Slí Chaol (the narrow way)

  The answer to this question is, clearly, yes for the Irish Government which recently decided to cut allowances for many Ukrainian refugees (known as Beneficiaries of Temporary Protection).   Three arguments were cited: It would be unfair for some Ukrainian refugees to get more than other Ukrainian refugees who have arrived since mid-March of which there are an estimated 1,000 or so. Ireland’s social welfare and general financial payment was too generous for Ukrainian refugees compared to other EU Member States and this explains why so many came to Ireland over the last two years. It was financially and politically unsustainable. I will address these points, below. First, let’s set the political context as well as the facts about what seems to be happening (I say seems because a recent announcement about changes to payments for some Ukrainians is shockingly sparse and vague on so many points). Political context The sudden and sharp change in tone by Government on immigrat...

  Last week I posted a blog about comparative data relating to asylum seekers including numbers deported or ordered to leave.   Coincidentally, some breaking news came to my attention after posting the blog that EUROSTAT had released data apparently showing that Ireland had the highest rate of ‘illegal’ non-EU migrants per 1,000 of population. This was odd because the data that I had carefully extracted from Eurostat, checked and published on this blogsite showed the complete opposite!   Surely, I was wrong and Eurostat was right? I rechecked and rechecked data sources, formulae and the published Eurostat document cited by a number of media outlets and jumped on by a few politicians in Ireland to make the case that not only was immigration ‘out of control’ but that we had more ‘illegal’ immigrants per 1,000 of population than any other EU Member State.   All my raw data were the same as those used by EUROSTAT.   I was using a figure of 1,485 ‘illegals’ (I woul...

  Cromwell was not the last English ruler to offer a stark choice to its neighbours.   Recent weeks have seen a further ramping up of the rhetoric on immigration supplemented by loose playing with numbers on migration. ‘Facts’ that turn out to be other than robust statistics which can be stood over by the relevant public agencies have entered the discourse. Alarm and even panic have been spread by irresponsible commentators and fuelled by sensationalised opinion polling which has very limited value in my view.   What does count is election time and how those elected behave afterwards.   In the most recent turn of events attention has been focussed away from the majority of immigrants to those who have arrived as refugees.   As discussed in earlier blogs on this site, asylum seekers account for little more than 10% of total annual inflow. Suddenly, we have been presented with a highly simplistic categorisation of ‘legal’ and ‘illegal’ immigrants as well as ‘gen...

  It is curious how often one hears some people saying ‘And I am not a racist, but…..’ or ‘How dare anyone call me far-right or a racist when I am just pointing out that communities should be listened to’.   What are some people in some communities saying and why? Clearly, communities are concerned about resources, access to housing and public services. But is there something else going on? We hear of communities concerned about single men of a certain age-group especially where they are located near creches and schools. Really? The concern seems to be articulated especially but not exclusively when it concerns men from Africa or the middle east. None of this is racist or even sexist? Really? What can the data tell us about crime and safety when it comes to citizenship or race?   Data on race and crime is either not collected or used in Ireland but if it were we need to be cautious.   Were it the case that – and there is no evidence that it is – crime and migrant s...

  Why the tech sector and immigration need each other (linkedin.com) Many speak of the burden, cost and disruption of immigration.   Immigration impacts on public spending and ‘crowds out’ accommodation, healthcare access and jobs for others, so it is claimed.   It is part of the ‘Ireland is full’ narrative and basically sees immigration – especially ‘too much’ of it – as an economic, social and even cultural problem.     As well as economic fears there is a deep-seated fear associated with some vague sense of deep belonging, identity and national self-worth. It is claimed that ‘they’ are not like us by virtue of cultural norms, colour, behaviour or religion (if applicable).   The race, nationality and faith issues will be addressed in the 10 th blog in this series to be published in mid-May.   Here, I am dealing with the economic issues of claimed costs and unexplored benefits. In doing so I acknowledge that there is a close interaction between ‘n...

pic: Irish Mirror The outbreak of war in the Ukraine in February 2022 took the world by surprise. What has been, perhaps, just as surprising is the tenacity and capacity of those fighting for Ukraine to hold out against Russian aggression.  Thankfully, the conflict has not escalated, so far, to other countries and regions.  Two things seems clear: no end to the war is in sight and living in Ukraine is no fun at the moment. The European context A decision to admit Ukrainian refugees on the basis of the cross-EU Temporary Protection Directive has given rights of residence, employment, study and access to social welfare more or less in line with what might be offered to citizens from the EU.  Refugees from the Ukraine are termed Beneficiaries of Temporary Protection (BOTP). This decision made at EU level in the immediate aftermath of the outbreak of war is an important sign as well as a practical humanitarian gesture by EU States. It is a political act of solidarity on the p...