Migration is 'mother of progress'

An economic downturn could impact adversely on acceptance of immigration here and the State's migration policy must be adapted to prepare for this risk, former EU commissioner Peter Sutherland has said.

Mr Sutherland, who is chairman of British Petroleum, was addressing a conference on Ireland and Global Development, held in Trinity College Dublin in his capacity as special representative to UN secretary general Kofi Annan on migration.

Countries that stayed open to migration, such as the US and Ireland, were reaping significant economic and social benefits, Mr Sutherland said. "Migration is the mother of progress and invention. Studies I've looked at in the US and elsewhere show that the benefits of immigration are significant and the damage is very little," he said.

He praised Government policies and public attitudes towards immigrants in Ireland. But he warned that pressure for a more restrictive approach was likely to increase in the future.

"We've seen far faster change here than anywhere else. We've handled it, not flawlessly, but we've been very good. We have to move rapidly because otherwise we'll find ourselves facing a much more challenging global economic climate."

The conference earlier heard calls for the Government to reconsider its plans to establish an Irish Development Finance Institute (DFI). While he praised Ireland's contribution to the Third World, Gavin McGillivray, head of international finance at the UK's department for international development, said there were already more than enough organisations providing development finance to the Third World.

"Can Ireland really make a meaningful impact in this way? Ireland should think carefully about the institutional model it uses to contribute to development finance," Mr McGillivray said yesterday.

He called on existing DFIs to target more of their resources on projects in poorer regions and economic sectors. "Less than 50 per cent of DFI financing goes to low-income regions. Only 25 per cent goes to Sub-Saharan Africa and only 11 per cent goes to South Asia," he said.