YOUNG CLARE PEOPLE are emigrating “in their droves”.
Emigration numbers from Co Clare are rising in the past two months with young people heading for the departures gate and in the direction of America, Australia, Canada, Dubai and the United Kingdom.
A demand to exit the country in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic factored in with the gloomy prospects of securing accommodation are driving the emigration numbers from all corners of the county.
Most recent Central Statistics Office (CSO) population and migration estimates released in August, detailed that an estimated 27,600 Irish people left Ireland in the year to April 2022. This represents an increase of 4,800 people leaving when compared to last year’s figures which estimated that 22,800 Irish people emigrated in the year to April 2021.
More than seven in ten young people aged 18-24 are considering moving abroad because they think they would enjoy a better quality of life elsewhere, according to research carried out by RED C on behalf of the National Youth Council of Ireland (NYCI).
Key findings from the recent survey show that among those surveyed aged 18-24, eight in ten said that they are fearful for the future and one in two reported worse mental health in the context of the rising cost-of-living; more than four in ten responded that they are not as happy as they were six months ago; almost one in every two peolpe said they are struggling to make ends meet; and more than one in four said their experience with housing in the past six months is worse.
Speaking to The Clare Echo, a Clare graduate who made the move to the Middle East said that he always wanted to travel but the current cost of living crisis made up his mind to leave the county. “The country being the way it is right now is a big push factor for young professionals, looking at houses and general living it’s getting harder to live in a place that exploits new entrants while trying to afford rent that is fairly extortionate at this rate”.
An East Clare woman who made the move to London noted while costs were similar between both countries, paying conditions were better across the water. Better pay, working conditions and weather were cited by a qualified primary school teacher on her reasons for emigrating.
Consequences of the departures are being felt in all fields of society with employers struggling to fill positions, voluntary groups struggling to attract younger members and the further rise of amalgamations for sporting teams.
Divisional sides are becoming more common among football clubs from West Clare while speaking at this week’s meeting of the Clare County Board, Irish Officer, Flan O’Reilly cautioned delegates, “the major problem which has to be addressed is that of depopulation” with Feakle’s Mike Daly flagging, “clubs are struggling” when it comes to fielding teams.
Managing Director of CareerWise Recruitment, Joe Robbins told The Clare Echo that while the Mid-West region is “doing very well”, there are troubles facing employers in finding suitable staff. “There’s a huge problem finding staff at every level in the industry, graduates are leaving in their droves and it’s really impacting on availability for hiring people who have recently graduated and people with a couple of years’ experience”.
Emigration may not be back to recession levels, Robbins observed but it is rising. “There’s less people around now, during the pandemic a lot of people went back from Ireland to Eastern Europe and they haven’t returned. Companies are finding it very difficult to hire people in different fields like tourism, manufacturing and hospitality”.
“You’ve educated people with a couple of years of experience that have effectively been in lockdown since March 2020, they have been living and working at home with no holidays abroad and effectively shut down in their own family home with their parents. If they wanted to move out accommodation is hugely expensive and not readily available. Other people are leaving to get more experience, live life and have fun. They are going to Canada, Australia and the United States to avoid the expensive accommodation here, get life experience and catch up on the social side of life which they have missed,” he added.
Accommodation is the biggest issue motivating people to emigrate, the Oatfield resident said. “The biggest issue is around accommodation, we’re bringing in people from Ukraine which has accommodation problems. For example, there’s nowhere to rent in Shannon but the Shannon Free Zone is booming so if people come into the country to work there is nowhere for them to live and that’s one of the primary reasons why young people are leaving. Inflation, the cost of living and petrol prices are rising worldwide but the accommodation problems are unique to Ireland. The accommodation is a key factor but the lockdown has also had an influence, people want to go away, they want to get experience, get some sun and get away from the pandemic era that had a lack of social activity, they can get some experience abroad and come back in a few years”
Joe continued, “It has an impact on a few areas, accommodation is the biggest area. Some of the knock-on effects are salaries are going up because companies are pulling from a smaller pond. Years ago people sucked it up and stayed in a job that they may not have liked. Now young people are moving more frequently, nowadays you get laughed at for now moving job after a few years to get more money, it’s about mobility, earning more money and getting more experience”.
