The Immigration Control Platform’s Áine Ní Chonaill can definitely claim membership of the ‘told you so’ society.
Firmly opposed to the significant migration that Ireland opted into during the 2000s, she says dole figures now prove that ex-Taoisech Bertie Ahern was “so, so wrong” to open the country’s labour market to all new EU nationals in 2004.
The absence of restrictions has bitten Ireland hard, she argues. Statistics give some weight to her point. A disproportionate number of non-Irish nationals are claiming unemployment benefits. Today 18.6 per cent of the 437,000 on the live register are non-Irish nationals, mostly from EU countries and comprising over 80,000 people (immigrants make-up 14.7 per cent of the workforce). It’s a radically different script from two years ago, when global juggarnauts like Facebook were singling out multiculturalism as a key factor in choosing Dublin to host its international office.
“We looked at a number of different locations and ultimately decided that Dublin was the best pick for a couple of different reasons,” said Facebook’s online operations chief Don Faul at the time. “One is that it has got a really strong, multilingual talent pool which will really help us grow.” The National Competitiveness Council in Ireland has also pushed the diversity agenda. In a 2009 study, it stated: “Diversity provides a richer cultural experience for citizens and visitors, bringing with it openness to new ideas and wider markets and customers…
“As highlighted by [urban studies theorist] Richard Florida, diverse and tolerant cities are more likely to attract the skilled workers who possess the ‘creative capital’ required to power knowledge economies.” The ICP’s Ní Chonaill says there may be “a scintilla of truth” in such pro-business diversity arguments, but adds: “You’ll also find, in any context, that diversity is harder to manage.”
She cites a decision by the Equality Tribunal in 2008, when it ordered an employer to pay 58 of its employees €5,000 each in compensation (totalling €290,000), having accepted that the employer “racially discriminated” against them by failing to translate their employment conditions into a language understandable to them.
Pros and cons – and an accountant’s log of diversity’s profits and deficits would prompt further deliberation. But minority representatives say a more imaginative Government approach to their presence in Ireland, and what they have brought, may settle the argument for once and for all.
Eric Yao, co-ordinator of the Africa Centre in Dublin, says diversity can help the economy, but investment in immigrants’ skills and business ideas are required.
One important sector, he notes, is ethnic small-scale businesses, which have already contributed to Ireland’s economy and would benefit from further investment, says Yao.
“Entrepreneurship stimulates economic growth through the creation of jobs and also brings about necessary changes in different societies. It is generally known that small businesses are the primary engines of job creation, income growth and poverty reduction.”
He adds that immigrants’ skills in Ireland are “severely underutilised”, saying it’s “common” to find highly qualified migrants undertaking jobs they are overqualified for. Racism and discrimination are also factors that black immigrants in particular have to deal with. Some of Yao’s sentiments are echoed by members of a minority group born and bred in Ireland.
Young men at the Pavee Point Travellers’ centre had a discussion on this topic at Metro Éireann’s request. A statement issued on their behalf insisted that if “mainstream society” continues to be “blasé” about discrimination against Travellers in the workplace, “the country will fail to reap the rewards of harnessing diversity”.
According to Pavee Point: “There are undoubtedly Travellers with real skills and capacity, but while unemployment within the community continues to lie at 75 per cent, the skills and capacities of the workforce will be lost to the recovery, and social welfare bills will continue to reflect the deficit.” Another point raised by the men was that the traditional business of Travellers seems to hold limited interest for the economy, yet could play a role in stimulating it.
“Travellers have for decades been associated with recycling and scrap salvage, and other crafts like tinsmithing and landscaping,” says Pavee Point. “Whilst these skills are low-qualification skills, the revenue which could accrue to the Department of Finance and the consequent reduction in landfill etc would provide something of a sustainability bonus to the economy.”
Gay representatives also believe Ireland would do well economically speaking to respect and promote diversity.
According to Kieran Rose, chairperson of the Gay and Lesbian Equality Network (Glen), firms seen as gay-friendly attract a much greater pool of potential recruits from all backgrounds.
Indeed, Glen published a report last year on the potential of diversity to help produce economic results. It cited the active promotion of diversity taken by computer giant IBM, which it says helped create an atmosphere “where creativity and innovation flourishes and a workplace where people from very different backgrounds and perspectives are able to share ideas and thinking”.
Such positive outcomes speak volumes, but unfortunately for ethnic minorities in particular, dole statistics shriek loudest as Ireland struggles to find out where it all went wrong.
