://www.independent.ie/national-news/teachers-back-call-to-segregate-immigrants-1458490.html

Surge in non-nationals buying first home here

ALMOST one in 20 first-time buyer houses are being snapped up by Africans, according to figures to be published later this month.

The figures, from the Irish Mortgage Corporation, show that while many Irish-born first-time buyers have been sitting on the property fence this year, the number of properties being bought by non-nationals has surged.

Overall, non-nationals are snapping up one in four first-time buyer houses, compared to about one in 10 three years ago.

Asian first-time buyers have the biggest taste for Irish property. About one in 14 first-time buyer houses are snapped up by Asians, with most of these coming from India, the Philippines, Pakistan and China.

http://www.independent.ie/business/irish/surge-in-nonnationals-buying-first-home-here-1457456.html

'United Nations' of claimants costing State €150m

THE State is spending around €150m a year hosting a "United Nations" of nationalities in rented properties, according to new figures.

People from 161 different countries, ranging from Afghanistan to Zimbabwe, are in receipt of the free rental allowance.

They account for 39pc of the 63,000 people on the means-tested scheme, which costs a total of €390m annually and is generally open only to those who are unemployed.

Although 61pc of people on the scheme are Irish, the numbers of immigrants on rent allowance has been increasing steadily.

http://www.independent.ie/national-news/united-nations-of-claimants-costing-state-8364150m-1446654.html

FG Councillor calls for upskilling of Irish workforce

Cllr. Pat Whelan has called for the up-skilling of Irish workers after it emerged this week that 90% of new jobs created in the last 12 months were being filled by foreign nationals.

“This information from the Central Statistics Office (CSO) bucks the widely held belief, that many migrant workers will leave Ireland for other EU countries as our economy slows down, and that a large proportion of new jobs being created in Ireland will be taken up by the Irish workforce,” said Cllr. Whelan.

“The biggest share of new jobs are being created in high value sectors like financial and other business services, which grew by 26,300 in the year to the first quarter of 2008, and accounted for almost half (48.9%) of all jobs created. It had been assumed that Irish workers would take up most of these positions. But the CSO data indicates that foreign nationals will be recruited for a significant proportion of these new positions,” the Town Councillor continued.

“This trend needs to be fully researched by Government, as it could well be a warning about Ireland’s ability to attract foreign direct investment. There is no doubt that some of this increase in jobs uptake by migrant workers is due to their improving English language skills, leaving lower skilled jobs and moving up the value chain in line with their educational qualifications,” he said.

http://www.westmeathexaminer.ie/articles/1/29488

Catholic Church supports ethnic integration in our schools

A radical plan to end 'white flight' from urban schools throughout the country has been put forward by the Catholic education authorities.

The Catholic Primary School Management Association accused some parents of bypassing their local school because they do not want their children to be educated alongside ethnic minorities.

CPSMA Secretary Monsignor Dan O'Connor criticised the minority of schools that told parents whose first language was not English that schools elsewhere had language support services.

Equally, some schools were suggesting to parents of special needs children that they take them elsewhere, he said.

The proposal follows comments by Archbishop of Dublin, Dr Diarmuid Martin, who in April publicly criticised "good Catholic parents" -- who made decisions with their feet or with their "four-wheel drives" to opt out of diversity in schools.

Dr Martin disclosed recently that he had received racist and quasi-racist mail after he announced a decision to reserve places in two Dublin schools for children of immigrants.

http://www.independent.ie/national-news/church-bids-to-halt-white-flight-1429355.html

Non-Irish nationals living in Ireland - 2006 Census

People from 188 different countries were living in the State at the time of the last census in 2006, new figures show.

Of the 420,000 non-Irish people residing here on census day in April 2006, the largest group was UK nationals, who numbered 112,000. Poles were the second-largest group, followed by Lithuanians, Nigerians and Latvians.

The top ten countries accounted for 82 per cent of the total non-Irish population, and there were 44 countries – from Anguilla to Western Sahara – represented by fewer than 10 people.

The report of the non-Irish population, released today by the Central Statistics Office (CSO), also shows that people from countries outside Europe had higher overall educational attainment than Irish people in the same age brackets.

In general, foreign nationals were concentrated either in cities, particularly Dublin and Galway, or in the popular tourist destinations on the western and southern seaboards. Leitrim, Longford, Waterford city and county, Carlow and North Tipperary all had fewer than 5,000 foreigners, while Dublin City, Fingal, South Dublin and Cork County all had more than 20,000.

http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/breaking/2008/0630/breaking43.htm

Full CSO Report
http://www.cso.ie/releasespublications/documents/population/non-irish/nonirishnationalscomplete.pdf

Foreigners involved in over 40% of stabbings

Foreign nationals account for over a quarter of all fatal stabbing victims in the last five years. A report in the Sunday Tribune claims that of 100 people fatally stabbed in Ireland since 2003, 26 of them have been foreigners.

The investigation also revealed that foreigners have been involved as either victims or perpetrators in over 40% of stabbing incidents.

There have been five fatal stabbings so far this year, and four of these victims were not Irish nationals.

Earlier this month Mr Justice Paul Carney made controversial remarks linking the rise of knife crime in Ireland to the influx of immigrants into the country.

http://www.tribune.ie/breakingnews/article/2008/jun/22/26-of-fatal-stabbing-victims-are-foreign-nationals/