Number of Irish seeking Oz move soars by 60%

THE number of Irish people looking to live permanently in Australia soared by 60% in the last year — with the numbers expected to be even greater this year.

There has also been a dramatic increase in the number of Irish families enquiring about emigrating, according to VisaFirst.com.

It is expected there will be more than 3,000 applications from Ireland for permanent residency visas in Australia this year, following the 2,000 applications in 2010.