FOREIGN NATIONALS are more likely to lose their jobs than Irish people, according to the preliminary findings of a study on integration.
The research, by the Integration Centre and the Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI), found they worry more about losing their job than their Irish counterparts and believe they are overqualified and underutilised.
Initial findings suggest that, between early 2008 and early 2010, employment in the Republic declined by 12.5 per cent.
But the numbers of non-Irish nationals in work fell by 30 per cent, while employment of Irish citizens reduced by 9 per cent.
The Integration Centre’s chief executive Anthony Finn said the loss of employment could be associated with poverty, psychological distress and social exclusion.
“For the health and wellbeing of our society, unemployment needs to be combated in a targeted, intelligent way,” he said
Mr Finn said employment and job creation had been central issues in this election campaign. But links between employment, economic recovery and integration had not yet been discussed.
He urged all election candidates publicly to support an integration agenda which would recognise the contribution of immigrants to Irish society and to our future economic and social wellbeing.
“Innovative thought must go into shaping our business strategies for the future,” he said.
Mr Finn added that certain policies strangled entrepreneurial spirit, such as the business permit scheme, which forbade certain groups of non-EU immigrants from setting up a business in Ireland unless they could provide €300,000 up front.
“Ireland is extremely lucky to have a highly skilled immigrant population. However, as our report shows, this resource is not being used to its full potential,” he said.
“According to our findings, immigrants are more likely to feel overqualified for their jobs and their perceived level of job security and satisfaction with their role is somewhat lower than that of Irish respondents,” he added.
The Integration Centre is a Dublin-based non-governmental organisation set up to encourage the integration and inclusion of people from immigrant backgrounds.
Mr Finn said the joint ESRI report, which will be published in April, would be the first integration monitoring report of its type as it would map immigrant integration at a national level through analysis of involvement in employment, education, social inclusion as well as active citizenship.
