Immigrants and illegals in Ireland Census 2006

Sceala Clann T.D. Location: Wicklow

The 2006 Irish Central Statistics Office census ...are a serious misrepresentation of immigration into Ireland.
This is less a bold personal allegation ...than a fact effectively acknowledged by none other than ....the former Taoiseach Bertie Ahern ....and by Conor Lenihan....the Minister of integration.
Speaking to The Irish Times on Saturday ....Conor Lenihan said the number of Polish nationals reported in the census (62,495) was a "huge underestimate" and suggested the true figure is likely to be 160,000-200,000. While it was difficult to speculate on immigrant numbers, he said the proportion of foreign nationals is "probably more likely to be 13 to 15 per cent".

The 2006 census cover document ...just about merits further reading onto page 2 of its near 100 pages. However ....it appears that the only revealing information the census illustrates beyond any reasonable doubt ...is a point that most Irish people have long since suspected anyway.
The census indicates the origin ...the departure point ....of many immigrants coming to Ireland ...both legal and ...illegal's.
The figures show that ...the UK ....is the point where many immigrants are claiming to be coming from ....or more to the referenced point ....claiming to be coming in from.
Irish Community Images

RTE presented this statistic as a straightforward ...most here are British immigrants headline.
The impression clearly presented was ...that the majority group of immigrants ....were simply British ...ethnic and cultural.
Was this RTE headline a simple mistake ....one made because the census does not effectively ...break down the ethnicities of foreign nationals.
If RTE did not present this naively ...then they must have chosen to do so ...in the most simplistic of generalizations.

Clearly the RTE headline was not informative on a factually revealing level. ...a token of enquiry reveals this.
For example...the briefest of analysis of the Census ...shows that a high percentage of those ....classified as UK nationals ...are in fact either Irish or of Irish ethnicity. Of the 112,548 people now living in the state ...over 17% state being Irish ...how many more choose to forget for taxation purposes ...or other financial benefit ...is anyone's guess.
The census shows that a further 8% of the ...British group having a ...Black or Asian background.
Irish Community Images

What we do not clearly know is exactly how many of those remaining ...presumed British ...are in fact ....recent immigrants into the UK ....if not failed asylum seekers into the UK.
The only other ethnicity statistic shown of this group is ....'Any other white background.'
We are left to guess to their ethnicity ... how many of these other whites ....are in fact ....Eastern Europeans or other.
Aside of the Polish who usually arrive in Ireland directly ....the majority of Eastern Europeans I have encountered ..have arrived here from the UK ....many of them having previously worked in the UK.

This is the Central statistics office official press release ...that lends itself to the initial ....simplistic conclusions.
Census 2006 – Non-Irish Nationals living in Ireland
Persons from 188 different countries make up Ireland’s non-Irish nationals
The 420,000 non-Irish nationals living in Ireland at the time of the census in April 2006 came from 188 different countries. The top ten of these countries accounted for 82 per cent of the total. This information is contained in a new report released today by the Central Statistics Office on the non-Irish national population living in Ireland at the time of the 2006 census.

The report, which is in two parts, gives an overview of the total non-Irish population comparing their characteristics with those of the resident Irish population, and follows this with an in-depth profile of the ten largest nationality groups. These profiles illustrate the diversity that existed among Ireland–s non-Irish nationals and highlights the differences among the various groups in their location of residence, their living arrangements, educational attainment and choice of occupation. Using thematic maps, summary tables and graphs throughout, the report presents the geographic, demographic and economic characteristics of these groups.

The report reveals that almost 1 in 5 married persons from the ten states which acceded to membership of the EU on 1 May 2004 were not living with their spouse at the time of the census. A greater proportion of UK nationals live in detached dwellings in rural areas than Irish nationals while nationals from countries outside Europe had higher overall educational attainment levels than Irish persons in the same age brackets.

The 10 individual country profiles also reveal some interesting facts,
Two thirds of all Chinese were living in the greater Dublin area compared with fewer than 1 in 5 Latvians, who favoured large and medium sized towns instead.

Half of UK nationals and just over a third of German nationals were living in rural areas.

The Chinese and the French had the highest proportion of single people (69% and 71% respectively), while two thirds of Nigerians and Filipinos were married.

Thirteen per cent of Latvian females were divorced (the highest of all groups) while 8 per cent of UK males were re-married following divorce.

Polish males had the highest percentage at work (91%) while over 1 in 5 Nigerian males were unemployed.

Lithuanian males had the highest percentage at work in the construction sector (37%), while the US had the greatest proportions in the higher socio-economic groups of professionals and managers (19%).

A question for those who think that our census figures ...can be taken on face value.
Can you explain why ....one of the most informed persons in Ireland .... Mr Bertie Ahern recently ...rolled off his tongue as a matter of confidence ....the figure of 200,000 Poles living in Ireland.
We all know the extra ...137,500 + Polish have not all come since 2006. How ....when all recent evidence ...suggests that .. Polish immigration has been falling since 2006.
How much did this census cost us?

Sources: 2002 & 2006 census tables, Central Statistics Office

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Immigrants and illegals in Ireland Census 2006