Legal Immigration

The "Celtic Tiger" has lost its roar – EU labour migrants in Ireland

Migration

10.11.2008

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The "Celtic Tiger" has lost its roar – EU labour migrants in Ireland
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New migration pact intended to control EU immigration policy

When Ireland, along with Great Britain and Sweden, opened its borders to the citizens of the ten new EU member states as soon as they joined up, there was a massive influx of workers from East Europe. The Green Island, once a land of emigrants, turned into a land of immigrants, thanks to economic growth and a boom in construction. But the good times are now over and Ireland is in recession. What does that mean for all those EU labour migrants?

There is still building going on in the Dublin harbour area and everything seems to be as it was. Two multi-storey office blocks are under construction and there are plenty of builders around wearing protective helmets and orange jackets. On the fence there are signs that read: “entry prohibited.” One Irish worker says: "Most of the people on the building site come from Eastern Europe. There are fewer of them now than six months ago.

“Many of them just go back home when their job finishes and their contract runs out."

The reason is clear: there isn't enough work. Many companies have gone bankrupt and aren't hiring any more.

We can go anywhere

That doesn't yet seem to worry the workers here. A few steps away, a foreman calls Thomas from Lithuania and Vaclav from Poland over. The two are good examples of current Irish statistics, which show most EU labour migrants are male, young and Eastern European – and most of them only want to stay for a few years in Ireland. These two aren't ready to leave just yet. "We'll stay a few years more," says Thomas.

"If the labour situation gets worse, we'll look for something new. I've no idea what'll happen then. Most of my friends are staying, but some have gone back."

Vaclav says he too wants to stay in Ireland. "Some of the lads have gone away because they've got a job, but that's their decision. If they want to go, let them. We're in the EU. We can go where we like. But I like Dublin, Ireland is wonderful, I like it here."

Most come from the new EU countries

Opposite the building site is the home of the Institute of Economic and Social Research. Alan Barrett coordinates the department dealing with migration research. In 2002, six per cent of the people living in Ireland were non-Irish, but that's changed. “In our 2006 survey, the proportion was ten per cent,” he says. “that was an increase of four per cent in our foreign population. In just four years. Historically and internationally, that's never happened before. And the vast majority come from the new countries of the European Union.”

Immigrants are an important source of labour

These workers have been attracted mainly by the economic growth which Ireland enjoyed during the period when it was known as the Celtic Tiger. But this period of rapid growth is now over. Ireland was the first of the countries in the euro zone to fall into recession. In the year up to April 2008, there were still 83,000 immigrants to the country, but that was 26,000 fewer than in the previous year. Immigration from Eastern Europe has been especially affected. Many of the workers are moving on to London, where there are plenty of jobs because of the preparations for the Olympic Games. But, says Alan Barrett, immigrants are still an important part of the labour force in Ireland. "In our last survey they made up 13 per cent of those in employment," he says.

"That makes them a very, very significant part of the labour force. Many of them are in the construction industry, but one should emphasise that this isn't the only area they're active in. Immigrants are also over-represented in the hotel and restaurant industry.

“I think that anyone who visits Ireland will have noticed that it is increasingly rare to find an Irish waiter or an Irish barman.”

Many leave because there is no work

That is the case in Chaplin's Pub in the centre of Dublin. The Polish club on the first floor is closed, the lights are out and the chairs stacked. Magda from Poland is behind the bar on the ground floor. She looks tired. Last night was the Polish club's last, and a few of the guests went on celebrating into the early hours. Magda had expected that the club would close. "I wasn't surprised," she says, "because there aren't many Polish people in Ireland. They've all gone. So I knew it would happen. Already a few months ago, say six months, I could see that there weren't many Polish people here. Because there isn't any work here, that's why."

Home is home

Daniel, a Dublin city bus driver, is sitting in the Irish part of Chaplin's. In fact he comes from Gdansk and is one of the estimated 200,000 Poles who live Ireland. He used to drink his beer upstairs with the other Poles. Now he is on his own downstairs. "The last few years have been good," he says, "but it can't always only be good. My own country is beginning to catch up. So everyone is going back to get a good job and settle down."

Daniel plans to leave Ireland and return to Poland in six months at the latest. "It's a good experience to be here, to get work experience, but home remains home. That's what I always say: Home is home.”