Figure 4.8: Emigration, Immigration and Net Migration, 1987-2006
-80.0 -60.0 -40.0 -20.0 0.0 20.0 40.0 60.0 80.0 100.0 1987 1989 1991 1993 1995 1997 1999 2001 2003 2005 Emigration Immigration Net Migration
Source: Central Statistics Office.
The composition of migratory flows to Ireland has become increasingly diverse. In 1991 about two-thirds of the total number of immigrants were
Irish people returning home, but by 1996 returning migrants accounted for less than half of the gross inflow. The importance of the return flow of people who had left Ireland continued to diminish and by 2006 it had fallen to 20,000 or less than one-quarter of the gross inflow of 87,000. At that point, over three-fifths of the gross inflow consisted of nationals from other EU countries, including the new Member States from Central and Eastern Europe who joined the European Union in 2004. Over four-fifths of the non-Irish migrants in 2006 were nationals of the EU-25. Figure 4.9 shows how the country of origin of immigrants changed between 1991 and 2006. In 1991, 56 per cent of all immigrants who moved to Ireland came from the UK and 13 per cent came from the US, many of whom were Irish workers returning home. Immigrants from the rest of the EU and the rest of the world amounted to 31 per cent in total. In 2006 immigrants from the rest of the EU and the rest of the world accounted for over two-thirds of the total inflow, with the biggest increase for the latter.
Figure 4.9:Estimated Flow of All Immigrants by Country of Origin, 1991-2006 (Thousands) 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006
United Kingdom Other EU-15
EU-10 United States of America
Rest of the World Total
Source: Central Statistics Office. Note: European Union refers to EU-15.
These changing patterns of migration, as well as having major implications for social policy in themselves, have had an impact on the composition of the population by nationality and ethnic origin. In 2006, over 10 per cent of the population were foreign nationals as shown in Table 4.7. Of these 113,000 were UK nationals, almost 165,000 were nationals of other EU countries, and 145,000 came from outside the EU. This compares to 67,000 from the UK in 2000, with 25,000 from other EU countries and 34,000 from outside the EU.
Table 4.7: Total Population in 2000 and 2006 Classified by Nationality (000s) Nationality 2000* 2006 Irish 3,660.4 3,706.7 UK 66.9 112.6 Other EU 15/25 25.3 163.2 Non EU 34.3 145.3 USA 8.0 12.5 Other 26.3 132.8 Total Population 3,786.9 4,127.8 Foreign Population 126.5 421.1
Per cent Foreign 3.3% 10.2%
Source: CSO, 2000 and 2007.
*Note: The CSO has revised total immigration figures for 2000 but not nationality data. Consequently, the unrevised figures are supplied here.
Migrants are distinctive in terms of age profile, and thus also have an impact on the profile of the population. Using the CSO’s Quarterly National Household Survey, Barrett, Bergin, and Duffy (2006) looked at non-Irish immigrants who arrived in Ireland in the ten years up to 2003 and were in the labour force at that point, and found that over 80 per cent were aged between 20 and 44 years, compared with 44 per cent of the native population (which includes return migrants born in Ireland and of Irish nationality). Figure 4.10 compares the age profile of residents of Irish nationality with those who did not have Irish nationality in the 2006 Census.9 This again shows a much higher proportion of the non-Irish than Irish population in the 15-24 years and 25-34 years age ranges.
Figure 4.10: Age Profile of Usual Residents by Age Distinguishing Non-Irish Versus Irish Nationality, 2006
Source: Census of Population.
9 This does not correspond to a distinction between immigrants and non-migrants since some people not of Irish nationality may have been in Ireland since birth, but nonetheless serves as a reasonable approximation.
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 0-14 15- 24 25- 34 35- 44 45- 54 % Irish non-Irish 55- 59 60- 64 65+