Labour Migration in Ireland : Overview of trends and recent policy changes The Irish National...
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Transcript of Labour Migration in Ireland : Overview of trends and recent policy changes The Irish National...
Labour Migration in Ireland: Overview of trends and recent policy
changes
Labour Migration in Ireland: Overview of trends and recent policy
changes
The Irish National Contact Point of the European Migration Network is funded by the European Commission and the Irish
Department of Justice and Law Reform.
1. Overview of trends in migration and immigrant employment in Ireland
2. Labour migration policy and non-EU employment permits system
3. Migrant workers and the crisis
4. Features of immigrant labour market experience in Ireland
Trends in Migration 1987-2010
-60
-40
-20
0
20
40
60
80
100
120
19
87
19
88
19
89
19
90
19
91
19
92
19
93
19
94
19
95
19
96
19
97
19
98
19
99
20
00
20
01
20
02
20
03
20
04
20
05
20
06
20
07
20
08
20
09
20
10
Emigration Immigration Net Migration
Tho
usan
ds
Central Statistics Office, Population and Migration Estimates
Central Statistics Office, Population and Migration Estimates
Immigration by National Group 2000-2010
0
20
40
60
80
100
120
2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010
Rest of World
EU10/12
EU 13
UK
Irish
Th
ou
san
ds
Non-Irish Nationals in Employment 2004-2010
Source: Central Statistics Office: QNHS
Employment 2004-2010 (000s)
0
500
1000
1500
2000
2500
2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010
Irish in employment Non-Irish in Employment
Total in employment
Occupational Skill Groups of Non-Irish in Employment
Source: QNHS, 2004:Q3; 2005-2010:Q2 Calendarised data
Per Cent Non-Irish in Highly Skilled Occupations
4% 5% 6% 5% 5% 5%
2% 2% 2%2% 3%3% 4% 4% 3%
1%
0%
5%
10%
15%
20%
25%
30%
2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009
Other EU15 EU10/12 Non EU
Occupational Skill Groups of Non-Irish in Employment
Source: QNHS, 2004:Q3; 2005-2010:Q2 Calendarised data
Per Cent Non-Irish in Skilled Occupations
3% 4% 4% 4% 3% 4%2%
4%6% 9% 10% 8%3%
3%3%
3% 4%3%
0%
5%
10%
15%
20%
25%
30%
2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009
Other EU15 EU10/12 Non EU
Per Cent Non-Irish in Low SkilledOccupations
3% 3% 3% 2% 3% 3%
4%
10%
20% 21%
4%
4%
5%
4% 5%
4%
17%15%
0%
5%
10%
15%
20%
25%
30%
2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009
Other EU15 EU10/12 Non EU
Slovakian Nationals Working in Ireland 1
Department of Social Protection
Slovakian Nationals Working in Ireland 2
Census 2006
Development of Irish Labour Migration Policy
• Prior to early 2000s little management of economic migration
• Work visa/ authorisation programme introduced in 2000
• Work permit allocations increased x7 between 1999-2003 to peak at 47,500 in 2003. Mainly low skilled occupations
• From 2002 state sought to exercise some control of work permit allocations. Labour market needs test introduced. ‘Ineligible Occupation Sectors’. Employment Permits Act 2003
• State started pursuing the now well established policy of sourcing all but highly-skilled and/or scarce labour from within the EU
• EU Enlargement 2004. EU10 nationals granted full access to the Irish labour market
Development of Irish Labour Migration Policy
• Unprecedented rates of migration 2004-2007
• State became increasingly active regarding management of non-EU labour migration
• Restrictions on non EU students’ access to labour market in 2004
• Employment Permits Act 2006
– Further restrictions on lower-skilled work permit allocations
– Introduced Green Card to attract highly-skilled non-EU workers
• Work permit requirement for Romanian and Bulgarian nationals following accession in 2007
Non-EU Employment Permits System
• Employer-led system
– State licenses arrangement between employer and potential migrant worker after job offer has been made
• Controls that may be exercised by state include application of Labour market needs test, list of occupations ineligible for permits
• Identifying Shortages: Expert Group on Future Skills Needs, National Skills Database
• National Skills Bulletin 2010: No labour shortages and only limited skills shortages exist
Non-EU Employment Permits System
Type of Permit
Conditions Associated
Green Card Work Permit Intra Company Transfer
Spousal/Dependent Permit
Permit Availability
Most occ. with annual salary >€60k
Restricted list of occupations €30 - €60k
Mainly for occ. €30k-€60k annual salary
Also under €30,000
List of ineligible occupations
Senior management, key personnel, trainees
Annual Salary > €40,000
Spouse/dependent of GC holder
Spouse/dependent of WP holder provided original WP holder made first application before 1 June 2009.
Labour Market Needs Test
None Strengthened labour market test
None Applies where original WP holder made first application after 1 June 2009.
Family Reunification
Immediate Must be legally in the State for 1 year with
None None
The Recession- Ireland’s GNP Growth Rate
Ireland’s Rate of Unemployment
Recent Adjustments to non-EU Employment Permits System
• Reduction in occupations eligible for green cards in <€60,000 category (quantity surveyors, building managers, and engineers and architects)
• Extension of list of occupations ineligible for new work permit including childcare workers; hotel tourism and catering workers
• Labour market needs test extended
• Increased processing fees for new work permit applications
• Restrictions on spousal permits
• Proposed reform of student immigration regime
Recent Adjustments to Immigration System
• Redundant employment permit holders scheme
• Administrative long term residency scheme extended to
workers made redundant after 5 years
• Undocumented workers scheme
• Third level graduate scheme
0.0
5.0
10.0
15.0
20.0
25.0
Q32004
Q12005
Q32005
Q12006
Q32006
Q12007
Q32007
Q12008
Q32008
Q12009
Q32009
Irish Non-Irish EU10/12
Unemployment Rates by Nationality
Alan Barrett and Elish Kelly (2010) “The Impact of Ireland’s Recession on the Labour Market Outcomes of its Immigrants.” ESRI Working Paper
-30.0
-20.0
-10.0
0.0
10.0
20.0
30.0
40.0
Q32005
Q12006
Q32006
Q12007
Q32007
Q12008
Q32008
Q12009
Q32009
Irish Non-Irish
Annual Percentage Change in Employment
Q3 2009 annual rate of employment loss: Non-Irish nationals almost 20%. Nationals 7%
-80.0
-60.0
-40.0
-20.0
0.0
20.0
40.0
60.0
Irish Non-Irish
Employment Loss by Sector, Q1 2008 to Q4 2009
Key point: loss of employment for non-Irish not solely related to an over-concentration in construction.
Barrett and Kelly, 2010
-100,000
-80,000
-60,000
-40,000
-20,000
0
20,000
40,000
Employment Unemployed Inactive Population
How was the employment loss among non-Irish nationals distributed across unemployment, inactive
and out-migration? Q1 2008-Q4 2009
Barrett and Kelly, 2010
Some Features of Immigrant Labour Market Experience in Ireland
• Immigrant earnings disadvantage of 18% relative to comparable natives, on average (Barrett and McCarthy, 2007)
– For EU10 nationals, the disadvantage was 45%; larger than for any other group
• Lower occupational attainment: EU10 nationals about 20% less likely to be in higher-skilled jobs relative to comparable Irish nationals (Barrett and Duffy, 2008)
• Some evidence of labour market discrimination:
– Field experiment found that candidates with Irish-sounding names more than twice as likely to be called to interview than those with African/Asian/German names. McGinnity et al (2009)
• Not all negative! EU10/12 workers making informed choice. Relatively low incidence of racism
Integration Policy
• Integration policy development (as applies to all migrants rather than only refugees) relatively recent;
• Office of the Minister for Integration established in 2007; First policy statement 2008, Migration Nation :
– Two-way process
– Partnership approach between government and NGOs
– Strong link between integration policy and social inclusion measures
– Mainstreaming approach to service delivery to migrants
– Commitment to effective local delivery
• Budget of OMI cut in 2010, likely to be reduced further.
Main Emerging Issues
• Ireland’s recession appears to have impacted severely upon its immigrant population and the most severe impact appears to have been for the EU10/12
• Recent employment fall has coincided with an outflow (Barrett and Kelly, 2010)
• Increasing unemployment means issuing employment permits to non-EU workers potentially problematic, especially in lower salary bands (spousal permits). Little evidence of serious unrest in this regard
• Challenge for policymakers of finding balance between limiting further labour migration and integration of workers already here
• Ireland has opted out of Long Term Residence Directive and Blue Card Directive. Delays in enacting the Immigration, Residence and Protection Bill 2010. Long-term residence not yet a statutory status