Understanding migration in Ireland
When the history of Ireland will be told in 2073 the year 2023 will stand out as the year in which the Great Immigration Debate began – in a street riot and by a burning bus. The rest is history continued. The first casualty in any major conflict is the truth. There are statistics, lies and damn lies. Migration is no exception because it touches on our deepest sense of identity. Questions of migration may invoke deep emotions of belonging, empathy as well as fear and even hatred. In the struggle over resources, people and services we seek to find a way through the fog of untruths and half-truths. The truth about migration is that it is an inevitable part of the human experience. We are, at some point in our own family history, the children of migrants. Migration entails change and sometimes resistance, and unfortunately as we know only too well from our own history, conquest. Most migration in recent times is other than forced conquest: it is the fruit of economic, p