One in four Irish households have seen a family member emigrate in the past four years

Image: final gather

Approximately 205 people leave the country every day, according to a new report from the National Youth Council of Ireland (NYCI). 

The study found that 300,000 people emigrated from Ireland in the last four years with four out of every ten aged between 15 - 24.

'Over the past two years over a quarter of our population has been affected by the emigration of a close family member, and half of our 18 – 24-year-olds have said they would consider emigrating themselves,' said NYCI’s Marie-Claire McAleer.

'So it is vital that this issue is given the consideration it deserves, and that a Government policy response to tackle the issue and support our young emigrants is developed.'

The study also found that four out of ten adults between 25 - 34 have also considered heading abroad.

The report, titled ‘Time to Go?’, is the 'first qualitative study exploring the experience and impact of emigration on Ireland’s youth', according to the NYCI. The results aim to provide an insight into the opportunities and difficulties faced by young Irish emigrants who have headed abroad. Its focus is on young people who emigrated in the last two years.

Speaking on RTÉ's Morning Ireland, Deputy Director of the National Youth Council of Ireland, James Doorley, said that many young Irish people heading abroad faced many issues when they arrived in a new country especially in relation to work and health care.

1003 interviews were conducted in October 2012 among all adults,with 931 being Irish Citizens.

The survey to reflected the official statistics from the CSO last September, which found that emigration from Ireland was up 8% to 87,100 in year to April 2012, with approximately 238 people leaving Ireland every day.

The full report is available via the NYCI website here.