From Emigration to Immigration - New Dawn for an Intercultural 21st Century Ireland

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by Đào

Analyzes Ireland’s transition from an emigration country to an immigration destination, citing economic expansion, migration inflows, and increasing applications for refugee status. Explains how legal categories for non-EEA/Swiss nationals shape lived experience and the pathways toward citizenship or residency. Connects immigration to debates on Irish identity by examining internal versus ultimate others, identity markers, and the processes of self-identification and state categorisation.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages9

Reading Time23 min

AccessFree to download

Context

Immigration patterns and legal categories

Identity

Internal vs ultimate others

Processes of self-identification and categorisation

Citizenship

From Emigration to Immigration: New Dawn for an Intercultural 21st Century Ireland Fidèle Mutwarasibo Context Within the course of a decade Ireland has emerged from being a country of emigration toa country of immigration. Since the mid-1990s, Ireland has undergone rapid economic expansion with the recent economic growth resulting in approximately 252,000 migrants entering Ireland over the last 6 years, according to the Irish Times (2003). While a large number of these are returning Irish nationals, there has been a signiﬁcant increase of non-Irish nationals from outside the European Economic Area (EEAi) and Switzerland entering the country, primarily as temporary migrant workers. Additionally, the number of people applying for refugee status has increased from 39 in 1992 to just over 10,000 in the year 2001. Know Racismii, the national anti-racism programme, suggested that in 2002, 116,588 non-EEA nationals registered with immigration ofﬁcials nationally. It was estimated at the time that there were 160 different nationalities living in Ireland. Economists have been suggesting that we will need up to 50,000 immigrants annually to keep up with our economic growth in the next 10 years or so. In the 2002 census there was a question about ‘nationality’ rather than ‘ethnicity’; of those who ﬁlled the relevant box, 91.6% stated that they were Irish and a further 1.3% stated that they had Irish and another nationality. Of the 5.8% who stated that they were not Irish or part-Irish, about half were British and the remainder came from other parts of the world (32,801 EU excluding UK, 26,235 other European, 26,515 Africa, 28,132 Asia, 29,119 America including South America and 8,363 Antipodes) . iEEA: European Economic Area (EU Member States and Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein) ii Know Racism – The National Anti-Racism Awareness Programme (updated in March 2002): Information Pack. [See www.knowracism.ie/pdfs/info_pack.pdf](See www.knowracism.ie/pdfs/info_pack.pdf). It should be stressed that there are variations in the legal status of nonEEA/Swiss nationals who have come to Ireland, including categories such as:‘migrant workers’,‘family members of migrant workers’,‘family members of EEA Swiss-nationals’,‘business people’,‘visitors’,‘refugees’,‘asylum seekers’and people who have been granted ‘leave to remain’. Overtime some of today’s immigrants will become Irish citizens through naturalisation and others, legislation permitting, will acquire permanent residency. The current generation of immigrants will give way over time to the second, third, and so on generation of ethnic minorities. Identity Immigration into Ireland has revitalised debates on Irish identity. According to Johnson (1994), ethnically, the Irish nation is a pluralist hybrid ofFirbolgs, Celts, Vikings, Normans, English, Scottish, Huguenots, etc. He argues that racial purity in the case ofthe Irish is blatant nonsense. In material published by Know Racism (2002)iii, it is argued that minority ethnic groups have been, are andwill continue to be an integral part of modern Irish society. Yet, deﬁnitions of ‘identity’ – particularly national identity – typically involve a strong distinction between the “internal other” and the “ultimate other”. For example, Ireland’s “internal others” prior to the recent immigration waves, included such groups and communities as Protestants, Jews, Travellers, Black Irish, Irish-Chinese, Lone Parents, Gays and Lesbians, etc. Socio-economic status also serves as an identity marker in the Irish context. For example, in Dublin there is a stigma attached to having an address in ﬂat complexes such as Dolphin House, St Michael’s Estate, Fatima Mansions and Ballymun. This is the case in Cork for those living in Knocknaheeny and those living in Corrib Park, Galway.“Ultimate others” are generally those deemed to be complete outsiders. The “ultimate others” are often graded. In Ireland, for example, migrant workers are on top of the s

FAQs

How has Ireland’s migration status changed over the past decade?

Ireland has shifted from emigration to immigration, driven by rapid economic expansion and substantial migrant inflows, alongside rising refugee and asylum applications.

What are the key legal categories mentioned for non-EEA/Swiss nationals?

The text lists categories such as migrant workers, family members, business people, visitors, refugees, asylum seekers, and those granted leave to remain.

How does immigration influence debates about Irish identity?

Immigration revitalizes discussions of Irish identity by framing differences through concepts like “internal other” versus “ultimate other,” and by examining how social groups and socio-economic markers operate as identity signals.

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by Đào