Irish people have become more positive in their overall attitudes towards immigrant communities over the last three years. But many are concerned that too many immigrants are coming here, that there is little official control on the numbers and that this will put pressure on existing stocks of housing, health services and on employment conditions.
These are the major findings of a survey published yesterday on racism and attitudes towards minority groups, organised by the National Action Plan Against Racism. This Government body is pleased that the results show a much greater direct experience of newcomers, whether as neighbours or in social settings, and that this is associated with a more welcoming attitude. The feelings seem to be reciprocated by immigrants, even if they remain perplexed and unnerved by Irish society's high dependence on the pub for recreation, find it expensive to live here, suffer from isolation because of language difficulties, or are afraid to complain about exploitation for fear of losing their jobs.
This survey is a useful snapshot of current attitudes showing a trend towards greater tolerance and desire for integration. It bears out the impression that Irish society has so far handled this great change constructively, on the whole, and is relatively permissive about it because of the greater diversity it brings. This has been helped enormously by the economic buoyancy that has kept employment levels so high and opened up a demand for immigrant labour now reckoned to have absorbed some 400,000 people who have not been born here, roughly 10 per cent of the population.
The concerns voiced in this survey deserve equal attention. They may be understated, partly because people do not want to cause gratuitous offence which could be seen as prejudiced or racist. The feelings that too many immigrants will continue to come, that they will replace Irish workers, cause more crime or drive wages down need to be taken seriously politically and in social planning. There is a widespread misperception about the high numbers claiming asylum, which is in fact only 3 per cent of the total immigrant population. Other societies have encountered similar worries with comparable levels of immigration. Time is needed to adapt and build structures for language learning and social interaction.
Detailed research with immigrant groups is only now coming on stream, but it suggests that there are substantial and as yet unvoiced concerns among them about poor working and living conditions, low pay, hypocritical attitudes and under-recognition of qualifications.