International Migrants' Day
Today, Wednesday, 18th December 2019 is UN International Migrants' Day. According to the CSO, some 12.7% of the population, 622,700 people, are non-Irish. Earlier this month, Minister Charlie Flanagan welcomed 2,000 new citizens to Ireland in a citizenship ceremony in Kerry, while a reported 127,000 people have been conferred with Irish citizenship since 2011. This is great news. Ireland, with its history of emigration, should be a country of one hundred thousand welcomes. However, as three reports published just this month show, we do not always welcome all equally.