Corona Joyce

Immigrants and Welfare Receipt in Ireland

Since 2004, Ireland has included in its system of social welfare payments criteria for receipt which limit the extent to which immigrants can receive welfare payments. In this paper, we compare the rates of receipt of welfare for immigrants and natives to see if the outcome is consistent with the operation of this policy. Using data from 2008, we generally find lower rates of welfare receipt among immigrants. While the numbers of immigrants claiming unemployment-related payments surged at the outset of the recession, there appears to have been a quicker stabilisation in the number of immigrants claiming such benefits relative to natives, based on official data from 2007 to 2010. This would be consistent with the on-going implementation of the type of criteria introduced in 2004.

Policy Responses to Unaccompanied Minors in Ireland

An “unaccompanied minor” is defined as a person below the age of eighteen who arrives in a country “…unaccompanied by an adult who is responsible for them whether by law or custom”. They may also be referred to as separated children although in the current research this term is taken to refer to a broader group. Available data indicate that the number of unaccompanied minors arriving in Ireland increased significantly during the 1990s and peaked in 2001 before falling off quite steadily. This trend is in line with general non-EU immigration to the Republic of Ireland. While the number of unaccompanied minors referred to the Health Service Executive (HSE) has declined in recent years, they are still a significant group with very specific and critical needs as demonstrated later on in the chapter. This chapter provides an overview of the number of unaccompanied minors who have arrived in Ireland in recent years and explores why such potentially high-risk migration takes place. This is followed by a discussion of the response of the Irish State. Furthermore, it will be shown that State policy has evolved in a piecemeal manner, with a high level of discretion still in evidence at local level, particularly regarding HSE care provision. The particular issues of age assessment, asylum, legal immigration status and return of unaccompanied minors will be discussed in the subsequent section. The chapter also touches upon a conflict between an unaccompanied minor as a protection applicant or person of otherwise undefined legal (immigration) status, versus a minor who should invoke the ‘best interests’ of the child principle. This chapter specifically focuses on the experience and expertise of service providers, while many of the existing studies in the area consist of primary research with unaccompanied minors.