Overview
- Respondents on average guessed that 28% of people in Ireland were born abroad versus the highest official estimate of 22%, and they estimated 14% were born outside the EU, UK and North America versus the CSO figure of 8%.
- Participants substantially underestimated migration for work and education, guessing under 20% compared with an actual share near 50% among recent non-EU arrivals.
- The public overestimated the portion arriving to seek international protection, putting it near 20% versus a true figure closer to 10%.
- People understated migrants’ education and employment levels and overstated their likelihood of living in social housing and their share of the prison population.
- The ESRI reports that inaccurate beliefs are strongly associated with negative attitudes and recommends targeted factual communications, noting asylum-focused coverage may skew perceptions.