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The Irish government released figures earlier this month that show that there has been a sharp rise in the number of workers from new EU member states seeking work in Ireland since 1 May 2004.
The government report shows that almost 23,000 people from the new member states have come to Ireland to seek employment in the past three months since enlargement.
This is approximately ten times the number of work permits issued to people from the same ten countries from January to April of this year.
The figures are based on the amount of applications made by citizens from the new member states for a personal public service number, which is like an NI number in the UK and is required to get a job or obtain access to social welfare services.
The greatest number of workers seeking jobs in Ireland were from Poland, Lithuania, the Czech Republic and Slovakia.
Ireland, along with the United Kingdom and Sweden, decided to open its labour market to nationals of the new EU member states. Most of the 'old' EU countries opted for a long-term transitional approach in allowing workers from Eastern and Central Europe to have access to jobs in their countries.
