Irish Examiner view: Again, Ireland's young people are thinking about emigrating
The RedC survey for the National Youth Council of Ireland shows that seven in 10 young Irish people are considering emigration. However, Ireland is not alone in being rocked by economic shocks. Stock picture: Getty
The news that seven in 10 young Irish people are considering moving abroad in search of a better quality of life, brings to mind the hoary old cliché about the grass always being greener on the other side of the hill.
At a time when the standards of living in this country were never higher, it is nearly unfathomable that 18- to 24-year-olds believe they will find a better quality of life elsewhere.
Admittedly the poll, carried out by Red C on behalf of the National Youth Council of Ireland (NYCI), was undertaken a few weeks ago, so the issue of the cost of living in this country was to the fore in the minds of those being surveyed, and therefore their exigent concerns about the cost of rental properties — or even the lack of such premises across the whole country, of which there were only a meagre 802 available on a well-known property website yesterday — were among their prime concerns.
So, whether this research is a mere snapshot of a brief moment in time, or a reflective picture of the broader mindset of Irish youth right now, it does seem curious that it reminds us of more economically strained moments in our history where we provided little other than a bleak jobless future here.
That we are enjoying a period of historically high levels of employment and eminently sustainable wages for our increasingly educated and qualified young people, makes this poll seem analogous to times past but in an economic environment which is more healthy than ever before.
The National Youth Council of Ireland has used the findings of the survey to remind the Government of the need to reassure Ireland’s youth that they are an important part of this country’s future.
The study it said highlighted how the cost of living crisis is impacting young people differently, and called for a reduction in further and higher education fees, an increase in the minimum wage for under-20s to the same as over-20s, an increase in jobseekers’ allowance for young people in line with over-25s, and increased investment in youth work services.
However, young people also need to realise Ireland is not the only country in the world hit by rampant inflation and cost of living issues. The grass may not be as green as they think over yonder hill.
