Immigrants needed for economic health

Immigrants are crucial to the State’s economic future, a report to be published this evening argues.

The report, Migrants and the Irish Economy, commissioned by the Integration Centre, says not only has Ireland benefited from inward migration over the past 15 years, but with some supports immigrants could be key to the country flourishing again. It says the State will continue to need migrant labour, and migrants are vital to sectors needing language proficiency and technical skills.

Killian Forde, the chief executive of the Integration Centre, said the report was produced “to combat the overly popular negative discourse which surrounds immigration”. He said there was a belief in some circles that it was time for migrants to “go home”, given the recession. Countering this, he pointed to the huge reliance of the Irish economy on multinational companies. “Without a liberal visa regime no multinationals would base themselves in Ireland.” He also said there was huge untapped potential in the migrant population.