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Immigrants No More Likely to Claim Welfare, ESRI Finds
🇮🇪 Ireland /Economy & Trade

Immigrants No More Likely to Claim Welfare, ESRI Finds

From RTÉ News · () English

Translated from English, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

News Named sources Context piece
  • A new ESRI report indicates that immigrants are not more likely to claim social welfare payments than native-born Irish citizens.
  • In 2024, 56% of Irish-born individuals received at least one payment, compared to 61% of immigrants, with equal claim rates for unemployment-related payments.
  • A separate ESRI report found that immigrants, on average, have made a higher fiscal contribution to Ireland over the past 20 years, partly due to being younger and more likely to be employed.

Contrary to common assumptions, immigrants in Ireland are not disproportionately likely to claim social welfare payments compared to native-born citizens, according to a new report by the Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI).

No general pattern exists of immigrants being more likely to be in receipt of social welfare compared to native-born Irish citizens.

— ESRI reportSummarizing the key finding on welfare receipt rates.

The report, which analyzed data from the Central Statistics Office, examined a broad range of payments including unemployment, sickness/disability, and family/children-related benefits. In 2024, 56% of the Irish-born population received at least one payment, while 61% of immigrants did. However, the report clarifies that when looking specifically at unemployment-related payments, both immigrants and the native-born had an equal claim rate of 9%. For disability benefits, immigrants showed lower rates (4%) compared to the Irish-born (6%).

On unemployment-related payments, both immigrants and the native-born had an equal claim rate of 9%.

— ESRI reportDetailing specific payment claim rates.

A more nuanced picture emerged when immigrants were categorized by their region of birth. For unemployment-related payments between 2014 and 2024, the rate for the Irish-born was 16%. Immigrants from EU-West (13%) and Asia (12%) had lower rates, while those from EU-East (21%) and Africa (21%) had higher rates. The report also noted that universal payments can reflect different family structures, influencing overall receipt rates.

on average over the last 20 years, foreign-born residents have made a higher fiscal contribution than Irish-born residents.

— Second ESRI reportHighlighting the fiscal impact of immigration.

Furthermore, a second ESRI report reviewing international literature on immigration's impact on public funds concluded that, on average over the last two decades, foreign-born residents have made a higher fiscal contribution than their Irish-born counterparts. This positive fiscal impact is attributed to migrants generally being younger and more likely to be employed. Non-EU migrants, in particular, exhibit high employment and tertiary education rates, contributing significantly to their positive fiscal impact in Ireland. Both reports were funded by the Department of Justice, Home Affairs and Migration.

migrants are younger and, on average, more likely to be employed than the non-migrant population, contributing to their positive fiscal impact.

— ESRIExplaining the reasons behind the positive fiscal impact of migrants.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by RTÉ News in English. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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