Inward migration rose dramatically in Ireland from the mid-2000s, spurred partly by the country’s economic growth and by the fact that Ireland was one of only three European Union states to open its labour market to citizens from central and eastern Europe after EU enlargement in 2004.
Almost overnight, a traditional country of emigration turned into a place of immigration, attracting newcomers from across the world. It made Ireland a more diverse and interesting place. It also powered the economy. And all of this happened with relatively little tension. Unlike many European countries, anti-immigrant politics never took hold.
And yet some of the most successful examples of social integration have occurred not by centralised design but as a result of local improvisation – communities rallying around, businesses taking a lead, or schools devising their own solutions to the challenge of a multilingual classroom.
New research by the Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI) points to another positive trend in the educational sphere. It has found that progression rates to higher education are broadly the same for Irish and migrant children from English and non-English speaking backgrounds. That striking conclusion contrasts with international evidence, which suggests that migrant children tend to have lower grades but high aspirations, producing what is called an “aspirations-achievement paradox”.
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The findings are somewhat against expectations, the ESRI observes, given that other research indicates that immigrant students are more likely to have lower test scores and more likely to go to schools in disadvantaged areas. There are important caveats – for example, there is bound to be internal variation across different migrant communities, and certain groups, such as those spending long periods in direct provision, have specific needs that must be addressed.
But overall the trend is encouraging. A society that does not enable its newcomers to reach their potential is one that fails the integration test in the most fundamental way.