Polish people 'need crisis fund'

Migrant workers may need emergency aid according to a report

A crisis fund should be set up to assist Polish people living in Northern Ireland, a report has recommended.

The study, by the Northern Ireland Council for Ethnic Minorities (NICEM), found that Polish people were three times more likely to be unemployed.

It also said that their take up of Jobseekers' Allowance was low.

The findings also indicated that Polish people struggled with bureaucracy in their efforts to find jobs and to access benefits.

NICEM said there had been 37,445 national insurance number applications from Poles since 2004, although it added that the economic downturn has caused many to return home.

The report said: "Taken together these findings emphasise the vulnerability of our respondents in terms of poverty in their daily life.

"Needless to say this vulnerability becomes worse as the recession continues, bearing in mind our study has also highlighted that almost half of respondents have dependants living in Northern Ireland and half are married."

Action

Around a fifth of those surveyed were unemployed, almost three times higher than the Northern Ireland unemployment rate of 6.7 per cent for the period April to June 2009.

The report also warned that extreme poverty would hit the Polish community if the economic downturn continued and called for action to combat child poverty.

NICEM's Chris McAfee, co-author of the report, said: "We have found our respondents contribute to all sectors of economic activity in Northern Ireland and are especially vulnerable to effects of the economic downturn.

"To reduce the high risk of poverty, it is vital Polish families receive the help they are entitled to. Immediate and robust measures would protect vulnerable minorities and enable them to further contribute to our economic recovery."