Changing Ireland, 2000–2012: immigration, emigration and inequality

Abstract

At the start of the twenty-first century, there have been significant changes in patterns of migration to and from Ireland. This paper provides a comprehensive account of available statistics on these migration patterns, and assesses the quality of this information, highlighting issues with the measurement of migrant flow in particular. The paper also provides information on migrant stock in Ireland, drawing on detailed information from the 2002, 2006 and 2011 Censuses, and shows how available data sources might illuminate the relationship between migration and inequality.

Keywords:

• Ireland
• migration
• immigration
• emigration
• inequality

Acknowledgements

Thanks to Kylie Jarrett, Anne O'Brien, Eoin O'Mahony, Rebecca Boyle and Ronan Foley for their help with different aspects of this paper. Earlier versions of this paper were presented at the University of Dundee and at St. Patrick's College Drumcondra, and published as a NIRSA Working Paper (Gilmartin 2012). The paper has benefitted from the comments of the audiences and readers of the earlier versions, and from the insights of the editor and the two anonymous referees.