Foreign-born residents of Ireland are more likely to be employed, active in the labour market and well-educated compared to the Irish-born population, the Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI) has found.

However, migrants also have lower incomes on average and are more likely to experience poverty and deprivation.

Additionally, migrants are also more likely to be affected by high housing costs. Some 37% of migrants spend more than 30% of their income on housing, quadruple the number of Irish-born residents (9%) who spend as much on their accommodation.

The Monitoring Report on Integration 2024 report shows that since 2022 migrant employment and rates of participation in the labour market have remained higher than those of Irish-born residents.

Employment rates among migrants have maintained their recovery since 2021, when they fell to the same level as the Irish-born rate during the Covid pandemic.

Outcomes vary according to place of birth though. Last year, migrants born in the EU, Asia and the rest of world had broadly better labour market outcomes than Irish-born residents, but those born in Europe but not the EU were worse off.

Other groups had similar or worse labour market outcomes, depending on the indicator.

Labour market outcomes for African migrants show continued improvement, maintaining progress first observed in the Monitoring Report on Integration 2022.

In recent years, African employment rates have risen, and unemployment rates have fallen, with both figures now similar to those of Irish-born residents.

In line with previous reports, migrants have higher levels of educational attainment than Irish-born overall. From 2021 to 2023, 59% of working-age foreign-born residents had tertiary education, compared to 42% of Irish-born residents.

Tertiary education rates vary by place of birth, with the lowest figure among those born in eastern EU countries (38%), and the highest among those born in Asia (79%)

Migrant students, at 15 years of age, score lower on English reading and maths tests compared to non-migrant students, and the rate of early school leaving among young migrants was low and similar to the rate of the Irish-born population.

In terms of poverty and deprivation, citizens of eastern EU states and non-EU states are primarily affected.

Of those born outside the EU, 20% are considered to be at risk of poverty, ie have income below 60% of the national equivalised median income, compared to 11% of Irish-born residents.

Those born in the UK, eastern EU, and outside the EU are more likely to experience material deprivation than the Irish-born population while those born in the western EU are less likely to experience this.

The ESRI said that the fact that migrants are likely to be employed and well educated but have lower incomes and are at greater risk of poverty than Irish nationals may indicate that foreign qualifications are not receiving the recognition they deserve, leaving some migrants overqualified for their jobs.

Mainstream issues, such as housing, can disproportionately affect migrants and addressing such issues is essential for improving migrant integration, the ESRI added.

A total of 18,200 naturalisation certificates were issued in 2023, up more than a third from 2022. More than one in ten naturalisation certificates were issued following marriage to an Irish national.

Average processing times for citizenship applications decreased from 22 months in 2022 to 15 months in 2023.

Political participation of immigrants has increased, with the number of immigrants both running and winning a seat doubling in the 2024 local elections, albeit from a very low base. The proportion of councillors with a migrant background remains low overall, at 2.2%.

“Recent positive developments in migrant integration include strong growth in the African employment rate and improvements in citizenship processing times," said Evan Carron-Kee, co-author of the report.

"However, there are also some persistent challenges. Migrants are disproportionately impacted by the housing crisis and are much more likely to experience income poverty and deprivation. These issues require urgent policy attention.”

Photo: Myra Escalona, Kristine Joy Guck and Monique Roa from the Philippines attend Citizenship Ceremonies at the Convention Centre last June. (Pic: Sasko Lazarov / RollingNews.ie)