Let’s talk about…
Ireland’s record emigration
In his famous poem ‘Sailing to Byzantium’, an aging WB Yeats declares Ireland “no country for old men”: “therefore I have sailed the seas”.
Flashing forward a century, such sentiment appears to have lived on – with one major flip. Today, many believe Ireland is more accurately ‘no country for young people’.
Between the various push and pull factors at play, a significant portion of Ireland’s young people appear disillusioned with opportunities at home. In fact, CSO figures reveal they too feel they must ‘therefore sail the seas’ to greener pastures; the country recently recorded the highest emigration figures in almost 20 years (just under half being classified as young people), with a 126% increase in people emigrating to Australia in the year alone.
Ireland’s diaspora is nothing new, of course. In fact, it has an integral part in the retelling of several periods of our history. But it is also, crucially, and as we are beginning to see more and more, far from a thing of old either.
What perhaps is new (or at least refreshed) are the reasons why.
Working doesn’t work
There will be no gold stars for guessing the major suspects behind rising emigration. They are, after all, the same ones those of us still living here are also struggling with: the high cost of living and housing crisis.
Things get more expensive over time, that’s how it is. But the problem is what hasn’t risen alongside rent and expenses – wages.
If emigration is traditionally tied to the idea of leaving to find work, it appears the problem today has morphed into something slightly different, but similarly unworkable: that even working full-time mightn’t keep your head above water – it may not even keep your head on a pillow at night.
Between grocery inflation, energy prices, and just about everything else, it has become increasingly difficult to manage the most basic of expenses. Recent measures – particularly within the last Budget – have indeed been aimed at easing the suffocating burden, but it’s far from a long-term fix. And (though I could be being a bit prematurely cynical) this year’s Budget seems set to focus more on winning the middle-class vote ahead of the General Election, than on being a ‘giveaway Budget’ for those struggling financially – a group which, among other demographics, includes a significant proportion of young people.
Meanwhile, the housing crisis barrels on, reaching new heights of incredulity and, to be frank, unsustainability. Finding a place to live is increasingly difficult; sidestepping entirely factors like the mass migration of available properties over to sites like AirBnB, whatever places are available have exorbitant price tags attached. Anecdotally, over a few short years in Galway, I’ve seen properties in the same estates balloon by several hundred euro – sometimes even doubling.
One need only look at another set of recently-published figures – this time by the Department of Housing – to see the absolute breaking point we’ve reached. Last Friday, it was revealed the number of homeless people has reached yet another record: 14,429. This is, of course, the most extreme and worst-case scenario for people affected by the housing crisis, but it’s evidently a scenario that’s becoming less and less rare, and more and more likely for the average person to find themselves in.
For those young people who are unable to find/afford a place to live, they must instead rely on loved ones to help them out so that they don’t join that 14k figure – and that’s exactly what they’re doing. The 2022 Census revealed 41% of people aged between 18 and 34, and 33% of people aged between 25 and 29, live with their parents. And such people will tell you quite simply (although they may also really enjoy their folks’ company) it’s because there’s nowhere else to go.
Where in other periods, Ireland’s youth moved to find a place to work, now they’re moving to find a place to live.
What’s Where’s the craic?
There are also social and cultural reasons Ireland may seem less appealing to young people.
Politically, we’ve become increasing divided over so-called culture war issues, such as queer rights and immigration. Coupled with all that’s to be said about the far-right in recent times, it’s easy for a young person to worry Ireland is becoming a less tolerant and progressive place.
Additionally, we sometimes seem to lack in ‘third places’ (social spaces separate from home and work), which are incredibly important in terms of providing neutral, informal spaces to gather and build community.
The closest thing we have to a de facto ‘third place’ is the pub. An increasingly expensive and, in excess, not particularly healthy way to spend your evenings. But even the option of having the pub to socialise in can’t be relied on – restaurant and pub closures too have accelerated.
And it’s not as if we can use outdoor areas as social spaces year-round; you wouldn’t even have been able to count on them over the summer this year, with the poor weather we had.
We’re also a country whose social practices have been so intrinsically linked with the Church for so long, that as we begin to move away from it, we are left having to reinvent the ways we practice community and socialisation; if Sunday mornings are no longer for the weekly village reunion, when is?
And although not exclusive to Ireland, technology has a lot to answer for too. It has become common practice for much of modern socialisation to be done online or via calls (the smartphone, in some ways, is the new ‘third place’). Even work – the ‘second place’ – has moved online for many. Online work or socialisation are far from negative things unto themselves, but when coupled with everything else, you can see why some people are feeling unsatisfied.
Going forward (but not aboard)…
Ireland has all the bones of being a wonderful country for young people. We do have resources, we do have vibrant communities, and we do have massive potential for growth – it just needs to be realised.
Prioritising affordable housing and a liveable wage, and investing in and diversifying our social spaces could make a world of difference in making Ireland more appealing – not just for the young people with the opportunity to emigrate, but for everyone.
After all, surely, out of any country, Ireland has the potential to offer ‘greener’ pastures?
