Aiming to meet needs of a diverse population 

MAYOR of Fingal Cllr Eoghan O’Brien launched Fingal County Council’s Migrant Integration & Social Cohesion strategy 2019-2024 in County Hall, Swords. 

The main goals of the strategy are to ensure council services meet the needs of the diverse population and contribute to making Fingal a place where all who live, work and visit are valued.

The council believes this strategy is necessary for migrants, or people from a migrant background, as nearly one in six people living in Fingal are non-Irish nationals.

Fingal’s population is fast approaching 300,000, with nearly 16 percent of those residents being non-Irish nationals. This contrasts with the national migrant figure of 11 percent.

Rizwan Zahid, a Comhairle na nÓg member, spoke at the launch from a younger generation’s perspective.

Speaking at the launch, Mayor O’Brien said: “This strategy and action plan reinforces Fingal County Council’s commitment to creating a sustainable response to the challenges and opportunities posed by the changing population which it serves. 

“The actions proposed will ensure that services meet the needs of our diverse population and that they are accessible in terms of ease to access to information and available in appropriate languages.

“Those who have come to live here from around the world have enriched our society in terms of culture, language, new business ideas, social activities and friendships and it is imperative that they continue to feel welcome and at home in Fingal.”

The strategy was a collaborative effort from three groups: Fingal County Council’s internal working group, Community Integration Advisory Council (CIAC) and an expert advisory group.

A total of 566 people took part in the consultation effort providing a wide base of information from people who live in Fingal, Fingal County Council staff and people in other organisations who provide service to migrants in Fingal and nationally.

The group was demographically chosen and included teenagers from Comhairle na nÓg; Fingal Older People’s Council; along with focus groups, key informants, public and staff surveys.

The Migrant Integration Forum, set up by the Public Participation Network (PPN), comprises representatives from Irish and migrant communities.