Migrants find happy home in Tipperary

The number of migrants living in Tipperary has now grown to a level equal to the population of the county’s capital town, members of the County Council were told at their meeting in Clonmel on Monday.

Council Director Brian Beck said there were now just over 17,000 migrants living in the county compared to a little over 15,000 seven years ago.

The current population of people coming to live in Tipperary from abroad was now equal to the entire population of Clonmel.

Mr Beck said the fact that a good portion of the population of Tipperary was now made up of migrants was significant.

He was speaking after councillors were presented with a report by the council’s Community and Social Inclusion Officer, Margo Hayes, who stated that almost one in ten people now living in Tipperary were not natives of Ireland. Ms Hayes made her comments as she presented a document to the council suggesting ways at more effectively integrating migrants into communities across the county.

Following a discussion, the document - titled ‘Diverse Tipperary: An Integration Strategy, 2023-2025’ - was endorsed by the elected members.

PEACEFUL

Ms Hayes said that a survey conducted by the council found that most migrants who had come to Tipperary were happy to be living in the county. Words such as “peaceful” an “settled” were used to express their feelings about their adopted home.

Most migrants in Tipperary lived in towns and villages rather than more isolated rural areas and 54 per cent had children.

The survey found that language provision was one of the main barriers to integrating migrants into local communities, though efforts were being made in many areas to reflect the diversity of people now living here. An Africa Day would be staged on May 25 and a national initiative, One Town One Voice, was being rolled out to help build community singing groups in towns in the county.

Council staff had undertaken training in diversity and the Tipperary Sports Parthership and An Garda Síochana were doing great work in the area of integration, Ms Hayes stated.

She said migrant groups were missing out as they were slow to avail of various State funding initiatives. They were generally found to be insufficiently organised to draw down funds, with a general lack of awareness among such groups of how to benefit from community development initiatives.

Ms Hayes said the most vulnerable of the migrant community in Tipperary were those who had arrived in the country within a period of two to three months

. It was this sector that needed the most support.

She revealed that there are a total of 42 actions set out in the strategy that the council aspires to achieving over the next two years to promote diversity and inclusion within the county.

Cllr John Fitzgerald said it was great to hear the feedback from migrants that most felt happy to be living in the county.

Their integration into the local population enriched Tipperary society and brought talent to a host of sports clubs and other organisations. “It has to be a healthy thing,” he said.

It was vitally important that Tipperary be given the resources needed to provide sufficient language provision for migrants wishing to speak English.

Cllr Seamus Morris said his own native town of Nenagh now had a population that was very mixed with people of different nationalities, including migrants from Poland, Moldovia and the Ukraine. These people were a huge asset to the town with most in employment and contributing to the local economy.

FAR RIGHT

Cllr David Dunne said one of the obstacles to integrating migrants into the community was the existence of far right groups.

He urged councillors to speak with “one voice” to protect migrants from the activities of such groups.

He said there existed “an underlying racism” that was reflected in the often-heard comment about migrants: “Oh, they are getting everything for nothing.”

“We need to go out and dispel the rumours because many people arriving here are fleeing conflict, famine or war,” said Cllr Dunne.

Reiterating these sentiments, Cllr Ger Darcy said he was “blown away” with positivity on seeing how integrated the Indian community were in the Nenagh district. He said he attended a celebration by the this community last Christmas, an event attended by almost 300 people. “I was amazed by it.”

He said Borrisokane was the best example in the country of how to integrate migrants, following the arrival in the town a few years back of several Syrian families fleeing war in their home country.