ABSTRACT
Immigration to Ireland increased substantially in the years between 1997 and 2007. In part, this was a Europe-wide phenomenon, but Ireland was exceptional in terms of the rapid, recent and significant nature of the change. Today, non-Irish nationals account for almost 16 per cent (355,000 people) of the Irish labour force (Central Statistics Office1 2007a) and Ireland has one of the highest percentages of immigrants in the European Union (Watt and McGaughey 2006, 15). Estimates from the Quarterly National Household Survey confirmed these ongoing high rates of immigration. Gross immigration into Ireland for 2006/2007, at 109,500, was the highest on record (CSO 2007b).
