emigration in ireland podcast

Immigration is a major issue in Ireland due to the housing crisis, lack of opportunity, and high cost of living. The housing crisis has led to people leaving Ireland in search of better opportunities and lower expenses. Many young adults plan to leave Ireland for a year or two but end up staying permanently. The lack of affordable housing has caused prices to skyrocket, and the government has not taken enough action to address the issue. Emigration is also influenced by the lack of job prospects and uncertain career progression in Ireland. Better opportunities abroad and higher wages attract young people to leave. The housing crisis has also impacted education, with college students facing challenges in finding affordable accommodation. Homelessness has reached an all-time high, and the government's response has been insufficient. The negative effects of emigration include the disruption of social networks and the mental health impact on families left behind. It is an urgent issue that Thank you for watching! Hi everyone, welcome to our podcast. Today we are joined by Sharon, Alyssa, Luke and Ella, and myself, Daniel. And today's topic will be about exigent issues in Ireland, but more specifically, immigration. And today we will be focusing on three key points. The housing crisis, the lack of opportunity, and the cost of living. Unless you've been living under a rock, then you know that immigration is a big problem in Ireland right now, and it's only getting bigger. Unfortunately, not everyone understands why this problem exists. Thanks to research done by a guest today on our podcast, hopefully you'll all understand. So how does the housing crisis increase the rate of immigration? Well, the housing crisis in Ireland really does have a domino effect when it comes to immigration. Lots of people who decide to leave Ireland go to seek better opportunities for themselves, you know. Whether it's a job opportunity to become a teacher, better education for college by becoming a nurse, or just because, you know, Ireland is a pretty expensive place to live. As the housing in Ireland is so expensive, people are unable to keep up with all the expenses and have no other choice but to leave. To dive deeper into this topic, I read an article which had multiple people in Ireland telling their personal experiences as to why they are leaving. It shows that a lot of people only plan on leaving Ireland for a year or two, however, they find themselves staying permanently. People emigrating to Ireland tend to go to English-speaking countries, but more people choose to go to Canada and Australia over England, which is pretty funny, I guess. After collecting data from 18 to 24-year-olds in Ireland, I found it quite interesting because between the ages of 18 and 19, there was a 51% of people who wanted to leave Ireland or at least plan on migrating to Ireland. However, from ages 20 to 21, and 22 to 23, there was an increase of 21%, and then 72% of people were interested in leaving Ireland. This is a big indicator that opportunity in college and work is a big factor in emigration. I just want to talk about the housing crisis just a little bit more. Due to the lack of housing in Ireland, the prices have shot up in the last few decades, obviously, and I got some data on this. In the period 1998 to 2008, 660,000 houses were built, and that's about 60,000 houses a year, give or take. However, from 2009 to 2018, only 106,000 houses were built, and that's only 10,500 houses a year, which is a massive difference, almost six times less than what they had made before. Just between 2011 and 2016, the population in Ireland had increased by 173,000. This is showing that the government aren't taking the housing market seriously, even though it's affecting thousands of people across Ireland and a leading factor in emigration. Over to you. Yes, this topic is not talked about enough, and I feel like we should use our podcast platform to spread awareness about immigration, especially in Ireland. It's a very big topic. From the death of the Great Famine to the modern day shifts in economic and social landscapes, Helen's journey with immigration has shaped its past and continues to influence its present and future. Join us on our podcast as we explore the reasons behind Ireland's historic surge of immigration, from political turmoil to economic challenges, and the profound impact it has had on the nation. From the 19th century to the modern day patterns, we uncover the complicity of Ireland's immigration, its causes and its consequences. But immigration is not just a tale of loss. There's also benefits in it as well. It's also a story of resilience and opportunity. We dive into how immigration has opened doors for Irish individuals abroad, leaving a lasting legacy in arts, music and literature all around the world. Yet, where every departure comes a price. We discuss the challenges of the brain drain and the social and cultural ramifications of families and communities being split apart. As Ireland's economic and social landscape continues to evolve, so too will its relationship with immigration. Join us as we explore the past, present and future of Ireland's immigration journey. Actually, I read a newspaper article about this topic. Illegal Immigration, that's what it was called. It's an intangible entity within Irish society and currently only minimal research has been undertaken on this topic. For multiple reasons, those referred to as illegal immigrants are generally voices and have few opportunities for self-representation. So I feel like it's important for us on this podcast to speak about it and to talk for those that can't talk. As the world appears to be growing into an increasing globalised one, so too does contemporary Ireland. Ireland has always seen periods of immigration throughout its modern history and modern day Ireland, so it's no exception. In the decades that followed, immigration persisted as Ireland battled political unrest, a lack of employment prospects and economic difficulties. A considerable portion of Ireland's population has left the country in quest of better opportunities overseas, including many young people who left their homes. Immigration remained a significant part of Irish life in the 20th century. Its enormous troubles prompted yet another wave, but we're going to get all into that in this podcast today. Ella, would you like to go ahead and say something? Immigration has negative effects on families and communities left behind, hence I decided to look further into this urgent issue as there is increased reports of adult loneliness and depression felt by the emigrating youth. A study of 8,500 Irish parents who have emigrated adult children found that there is a 10% increase in depressive symptoms amongst mothers who have experienced a child emigrate in comparison to mothers whose children remain in the country. This was found in a study conducted by Mosca and Barr in 2016. Another 2012 study discovered that elderly parents experienced less interaction with their other children once one child emigrated. What this signifies is the emigration of an immediate family member has a negative impact on not only the mental health but the family dynamic of those left behind. The destruction of social networks is one of the most serious consequences of emigration, according to clinical psychologist Maria Marchetti Mercer. This signifies that the urgent issue of emigration has negative communal consequences along with negative effects on the local economy. A study undertaken by Francesca Antman in 2012 highlighted that the reasons as to why one emigrates still affects their family and community left behind, further adding to the anger of those remaining at home towards the situation mainly caused by the government. This hence motivates other community and family members to emigrate in hopes for better circumstances, meaning this chain of events have significant importance regarding economic development. I believe that the social effects emigration poses is an important factor as to why this topic is such an urgent issue in today's climate. We will now have Luke who is going to talk about how factors like unemployment, housing and education can have an effect on emigration in Ireland. Work conditions in Ireland are damaging our society and as a result are leading to rising levels of emigration in Ireland. Some factors that are seen to be causing the rise of emigration in Ireland are poor work conditions and uncertainty surrounding career progression which is leading to young high skilled labourers emigrating as the labour force abroad is much more structured and is better run than in Ireland. The uncertainty regarding career progression for young adults in Ireland is detrimental to us retaining young people and them holding down jobs in Ireland. The simple fact of better opportunities abroad and the lack of adequate jobs for young people suggests that moving abroad is far more enticing than staying in Ireland. For example in the year 2023 there was a net loss of 900 Irish citizens which is quite high in recent years. Simply young adults just do not see a life for themselves in modern day Ireland. The best jobs that Ireland has to offer are in IT which in terms of highest wages and simply does not suit every young person because there is much more to explore in the likes of America and Australia. Housing crisis and emigration in Ireland. Furthermore the housing crisis in Ireland is a very exigent issue in today's world as the lack of affordable housing and even housing in general is genuinely concerning as Ireland will lose many skilled labourers if an intervention is not made and a change must be implemented. Ireland's situation at the moment suggests that not a lot is being done or will be done to alleviate pressure on college students and young adults as they search for housing. College students especially in Maynooth University face severe challenges in terms of the lack of accommodation itself never mind having to pay expenses that come along with renting accommodation which prices are also at an all time high. Thus making education for young people significantly more difficult as a knock on effect of affordable housing and in housing in general. This ties into the factors that push young people away from Ireland as they can gain much more of the college experience and acquire everything they need abroad. To add to my points about housing crisis homelessness also reached an all time high in Ireland in February 2023. Numbers skyrocketed as 11,750 people were left on the streets and begs the question is enough being done by the government. Young people cannot stay in the country they grew up in and life in Ireland in 2024 just seems unrealistic at this stage. Education's effect on the workforce causing emigration. Emigration and education go hand in hand as I mentioned before especially in Ireland. Some positive factors about Ireland's education system is that it's very well structured and it's a very top quality education for young people. This is great and Ireland has all the framework in place for children aged from 5 to 18 and young adults if they pursue third level education. However there seems to be a certain demographic that's being neglected by the Irish government. As they leave college and there is no work, cost of living is high, they cannot get a house and struggle to get a job in Ireland with a university degree. This age demographic of 24 to 30 year olds are at stage in life where they almost feel lost. A move abroad not only feels like it's the best option but feels like it's the only one and it's overly concerning as we are losing exceedingly high skilled labourers along with the heart of our communities which is young people. In conclusion emigration in Ireland has been a present concern throughout Irish history and is still prevalent to this day. Upon discussing topics like the social aspects of immigration to the push and pull factors which included housing, work and education we began to understand why immigration was such a pressing issue in Ireland. Leaving home was never an easy decision but our goal with our podcast was to educate ourselves and others on the decision many young people face. We also aimed to figure out the key reasons behind immigration in Ireland to try and understand the reason behind the surge in immigration in our current economic climate. We hope that by gathering this information and creating this podcast that we are able to provide education and awareness about the topic of immigration in Ireland. We hope our podcast was helpful to any one of our listeners who are thinking of emigrating from Ireland that this podcast may help them make an informed decision. Finally I would like to thank our listeners for tuning in to this podcast. Thank you for listening.