Is Ireland yet again hemorrhaging its "skilled youth"? A 16-year high of Irish under 35s are emigrating to Australia and the country is benefiting from it.
From July 2022 to July 2023 the Australian Department of Home Affairs reported that there were 21,525 work holiday permits granted to Irish citizens. That is a 105.2% increase in the number of work visas granted to the Irish during the period of 2021 to 2022.
Australian outlet News.com.au reports that Ireland's growing housing and cost of living crises have caused the rate of young Irish people emigrating to Australia to skyrocket in the past five years.
The outlet reports that more than 21,000 Irish people were granted working holiday visas in the 12 months leading up to July 2023, a 16-year high.
The number of working holiday visas issued to Irish people in that period was exceeded only by those issued to British immigrants (38,177) and French immigrants (26,896).
Mairéad Farrell, Sinn Féin's spokesperson for Higher Education, Innovation, and Science, lamented the situation in the Dáil.
“There’s clearly something that’s a miss,” she said.
“We keep hearing that the economy is doing well, but very clearly, something’s going wrong for young people here.
“They feel that there is no alternative (but) to go to Australia.”
Joe Kelly, a 27-year-old Irish scaffolder based in Brisbane, told News.com.au that moving to Australia has changed his life.
"It was hard to establish myself in Ireland," Kelly told the outlet.
Kelly described the cost of living in Ireland as "pretty ridiculous" and said he noted the difference in prices when he traveled home for Christmas.
"I went home for Christmas this year, and I actually did most of my Christmas shopping here because it was cheaper to do it here and bring it home with me," he said.
Kelly, who moved to Australia 15 months ago, added that there is "so much opportunity" in Australia and said he now has a crew of 10 people working for him.
“If I stayed at home, the industries are just so small that you’re waiting for someone to retire or get fired to get a promotion."
Kelly said he remains deeply proud of his Irishness but added that he harbors no plans to return home as moving to Australia has changed his life "completely".
Meanwhile, a number of young Irish adults told Irish outlet Joe.ie that people are moving to Australia because it is "impossible" to find affordable housing and jobs that keep up with the cost of living in Ireland.
Others pointed to the Australian climate and lifestyle as reasons for the huge exodus of Ireland's skilled young workers.
News.com.au reports that Australia's average yearly salary stands at AU$90,800 compared to Ireland's average salary of AU$74,325.
As with Australia, a cost of living crisis has dominated Irish headlines in recent years.
Since 2021, rises in rent, food, fuel, and utilities have hit Ireland hard, while, like in Australia, rising lending rates have put a major strain on fledgling borrowers.
Much of the financial strain fluctuations reflect the Australian experience; however, the Irish experience appears more intense in some sectors while contending with a lower overall living wage.
Australia’s average yearly salary AU$90,800 far exceeds Ireland’s AU$74,325, while average rent is also far lower in Australia.
Average rent in Dublin now stands above AU$3,800, compared to an average rent of AU$2,376 in major Australian cities.
Meanwhile, the cost of groceries in Ireland rose by 13% in the 12 months leading up to August 2023.
Irish emigration has had a positive impact on Australia, according to Australian immigration experts.
Helen Duncan, CEO of the Migration Institute of Australia, said many Irish immigrants are highly skilled and can help fill ongoing critical skills shortages in Australia.
"A lot of Irish who come here on working holiday visas get jobs pretty easily because a lot of them actually are incredibly skilled," Duncan told News.com.au.
"The last time that many Irish came to Australia was during the mining boom (mid-late 2000s), and I don’t know what Australia would have done without them."
“A lot of Irish who come here on working holiday visas get jobs pretty easily because a lot of them actually are incredibly skilled,” she told news.com.au.
Duncan said many Irish immigrants find jobs in construction or mining, occupations that are currently enduring a drastic shortage.
She said there is no evidence that Irish people are taking Australian jobs or housing, adding that Australia is enjoying the advantage of a "well-skilled" and "hard-working" group of people at a time of need.
Anna Boucher, a global migration expert at the University of Sydney, also stated that there is no evidence to suggest that Australian job availability would be impacted by Irish immigration.
"(The Irish) are probably not going to be displacing Australian workers – they might be actually complimenting them," she told News.com.au.
She said there is also no evidence to suggest any impact on the housing and rental markets in Australia but warned that the issue of racism could quickly arise if such rhetoric is allowed to go unchecked.
"When resources are more scarce, which is what’s happening in Australia now, especially with housing, and you have diversity, then that’s when racism increases."
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