A 'Shared Society'? Attitudes on immigration and diversity (Research Update 86)
In the past decade, debates on multiculturalism and racial equality have become a more prominent feature of political and social discussion in Northern Ireland. The region has been home to a number of small but well-established ethnic minority communities for a number of decades, most notably the Indian and Chinese communities which have been in the region since the 1930s and 1960s respectively. However, the 2004 expansion of the European Union (EU) facilitated the further arrival of thousands of individuals from new member states, notably Poland and Lithuania. Moreover, lessening levels of violence and a relative economic stability, especially in the period 1998-2008, made Northern Ireland a more attractive location for migrant workers, and consequently a more culturally diverse society. This is indicated by the results of the 2011 census which showed that 4.5% of Northern Ireland’s population were born outside Great Britain and Ireland, compared with 1.5% a decade earlier (NISRA, 2011). Such changes have occurred in a post-conflict period when government has focused on the need to create both a ‘Shared Future’ and improve access of opportunity and equality for all. Consequently, discussions on respecting and understanding all forms of cultural diversity have become a feature of wider efforts to eradicate the potential for a return to violent conflict. It is pertinent, therefore, that the 2012 Northern Ireland Life and Times (NILT) Survey acknowledged this through the continued inclusion of a series of questions on immigration and multiculturalism. This research report looks at four specific issues: the data on the EU’s role in driving current migration trends to Northern Ireland, the perceived impact that migrants have made to the region, the levels of contact that respondents have had with migrants, and finally perceptions of current levels of discrimination and prejudice.
Intimate mixing – bridging the gap? Catholic-Protestant relationships in Northern Ireland
Abstract For many years Northern Ireland has been a divided society where members of the two main religious groups, Catholics and Protestants, have limited opportunities to interact due to segregation in their social lives. Attempts have been made to encourage religious mixing through integration in schools, housing, and workplaces predicated on the theory that bringing people together can improve community relations and remove prejudices – known as the ‘contact hypothesis’. However, little is known about those who enter into mixed-religion partnerships often against the wishes of their families and communities. This paper examines the characteristics and attitudes of mixed-religion couples and suggests that they differ in their socio-demographic characteristics and in their attitudes from those who marry within their own religion. These findings add to the weight of evidence from other countries in conflict suggesting that intermarriage has a role to play in contributing to less sectarian views and improved community relations.
Analysis: The Agenda 2007 Proposals: Evolution or Revolution?
On 10 February 2004 the Commission published its proposal for the financial perspective 2007-2013. A week later it adopted the third report on economic and social cohesion. These two documents form the basis of the so-called ‘Agenda 2007 reforms’. They will be the greatest challenge for the enlarged EU after the intergovernmental conference, since they will determine the financial basis for EU policy-making until the middle of the next decade. The Agenda 2007 proposals certainly hint at courageous reforms, because they place a previously unheard-of emphasis on performance and quality. Under the proposals, structural operations should generate value for money, and the funds should focus on projects which generate added value at a European level. Overall the Commission’s proposals point in the right direction, because they balance, on the one hand, solidarity for the new Member States and weak regions in the old Member States with, on the other hand, investments in future tasks. Moreover, they constitute a paradigm shift. For the first time, the Common Agricultural Policy will not be the dominant expenditure category. Now it is up to the Member States to examine the proposals politically and find a compromise between sometimes very divergent interests. It is to be hoped that, during the debate over expenditure limits and division of funds, national interests do not outweigh European interests.