Figures show extent of Fingal’s diversity

THE catchment area of Fingal County Council is a
melting pot of nationalities as figures released by the local authority
indicate that its tenants are made up of 71 different nationalities.

There are in the region of 200 independent states in
the world, and people from 71 of them (including Irish) are living in the
council’s accommodation.

Fingal is truly a

‘rainbow’ region with people from
Sierra Leone to Iraq now calling it home.

In total, there are 8,572 people on the social housing
list, almost 50 per cent of whom are Irish nationals.

A breakdown of the figures shows that the overwhelming
majority (159) of the 682 non-Irish tenants are Nigerian in origin.

A further 91 from the housing list are Bosnian (64),
Congolese (32), Angolan (30) and both Romanian and Russian (18).

Many more far-reaching countries are represented with
Moldovan (15), Eritrean (1) and Kyrgyzstan, a country that borders China, and
Kazakhstan (1).

Fingal County Council accommodation is also home to
one Gambian national, one Cuban, three people from the Ivory Coast and one
Syrian.

According to the council, there are a total number of
8,572 applicants for social housing support on its housing list as recorded
last month, with 40 per cent (3,429) presenting as single parents.

Unsurprisingly given the surge in unemployment, Fingal
County Council’s housing list has grown by 26 per cent since the end of 2009.

The figures were released on foot of a question
submitted by Mulhuddart ward councillor Kieran Dennison (FG).

“A Nigerian friend of mine had asked if I would
forward the question but neither he nor I had expected that the number of
Nigerian nationals in Fingal housing would be so high,

? Cllr Dennison told
Northside People.

“The perception is that there are a lot of Eastern
European and Asian people living in Fingal but those numbers were quite low.

“I imagine that the sizeable number of Bosnians is
down to the Balkan War when many would have sought asylum here in Ireland.

?

Cllr Dennison explained how multicultural the
catchment area of Fingal County Council now is.

“The list was interesting because I hadn’t expected
Congolese and Mongolians for example to feature,

? he added.

“It just shows how
diverse our society is now.

?

Fingal resident Chinedu Onyejelem, the editor of Metro
Eireann, Ireland’s only multicultural newspaper, explained how the catchment
area of Fingal is not just attractive to Irish people but to non-Irish
nationals as well.

“Personally, I think Fingal is a very nice place to
live,

? he told Northside People.

“The airport is close as is the city centre. There are
many schools, both primary and secondary, and employment opportunities with the
numbers of businesses based here.

?

Mr Onyejelem believes many immigrants would have
chosen to put down roots in Fingal because the council, in his view,

“appeared
more approachable than Dublin City Council for instance

?.