The Immigrant Council of Ireland published a report outlining progress in migrant integration made by local authorities across Ireland. Research was carried out via a survey designed in conjunction with an advisory committee, and 25 of 31 local authorities took part.

The survey asked questions relating to the role of local authorities in migrant integration, their relevant policies and practices, and the extent of data collection on integration at the local level. Its results are presented within a framework of 8 focus areas:

• Progress on national migrant Integration strategy actions
• Local migrant integration strategies
• Corporate structure and culture
• Local authority staff
• Multilingualism
• Migrant participation in local authorities
• Voting
• Tackling racism

Key survey findings include the following:

• 3 of the 25 local authorities surveyed employ an independent integration officer, 1 of which is permanent and 2 of which are funded by the local authorities themselves.
• Just 1 local authority provides mandatory staff training in all of the 5 key areas identified in the survey (intercultural awareness; anti-racism and unconscious bias; diversity and equality; migrant integration; public sector duty). By contrast, 13 local authorities (52%) said they do not require staff training in any of these areas.
• 10 local authorities do not have a current migrant integration strategy. Of these, 4 have never had such a strategy, 3 are currently developing one, and a further 3 previously had a strategy but have not updated it. Of the 15 local authorities with a current strategy, 4 will expire in 2022.
• No local authority scored more than 52% on data collection indicatora. The average score across all local authorities was 23%.
• The focus areas that have seen most progress since the establishment of the National Migrant Integration Strategy in 2017 are tackling racism, voting, and local migrant integration strategies.