PIARAS MAC EINRI,
Sir, - Mr Justin Barrett has finally laid bare the ugly face of his faction of the No to Nice campaign. As was pointed out in this newspaper several weeks ago by Proinsias De Rossa, the EU Commission has already published an excellent report on the topic of immigration after accession. This makes it clear that in the case of the last comparable accession, that of Spain, Portugal and Greece, "fears of a major migration wave proved to be without foundation".
It suggests that in the case of the next enlargement there should no dramatic increase in migration and that the impact on labour markets will be very limited. Moreover, the report points out, "studies suggest that immigration confers small net gains in terms of per capita output to the host country" and "there is little obvious effect on native unemployment".
The report predicts initial additional immigration of the order of 70,000 workers to the EU from candidate countries and suggests that two-thirds of this number would be absorbed by Germany alone.
Current annual immigration into Ireland - people needed to work in this country - is more than 40,000 persons, some of which are returning Irish migrants. Many of the more than 36,000 non-EU workers who received work permits last year are from the accession countries anyway (e.g. Latvians).
All that will change in the future is that such people will be able to work in conditions of greater security, with more rights and entitlements than they have under our present antiquated immigration policy.
These figures are a long way from the scaremongering talk by Messrs Barrett and Coughlan of "75 million people" having "free access" to the Irish labour market.
It is also worth remembering that the accession of Spain and Portugal to the EU created economic growth in those countries which generated significant return migration so that, by the mid-1990s, there were actually fewer Spanish and Portuguese migrants living in other EU member states than 10 years previously. Moreover, considerable movement by nationals of other member-states to Spain and Portugal was also noted.
One of the striking trends in recent Irish emigration has been the rise in numbers going to continental Europe. It is a fair bet that the number of Irish people settling in places such as Warsaw and Prague - where the Irish are already present in increasing numbers - will grow after accession.
I voted No last year because I was unhappy with the complacency of the Government and its cavalier attitude to the referendum process. I think the point was made by the people and it is time to move on.
I am still unhappy with the arrogance of the present Government and I still don't think Nice is a particularly good treaty, but the stakes are now too high for parochialism. As far as I can see, the major part of the No to Nice campaign is an isolationist, xenophobic, backward-looking far-right rump.
We should vote Yes. - Yours, etc.,
PIARAS MAC ÉINRÍ,
Director, Irish Centre
for Migration Studies,
NUI,
Cork.
... ... * ... * ... * ... ...
A chara, - I note that Phillip Watt of the NCCRI remonstrates with Justin Barrett of the No to Nice Campaign for using emotive terminology such as "flood" (of migrants), while in the same breath warning him of arousing "xenophobic" attitudes.
He might well observe that the No folk do not have a monopoly on emotion in phrasing their point of view. - Is mise,
TED NEVILLE,
Carrigaline Road,
Douglas,
Co Cork.