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Irish emigration figures to Britain skyrocket - new statistics show a 25 per cent increase

First signs of real impact of Irish recession on youth

By
CATHAL DERVAN,
IrishCentral.com Staff Writer
Published Tuesday, June 14, 2011, 7:11 AM
Updated Tuesday, June 14, 2011, 8:23 AM

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25 percent increase in the number of youths moving to Britain
25 percent increase in the number of youths moving to Britain
Photo by joblesspaddy@gmail.com


Emigration from Ireland to Britain rose by a staggering 25 per cent in 2010 according to a new survey just published – and the figure is set to rise further in 2011.

An estimated 13,290 Irish people emigrated to the United Kingdom last year, the biggest increase in emigration across the Irish Sea in more than 10 years.

The age profile of those who emigrated – the vast majority were between the ages of 19 and 34 – is also seen as a major problem for the Irish government as a brain drain follows the collapse of the Celtic Tiger.

Experts feel the figures will show another significant increase in 2011 and point out that they can’t accurately account for all those who quit Ireland in search of employment in the recent past.

London remains the most popular destination for young Irish men and women seeking jobs according to the statistics.

One barometer of the startling increase is the steady rise in the number of Irish citizens registering for national insurance numbers, a necessity for anyone looking to work or claim benefit in the UK.
That figure has risen steadily from 9,510 in 2006 to 11,050 in 2009.

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Last year’s 25 per cent increase reflects high unemployment and the severity of the recession according to emigrant groups.

The figures published by Britain’s Department for Work and Pensions highlight the youth of those who have quit Ireland.

According to the report, some 6,130 Irish citizens between the ages of 18 and 24 and 5,730 Irish citizens between 25 and 34 registered for National Insurance numbers in the UK in 2010.

Just 1,260 people between the ages of 35 and 44 registered to work or claim benefits in Britain.
The new figures also show that 7,340 men and 6,570 women with Irish citizenship registered for national insurance numbers in 2010.

The new figures represented the first big indication of a significant increase in emigration to Britain as a result of the Irish recession according to the Crosscare Migrant Project, a support and advice group for emigrants.

“In many ways it is not surprising considering the proximity, lack of visa requirement, lack of cultural boundaries, lower unemployment rate and the size of the British economy that Irish people are emigrating to the UK,” said Joe O’Brien, policy officer with the Crosscare group.

He told the Irish Times: “We would still warn people to prepare carefully, bring back-up funds or access to funds and do your research before you go.”

Britain remains the single most popular destination for Irish people emigrating. The Irish Times claims that between 2002 and 2010 some 83,160 Irish citizens registered for national insurance numbers.

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13 Comments

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ancavker | Jun 17, 2011, 11:50 AM EDT
Things are not great iN Britain either, and lots of British out of work too. The Irish cannot keep running away.

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timbobdennehy | Jun 16, 2011, 10:24 AM EDT
i have no problem with the british,they speak my language,or i speak their language,either way. i blame the british for their past empires,and handing out free passports to countries,who have no-business being in europe,the parasites of our world. i as an irishman living in ireland,can take a lot of stick,but to see that land is being bought in ireland not by the irish,but by foreign investors,what a shame.i would like to buy my own field.its in my blood so to speak.

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jimmy12003 | Jun 15, 2011, 05:39 PM EDT
michael mcgrath, your right about a couple of things you wrote! yes, that rotten bast-ard bertie fuc-ked this country over like no one else! and yes, irish americans cant claim benifit here for some of the same reasons most irish born people cant! im irish, born raised here, working for the last 22 years, paid my taxes and so on, but i do not qualify for benifits either! the reasons! 1, im white 2, i speak english 3, ive been self employed during the resesion, which is now not even worth getting out of bed in the morning for now! but once i was self employed im not entitled to benifit! so im going to colour myself in, go around with my pants hanging of my ass, like every other useless one of the cu-nts, and use someone elses passport and let on i cant speak english, and lets guess, il get a house, car, medical card and the dole and even the paper work filled out for me, just by letting on i cant read or write and that im just another sorry assed cu-nt fresh in from bananna land! it would make you sike here just to see how they can wor it! they should be tied up along with bertie ahern and shot!

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Sparklet | Jun 15, 2011, 11:31 AM EDT
It's the same in the UK, and at the rate it's going, the native (loosely speaking) population of both UK and Ireland will be swallowed up by immigrants. I know that in the course of history, native Irish and Anglo-Saxons are probably non-existent, but that was over generations. Dread to think what the population will be by the end of this decade. I'm no racist but I think it's sad when native populations are decimated to the point of extermination. Hopefully, the UK and Irish governments will put the brakes on.

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GeorgeDillon | Jun 15, 2011, 11:23 AM EDT
MichaelMcGrath: Great to see the views of the "silent majority of Ireland (over 70%, according to the polls) articulated so well by you and others. Keep it up, and I can retire!

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MichaelMcGrath | Jun 15, 2011, 09:18 AM EDT
The Irish emigration to UK figure would be three times the figures given as the Irish going to England usually take up work "off the cards" in the hotel, catering and building industries. So here we are in Ireland, landed back into the dismal days of mass emigration due to Bertie Ahern's Fianna Fail government making a decision to enrich their developer and builder pals(I was a Fianna Fail supporter and voter, never again!) Ahern went against EU advice in 2004 to wait seven years, and sent his Employment Minister Mary Harney to Watsaw to seek a million Poles and Eastern Europeans out to come to Ireland as workers immediately on their accession. This was to have all these immigrants working in Ireland to buy the 300,000 houses they were building in the "Ghost Estates" of Ireland today. The Eastern Europeans came in droves with their families, half a million of them here today, and they have nowhere else to go, the most poverty-stricken people in Europe. And this was the primary cause of Ireland's financial crash. Today these people cost the Irish state an estimated two billions a year in social welfare, free education, free health, doctors & hospitals.And for reasons of racial P.C. this fact can never be told - but the Irish People know it , that's why Fianna Fail was demolished never to return. Meanwhile the eastern Europeans are still flooding in for the Irish dole. And Americans, Irish-Americans, do not qualify!

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GeorgeDillon | Jun 14, 2011, 03:41 PM EDT
What's the problem? For every Irish person going to Britain there's a Pakistani, Indian, Chinese or Pole settling into Ireland. It's not emigration, it's just restocking. By the mid-century Irish people should be a minority in Ireland, sooner, in view of the way things are going.

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Sparklet | Jun 14, 2011, 01:52 PM EDT
To clarify...I was quoting paddyRanger about the whining, not agreeing with him!

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Sparklet | Jun 14, 2011, 11:06 AM EDT
There's a lot of difference between occupation and emigration. But having said that,I doubt that the Irish who, as you say whine, would be part of the emigration. The majority of Irish aren't rooted in the past and can see progress being made.

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John5319 | Jun 14, 2011, 10:55 AM EDT
This only exacerbates the financial woes for those left in Ireland. Like a boy holding his finger in the dike to stop a leak. British Dr's see five times as many patients as an American doctor, and 35% of kidney dialysis centers refuse to treat patients over 55 years of age! And this is the reality that Socialist Healthcare is, the seniors are denied access to health care to cut costs. Immigration into the U.S. will soar for the same reasons with Obamacare, thanks to our WEAK Borders. Then who pays for it only YOU!

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John5319 | Jun 14, 2011, 10:52 AM EDT
When jobs leave, it only exacerbates the financial woes for those left in Ireland. Like a boy holding his finger in the dike to stop a leak. In Britain, the availability of health care is more limited. British Dr's see five times as many patients as an American doctor, and 35% of kidney dialysis centers refuse to treat patients over 55 years of age! And this is the reality that Socialist Healthcare is, the seniors are denied access to health care just to cut costs. Immigration into the U.S. will soar for the same reasons with Obamacare, thanks to our WEAK Borders. Then who pays for it? YOU.

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paddyRanger | Jun 14, 2011, 10:26 AM EDT
Pretty ironic to think there are irish people whining about "Brits out of Ireland" when the UK is getting a new wave of irish emigrating to it...

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powsmias | Jun 14, 2011, 09:45 AM EDT
comon over to the usa, would be no complaints with me.

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