Have the Irish switched - in one generation - from being the victims of racism and prejudice, to being the perpetrators? The following, taken from the Gombeen Nation blog, would seem to agree.
I have to say, if you look at the letters page of Metro, you will be surprised at the attitudes of a good many of the correspondents. If, as I assume, the demographic of the Metro's e-mailers/texters (I dont' think there are many letter-writers among them) is a young one, maybe what the country needs is a good recession to educate them? And get rid of them for a few years.
The linked blog makes reference to the author's own experiences as an 80s emigrant to London, and compares some of the attitudes he experienced there, with some of the Irish attitudes to immigrant workers doing the rounds today.