Denis Casy, CEO PermanentTSB

At the Financial Services Ireland Annual Dinner Thursday evening in the Four Seasons Hotel, Dublin, attended by the President of Ireland, Mary McAleese, Denis Casey, Chairman, Financial Services Ireland, said: “It is time that all providers of services – public and private - recognised that immigration has changed Ireland and that we should respond more effectively to the needs of this new population.”

“8% of the Irish population over 15 years of age were not born here and the 70,000 migrants that have arrived in Ireland this year are a testament to our growing economy.  There are now 200,000 non-Irish born people working in this country.  The demographic profile of this country is radically changing - this presents challenges to us in the way that we do business and the way in which government services are delivered.”

“It is important that we take this issue seriously. As a country, we will be dependent on migrant workers for the foreseeable future. 54% of migrants in Ireland hold a third-level qualification, which compares with 27% of the native-born population who hold a third-level qualification. We should be under no illusions, we are competing for mobile talent and this competition will become much more intense after 2009 when the European labour market opens up in a much more substantial way,” Casey added.

Denis Casey continued, “The financial sector has been at the forefront of responding to these changes. Migrant workers are an increasingly important part of the Irish retail financial services market and we have been competing with each other in developing new products and services to meet the needs of this important segment. There is greater demand for us to provide our services in the language of these new customers and we are responding to this. Businesses that do not respond in a similar manner to these developments will miss a significant opportunity. Changes are also required throughout the public sector and recruitment practices will need to adapt to ensure that the public sector reflects the diversity of the population it serves.”

“The recent NESC report on Migration Policy recognised that government, on its own, has limited ability to achieve integration and make a success of migration; it highlighted the need for action beyond the public sector, including the business sector. We recognise that whilst we operate in markets, we do our business in communities and we are keen to play our part in assisting in the task of integrating migrants into Irish society. This is a key challenge for Ireland and the financial services sector is determined to play a genuinely constructive part in meeting it,”  Casey concluded.