1,500 flee country per week in ‘brain drain’

IRELAND’S emigration rate has soared by 45% according to the latest statistics, with an estimated 1,500 people leaving the country every week.

Highlighting the scale of the country’s “brain drain”, Central Statistics Office figures also show that the majority of those emigrating are young people of prime working age.

According to the CSO’s population and migration estimates, the number of people who emigrated reached 76,400 in the year up to April.