The largest immigration research programme ever undertaken in Ireland was unveiled this morning in Trinity College Dublin.
The €6 million project will run for four years and will address the key challenges of immigration in Ireland and help develop policies in relation to these issues.
It will focus on employment, social policy, culture and language and will provide a detailed picture of immigrants living in Ireland. Immigrants will be asked about their career aspirations, integration into Irish communities, educational needs as well as their cultural and religious activities.
A language-immersion programme for immigrant students at post-primary level will also be provided.
Prof James Wickham of Trinity's Department of Sociology said the country had a narrow window of opportunity to plan for and maximise the benefits of the economic, social and cultural contribution of immigrants to Irish society.
"There is currently a paucity of information on immigration in Ireland, and one of the key issues for this research is generating quality data and making it public fast as the situation is evolving rapidly," he said.
Data generated will be made publicly available on a regular basis in quarterly reports and by other means during the four-year project.