A new study on the impact of immigration has revealed contrasting settlement patterns for two of the largest immigrant groups in the country.
An analysis of last year's census data by UCD's school of geography, planning and environmental policy shows UK nationals - the largest group of foreign nationals in the State - are highly dispersed and more likely to live in rural areas or along the coast.
Areas with significant concentrations of UK nationals include the south and west of the country, in particular rural areas of Cork, Kerry, Leitrim, Roscommon and Donegal.
In contrast, Poles are much more likely to live around towns, cities and transport networks. There is a significant concentration of Poles in the Dublin area, as well as clusters within commuting distance of cities such as Cork, Limerick and Galway.
It is also possible to see a concentration of Poles along major road networks such as the N7 and N4.
Smaller urban areas such as Killarney, Monaghan and Roscommon also display clusters of Polish nationals.
According to the 2006 Census there were 112,548 UK nationals resident in the State last year (or 2.7 per cent of the total population), and 63,276 Polish nationals (1.5 per cent of the total population).
Dr Mary Gilmartin, co-director of UCD's Migration and Citizenship Research Initiative, said the settlement patterns of Poles were similar to those of other newly-arrived immigrants in other countries.
"Analyses of immigration in other countries, such as Canada, point to the importance of employment opportunities and housing cost in the initial settlement choices of immigrants," she said. "The patterns of settlement shown by this map may, in part, be explained by similar factors."
Dr Gilmartin said the settlement patterns of foreign nationals in general underlined the way in which immigration is affecting all parts of Ireland - urban, suburban and rural.
"This has implications for the provision of and access to a wide range of services and opportunities: from housing to health, from education to employment to transport. The regulatory framework that ensures equal treatment for all residents of the country must adapt to this reality, and service providers such as local authorities and civil society need resources to manage and facilitate these changes," she said.
Forthcoming census reports on housing, occupation and travel to work will provide more detailed information on the lives of people resident in Ireland.
Also, ongoing research in UCD on new immigrant communities being funded by the Immigrant Council of Ireland is due to provide additional detail about the lives of immigrants.
The maps shown here measure the population of UK and Polish nationals across the State's 1,840 electoral divisions. The maps were produced using an index called the location quotient, which compares the percentage of each nationality in an electoral division to the percentage of the group nationally.
