The number of people leaving Ireland has now soared to 87,100 over the past year, according to official figures released on Thursday.
The latest research shows that one person is now leaving the country roughly every five minutes, given a daily average of 238, or one person every 303 seconds.
In the 12 months leading up to April, almost 35,000 of those who left Ireland were under the age of 25, according to the Central Statistics Office.
The US attracted some 8,600 Irish emigrants, 19,000 people emigrated to the UK, 24,000 moved to EU countries and the rest of the world attracted 35,600 people.
With emigration at a record high, Youth Work Ireland has warned that the demographic position of the country is approaching crisis level.
Michael McLoughlin of Youth Work Ireland said that Ireland’s brain drain is threatening the country’s smart economy.
"There must be a dedicated jobs strategy for young people if we are to avoid the effects of the massive emigration of the 1980s which so decimated communities," he told the Irish Independent.
"The spectre of emigration is a major social tragedy and seems to be accepted as almost an Irish solution to an Irish problem, this must be challenged."
Some key findings include:
-The number of Irish women emigrating rose from 17,500 to 20,600.
-The number of Irish men leaving increased from 24,500 to 26,000.
-The number of Irish citizens returning to live in the State rose for the third year in a row to 20,600.
-Some 52,700 immigrants came to Ireland in the same twelve month period.
-The number of births was 74,000 while the number of deaths
was 29,200.
-The overall population grew by 10,500 to 4.59 million.
-The male population fell by 900, for the first time since 1990.
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Switch to the desktop site to post a comment.esatdigiwank | Oct 02, 2012, 04:49 AM EDT
Smart economy?? Its pure thick! Unqualified personnel teaching in our schools, lack of educational psychologists (4th lowest in Europe 6 years ago and still...) vast failure rates in higher math, inability to speak european languages etc..
DanOLoingsigh | Sep 29, 2012, 06:14 AM EDT
Bobby – Thanks for that very useful link…but I think you’ve misinterpreted some figures…The 56K would be mainly accounted for by young Irish school and college leavers, rather than returning emigrants – who would only have to reactivate a PPS number already allocated…also the figures are only for the first 8 months of the year…meaning they need to be uplifted by 50% to arrive at an annual figure.
angrypaddy | Sep 29, 2012, 12:31 AM EDT
Anyone with two brain sells still working and not living on handouts have already left and you can stuff your Gathering B/S up you know where
cillowen | Sep 28, 2012, 09:04 PM EDT
Making room for the 2013 Gathering - Shatter and his charges are a joy from afar. The Royals are needed for next years great craic.
Smyrnian | Sep 28, 2012, 05:10 PM EDT
Nothing new here. Happened in every generation. I saw my brothers and sisters leave in the fifties and early sixties. I left in the late sixties. Other after me left in the seventies and eighties. It's our lot in life. I had the opportunity to come home to a good job years ago but I refused; I knew the wheel would turn again. It really is a shame.
WoundedKnee | Sep 28, 2012, 04:24 PM EDT
"Some 52,700 immigrants came to Ireland in the same twelve month period". I don't believe these figures, as the Irish are not competent to keep track of immigration numbers. If someone doesn't register s/he is not counted. Ditto for children, parents of migrants who are arriving in ever greater numbers etc. But even accepting this low-ball figure, that's a thousand foreign migrants arriving every week! Ireland isn't facing DEpopulation, it's in a process of REpopulation. Out with the old (Irish), in with the New ("Irish")!
Will Hamilton | Sep 28, 2012, 04:09 PM EDT
The best thing about Ireland: the airport. I don't know anyone in college these days who is not intending to get out as soon as they pass their exams. It's even more remarkable to hear children in their early teens on the bus talking about which countries they might have to move to in the future.
bobby | Sep 28, 2012, 10:46 AM EDT
Personal Public Service Numbers -Allocation By Nationality-All Countries 2012 in Ireland. 104,175 came to Ireland from all over the world including 56,139 Irish nationals returning home in 2012. Here is a link from an Irish government website with all immigrants that came to Ireland last year. welfare.ie/EN/Topics/PPSN/Pages/ppsn_all_month12.aspx
bobby | Sep 28, 2012, 10:36 AM EDT
And as i said before, i watched a programme on Irish TV last night they say over 50% of those leaving had a job in Ireland and choose to leave. Be with their friends in Australia. Enjoy life there. Most say they will return in a couple of years.