The number of migrant workers from Eastern Europe coming to Ireland on a monthly basis is continuing to increase almost two years after accession, new figures indicate.
Almost 200,000 migrants have been issued with Personal Public Service (PPS) numbers since May 2004, official figures show. An average of 10,200 migrant workers signed up on a monthly basis for PPS numbers during the first three months of this year, a 40 per cent increase over the same period last year (7,200 a month).
These statistics are just an indication of migration levels into Ireland, however, and do not include migrants who did not sign up for PPS numbers. Similarly, figures do not show how many migrants have since returned to their home country.
Most of the former accession country workers who have arrived here since May 2004 came from Poland (136,920), followed by Lithuania (33,964) and Latvia (17,204). Workers from the 10 accession states have been free to enter and work in Ireland without a work permit since this date.
On an average monthly basis, numbers have been steadily increasing since 2004 with 8,931 arriving here a month in 2004, 9,162 in 2005 and 10,269 in 2006.
While unions have argued there has been evidence of job displacement, employment figures show our unemployment rate has fallen from 5 per cent to 4 per cent since accession.
PPS numbers do not indicate whether a person has been working or not, although data from the Revenue Commissioners suggest more than two-thirds (70 per cent) took up some form of employment.
The latest official statistics on the workforce suggest that accession country workers account for around 2 per cent of the overall workforce. Foreign nationals - including those from the UK - make up around 8 per cent of the Irish labour force, one of the highest percentages in the EU.
Live register data up to September of last year show just a small fraction of workers from former accession states were seeking unemployment benefit or assistance.
Out of 153,000 people on the live register, 1,318 (0.8 per cent) were from accession countries. Of this number, around half were receiving unemployment benefit or assistance, while the other half did not receive any payment.
The lack of payment may be a result of the habitual residency condition, a welfare restriction imposed by the Government which was aimed at targeting "welfare tourism".
As well as the influx of eastern Europeans, separate figures show an average of 20,000 Irish emigrants are returning to live here each year. A total of 132,000 Irish people have returned home since 2001. The figure peaked between 2002 and 2004, when more than 61,000 came back to the country. Similar numbers were leaving the country in the late 1980s.