The cost of living crisis has unfortunately made emigration a reality for many Irish students and graduates. Caroline Kelly investigates.
More than 70% of young people in Ireland aged 18-24 are considering moving abroad for a better quality of life, a recent survey has found. The research was conducted by RED C on behalf of the National Youth Council of Ireland (NYCI) which expressed concern about the “severe impact the cost-of-living crisis is having on young people in Ireland”. RED C is an independent, research-based consultancy service in Ireland, most widely known for its political opinion polling. The NYCI, which represents 55 voluntary youth organisations, called on the Government to support young people in the upcoming budget to dissuade emigration.
Commenting on the findings of the research, Paul Gordon, Director of Policy and Advocacy for NYCI, said: “There is a real fear from young people about what the future holds for them. Many say they’re struggling to make ends meet and quality-of-life considerations are driving them to consider a future outside of Ireland. Government must act to ensure young people aren’t overlooked in this crisis.”
The details of this report offer a striking parallel to the preliminary findings from the 2022 Census, published by the Central Statistics Office (CSO) earlier this summer.
“There is a real fear from young people about what the future holds for them. Many say they’re struggling to make ends meet and quality-of-life considerations are driving them to consider a future outside of Ireland.”
According to the latest CSO Population and Migration Estimates released in August, an estimated 27,600 Irish people left Ireland in the year to April 2022. This represents an increase of 4,800 people leaving compared to last year’s figures which estimated that 22,800 Irish people emigrated in the year to April 2021. These figures stand in stark contrast with the amount of young people who emigrated at the peak of the recession. Between 2011-2012, 35,800 in the same age group emigrated in the face of an uncertain future in Ireland.
The discourse surrounding emigration in the present day gives voice to new trends in an old story. The history of emigration in Ireland has a long-standing connection to crises as a prime motivator for leaving home. In the aftermath of the 2008 financial crash, young people in Ireland—faced with a very significantly diminished labour market and increased competition for the opportunities that are available—struggled to secure relevant and stable jobs. Today, the current housing crisis foregrounds a motivation to consider moving abroad.
To gain further insight into the general motivators for emigration, The University Observer spoke to Daniel Meister, Communications Manager of NYCI. “With an issue like emigration, there is always a complex mixture of pull and push factors at play, with many valid reasons for young people to want to emigrate and try new experiences and gain new skills. While in the past, the push factors have often included high unemployment rates in Ireland, but at the moment this is not the case and concerns about cost of living and quality of life (as per above) are coming to the fore.”
“[Post-graduates] are all too quickly hit with the unfortunate reality that it’s nearly impossible to survive in a country where the cost of living far exceeds the potential to earn a livable income. Must we work to live or live to work?”
While emigration has slowed dramatically since 2012, the recent figures—published by the Central Statistics Office—suggest that young people are still leaving Ireland, despite economic recovery. While some choose to leave to expand their horizons, others are forced abroad for a better quality of life, more relevant career opportunities and affordable housing.
Furthermore, the CSO’s report reveals that 80% of young people are fearful for the future, with one in two reporting worse mental health in the context of the rising cost of living. Jack, a fourth-year student, speaks to this fear: “I have become increasingly anxious about life after graduation. Although I am unsure if I can live in Ireland, I am met with the near certainty of financial ruin if I do. [Post-graduates] are all too quickly hit with the unfortunate reality that it’s nearly impossible to survive in a country where the cost of living far exceeds the potential to earn a livable income. Must we work to live or live to work?”
The topic of leaving Ireland comes up frequently amongst his fellow soon-to-be graduates, who have been looking to emigrate “more and more”, says Jack, “and nothing is being done about it. The government just acknowledges the problem, without a plan to fix it.”
“We want the Government to heed the message that young people and the wider public are sending in this research, and to address the struggles NYCI frequently hears about from young people.”
To dissuade young people from emigrating requires a multifaceted approach, focusing on the cost of living as a motivator for leaving. As part of its pre-Budget submission, NYCI is making a direct appeal to the Government to:
- Reduce registration fees for those in college, higher education, or on apprenticeships;
- Raise the national minimum wage for under-20s to the same level as over-20s;
- Bring the rate of Jobseekers’ Allowance for under-25s in line with that of those over 25;
- Extend the Young Adult travel card to more young people; and
- Increase government investment in youth work services in local communities.
The lack of attention paid to this cohort may be attributable to a lack of representation. “We want the Government to heed the message that young people and the wider public are sending in this research, and to address the struggles NYCI frequently hears about from young people,” says Mr. Gordon. He calls on government officials to “show young people in Ireland that they are a valued part of society, and that they are not left out of the conversation on the cost-of-living.”
One of the respondents to NYCI’s report, Clara Jane Hickey, from Waterford, recently moved to the Netherlands to study at the University of Groningen. “I left Ireland in August due to the costs of living there,” says Clara Jane. “In the Netherlands, I pay lower third-level tuition fees per year compared with Ireland, where I, or my parents, would need to be able to afford a mandatory contribution of €3,000 per year. Finding accommodation has been so much more realistic for me in the Netherlands.”
The University Observer spoke to Mr. Gordon about the threat of homelessness facing young people, who are often left with no choice but to leave Ireland. For some, however, the prospect of securing housing is far more complex than moving abroad. By this, NYCI recommends the implementation of services in Ireland aimed at addressing youth homelessness. “Homelessness is a traumatic experience and is particularly acute for young people who are experiencing significant and multiple disruptions in their lives,” says Mr. Gordon. In order to provide requisite support for young people, NYCI calls on the government to provide “€1m in increased homelessness health measures funding to provide mental health nurses for youth homelessness programmes.”
“As members of the Irish Coalition to End Youth Homelessness, we are also supportive of a range of prevention and early intervention measures, policies to deal with emergency accommodation and housing solutions for young people, as set out in its submission to the National Youth Homelessness Strategy public consultation,” Mr. Gordon outlined. Such policies would include continued aftercare programmes after age 21 and an after-rent minimum essential standard of living (MESL), the latter of which would introduce equity across household types and age groups and help to improve the sustainability of renting.
In urging action from the Government, Daniel Meister reiterates that “it is important that young people feel that emigration is a choice, and they should feel welcome and able to stay. To this end, NYCI is proposing that the Government take a number of measures in Budget 2023 in order to send a message to young people that they are being considered in the budget, and to encourage them that Ireland is a viable place to make their future.”