The Immigrant Council of Ireland has expressed concern over the absence of a cohesive national plan for integrating migrants, reports RTE.
Teresa Buczkowska, the Council’s Chief Executive, said that a structured framework is essential for the organisation, local authorities, and the wider public to help them navigate the integration journey.
She added that better communication from the Government with communities before the arrival of migrants could make a big difference, reports RTE.
“If you communicate with people in advance and you explain how is that going to affect the community and if you empower the community with resources and information, I think everything is going to work out really well because that this happens every day. Every day people are moving to local communities in most places are there is no issues whatsoever,” reports RTE.
Ms Buczkowska made her remarks during a conference hosted by the Immigrant Council of Ireland in Dublin, focused on shaping the future of migrant integration.
The event brought together experts and community leaders at King’s Inns, Ireland’s oldest legal institution, to discuss the difficulties migrants and host communities face, reports RTE.
Communities throughout Ireland have voiced frustration with the Government’s communication and support efforts surrounding migrant integration.
Refugee Sibusiso Tshuma, who supports International Protection applicants in Donegal, said that newcomers often face the same set of problems.
“All of a sudden you are thrown into the deep end and you don’t know what you are supposed to do. You have to find your own housing. You are just on your own. Sometimes people haven’t started working. Or then they have started working but the jobs don’t pay that much and so they are kind of left hanging and they don’t know who to approach and how to go about the whole process,” reports RTE.
At the conference, Minister of State for Migration Colm Brophy stated that a national integration strategy is included in the Government’s agenda.
“This new national strategy will build on the momentum of its predeccesor – detailing how we address the ongoing and emerging needs in supporting migrant integration in Ireland while also meeting the demands and opportunities facing our society and economy over the next decade,” he said, reports RTE.
Mr Brophy emphasised the need for engagement at a local level.
“I think that is really important that we communicate that we actually engage with local communities, that we have a stronger engagement, because what is really important is that local communities and people who have arrived into local communities have an opportunity to integrate together, to know and understand each other, and to actually see the benefits that can bring to local communities”, reports RTE.
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