Nasc’s Policy on Integration

Integration: Encouraging National Policy and Promoting Local Level Strategies and Policies

Nasc Definition of Current Situation in relation to Integration

Currently the Irish government does not have an integration policy for the country and integration has not been included in proposed legislation on Immigration and Residency.  Nasc believes that integration should be included in national legislation because immigration is not just about entry into the state or removal from the state, but is also about people’s lives when they live in Ireland and the lives of all people within a society which includes both minority and majority cultures.

The National Action Plan Against Racism defines Integration as “a range of targeted strategies for the inclusion of groups such as Travellers, refugees and migrants as part of the overall aim of developing a more inclusive and intercultural society”.

Nasc defines integration as a two-way process (adaptation by migrant and host society) which places duties and obligations on the receiving society and on inward migrants.  It also places responsibility on the state to create, fund and coordinate a more inclusive society.

There are some key features of integration that will help to define the forms of action and change that are required:

  • Integration is not assimilation.  The host society should be prepared to accept inward migrants as equals and take action to facilitate access to resources and decision-making processes in parity with the national population.  Migrants for their part should be willing to adapt to the lifestyle of the host society without requiring a loss of their own cultural identity.
  • Integration is a long-term process starting from the time of arrival and often extending and concluded when the migrant becomes an active member of society from a legal, economic, social and cultural perspective.  The length of this process will very and for some may extend beyond the first generation.
  • Integration is multi-faceted and should seek to create conditions for participation in all aspects of the economic, social, cultural, civil and political life of the country.  It should also bestow a sense of belonging and membership in the host society.  Crucially Nasc believes that integration should begin at the point of arrival.  This means that Nasc disagrees with current government funding initiatives in relation to integration, which refer to “legally resident migrants” and exclude asylum seekers.  Integration measures should include people in the Asylum system.  By point of arrival we also mean “birth” in Ireland.  Integration is not just about people “coming in”, it is also about people who are already here and society is a mixture of all those people together.

Apart from the need for national policy in relation to integration there is also a need for local and regional level integration strategies and Nasc is interested in working with others who wish to develop an integration strategy for Cork City.  In doing so Nasc wishes to concentrate on the areas of education, work, provision of local government services, public engagement and debate, local politics and the media.

In addition and crucially our membership have identified the need for integration programmes planned by and aimed towards immigrants themselves.

Nasc believes that the achievement of mainstreamed integration in a cross-sectoral way is a responsibility of the State, but the need to engage civil society is also recognised.

Nasc sees integration as innately intercultural i.e. there must be active and frequent interaction between migrants and host society. 

By Interculturalism Nasc means:

“the development of policies, practices and procedures within institutions and a dialogue within society as a whole which includes people from all cultures and ethnic groups in a manner which creates conditions for interaction, equality of opportunity, understanding and respect between these cultures”

This is about planning for and accommodating cultural and ethnic diversity.  Nasc believes that there is a lack of strong local level policies on interculturalism. 

This dialogue between cultures means that each impacts on the other (regardless of whether it is a minority or majority culture) and therefore challenges the dominance of one culture.  Interculturalism challenges those trends that attempt to assimilate minority culture into the dominance culture.  Nasc believes that a set of common basic principles similar to the EU Common Basic Principles similar to the EU Common Basic Principles is a useful mechanism for achieving a respectful intercultural society where each culture is respects and certain core values are upheld.

Nasc believes that racism cannot be ignored within the intercultural discussion and that anti-racism policies and practices must be included in an intercultural society. 

In the National Action Plan on Racism there are five underpinning themes that seek to translate the concept of interculturalism:

  • Effective PROTECTION and redress against racism;
  • Economic, INCLUSION and equality of opportunity;
  • Diversity in service PROVISIONS;
  • RECOGNITION and awareness of diversity;
  • Full PARTICIPATION in Irish society

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What Impact/Change Nasc wants to make on this Issue

Nasc would like to see integration taking place in a local and national context at three levels:

  • At an individual level: integration is measured in terms of housing, employment, education, and social and cultural adaptation to society in Ireland.
  • At the collective level of the immigrant group: organisations of immigrants are the expression of mobilized resources and ambitions, and also at this level mechanisms of the integration process apply.
  • At the level of institutions, which come in two broad types.
    • The first are general public institutions in Cork in particular, such as the education system or institutional arrangements in the labor market. Laws, regulations, and executive organizations, along with unwritten rules and practices, are part of such institutions. These, however, may hinder access or equal outcome for newcomers, or even completely exclude them. The functioning of these general public institutions (and the possible adjustment of them in view of growing diversity) is thus of paramount importance. It is on this level that integration and exclusion are mirrored concepts.
    • The second kind of institution belongs to specific types of immigrant groups themselves, such as religious or cultural institutions. These specific institutions and their possible integration can be viewed in the same way as immigrant organizations: they may become an accepted part of society on the same level as comparable institutions of native groups, or they may isolate themselves or remain unrecognized and excluded.

The mechanisms working at the individual, group, and institutional levels are different, but the results on each of these levels are clearly interrelated. Institutional arrangements determine the opportunities and scope for action of organizations. Institutions and organizations together create the structure of opportunities and/or limitations for individuals. Conversely, individuals may mobilize and change the landscape of organizations, and ultimately even contribute to significant changes in institutional arrangements.

Nasc is particularly interested in to see improved integration in education, work, provision of local government services, public engagement and debate, local politics and the media.

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What kind of actions might Nasc consider as part of its advocacy work on this issue?

Nasc wishes to lobby for national integration legislation and policies.  Nasc wishes to work with others to develop a city-wide integration strategy in the Cork city area.

At a local level Nasc is interested in contributing to the development of intercultural policies and practices amongst the following groups/sectors in the Cork city area:

  • The workplace
  • The Education system
  • Local statutory agencies
  • The media
  • Cork society including general public and civic and public dialogue

Year 1:  Develop Nasc’s own policy and action points on integration and work with the MELO Forum and CNC to develop a City wide integration strategy

Year 2:  Campaign at national level for integration legislation/policies and continue with local level work.  Encourage the development of a Cork based forum for intercultural dialogue for all people living in Cork

Year 3: Implement agreed local level actions as agreed with local partners in order to implement immigrant integration programme. 

  • Produce a set on tool kits in Interculturalism for and with the above five groupings
  • Provide intercultural training for the above five groups

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