The proportion of people who see immigration as one of the top two issues has risen from 3% to 14%
People in Ireland are more positive about immigration from other EU member states and Ukraine than about those who arrive from elsewhere.
People are also more comfortable with having European migrants in their everyday lives, somewhat less comfortable with Ukrainian refugees and least comfortable with asylum seekers.While the research showed high support for helping refugees, a survey experiment suggested this support may be conditional on the potential costs of providing that support - such as pressure on services or increased taxes.
The ESRI said people with lower qualifications and those who find 'making ends meet' more difficult are less positive about immigration and immigrants. Between July 2022 and June 2023, the proportion who considered the issue as one of the top two rose from 3% to 14%."Part of this appears to be a return to pre-pandemic levels of immigration salience, which had dropped precipitously around the onset of the pandemic," the ESRI said.The study examined attitudes towards immigration over the past 20 years in a comparative perspective and used a large representative survey of 3,008 adults last year.