Oh? Then which countries provided this great flood of immigrants to the verdant isle which permitted their economy to expand?
You may wish to update yourself on the population of the ROI and then make one of those pie charts that show percent of Irish and percent of others that make up the country.
The ROI's econ expansion came first, any burgeoning immigration was/is the result of that former.
A quick search got me this article:
http://www.workpermit.com/news/2005_11_11/uk/new_immigrants_to_ireland_buying_homes.htm
The number of non-nationals living in the State is estimated to be 350,000, accounting for 8-9 percent of the population of 4.13 million currently living here, according to CSO estimates.
The property market is now reaping the rewards of this wave of immigration which has delivered a new and eager market of hard-working househunters.
Polish, Czech, Filipino, Indian, Chinese, Russian, Spanish and Lithuanian people working in Ireland are no longer content to pay rent and are making moves to acquire their own front door.
I should also add that many of the illegal Irish in the USA returned to Ireland in the past 10 years to inflate the population as well.
There was recently a thread about all the Polish immigrants asking for priests from Poland to come to Ireland. Now isn't that a kicker? Not enough priests in Ireland to meet the demand.