Handbook on Immigration and Asylum 2007

Emma Quinn (ESRI), John Stanley (Independent Consultant), Corona Joyce (ESRI), Philip J. O'Connell (ESRI)

The increase in immigration to Ireland since the mid 1990s has been significant. These flows have resulted in a dramatically altered policy and legislative landscape, a body of new immigration and asylum-related case law and the emergence of a large number of organisations and individuals working in the field.

A substantial amount of important new information has accompanied these changes but frequently it is difficult to access without familiarity with the material. This is particularly true in respect of legal material. This document draws together, and summarises in an accessible way, relevant cases from Irish Superior Courts, the European Court of Justice and (for the first time) from the Refugee Appeals Tribunal and groups them chronologically and by theme. This document provides summaries of pertinent legislative instruments including amendments in disparate Acts, again grouped under themes such as anti-discrimination, trafficking or immigration. The Handbook is published at a crossroads in the development of Irish jurisprudence and information on current and proposed immigration and asylum structures is presented. Understanding the impact of EU legislation in Ireland is complicated by the fact that Ireland may opt in or out of most asylum and ! immigration-related measures. Concise and accessible information is provided here on important EU instruments and their significant implications for Irish law.

The legal material in the Handbook is fully contextualised with a comprehensive discussion of available statistical data. Analysis is provided of flows to and from Ireland, the population of Ireland and the Irish labour force. Major policy debates in recent years are discussed including the acquisition of citizenship, integration, EU accession and displacement. The Handbook is also designed to be a portal to further information and to this end includes the contact details of organisations and individuals working the immigration and asylum fields in Ireland along with a list of relevant recent research.

Notes for Editors: The Handbook on Immigration and Asylum in Ireland 2007, by Emma Quinn (ESRI), John Stanley (Independent Consultant), Corona Joyce (ESRI), and Philip J. O'Connell (ESRI), will be published online on the ESRI website (www.esri.ie) at 00:01 a.m. on Friday 28th November 2008.