The high number of young people leaving Ireland for faraway places like Australia is extremely worrying for parents and grandparents, Ciara Kelly has warned.

Immigration to Ireland is at a 17 year high, according to the CSO, with almost 150,000 people moving to the country in the 12 months to April this year.

At the same time, 69,000 people left the country - with the statistics office noting just under half were aged between 25 and 44. 

They also said there has been a “strong outward flow” to Australia with 10,600 people leaving for a new life Down Under - the highest number since 2013.

On Newstalk Breakfast presenter Ciara Kelly said it is a trend that worries her.

 

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“Largely because my kids are of that demographic - they are young adults, late teens, that kind of age that they are certainly talking about emigrating,” she said. 

“My eldest lad went to Australia 12 months ago, he’s back currently because he’s going to go back into education for a while but is there a bit of excitement and a bit of adventuring [to it]?

“There is but there’s more than that - him and his friends all believe absolutely 100% that they can’t afford to move out and move into Dublin or Cork or wherever and rent somewhere.” 

People celebrating Christmas from Bronte Beach, Sydney, Australia. Image: Jack McGarry

Ciara said that, even though Australia is also an expensive country, many young people believe “the grass is greener somewhere else” and she worries one of her children might leave and never come back. 

“We do know that every time we have a recession - and we’re certainly not in a recession now but we have a housing pinch point - that people go for economic reasons,” she said. 

“I don’t want my kids to have to go anywhere, I don’t want my kids to have to live on the other side of the world to me and potentially my grandkids.

“It freaks me out a bit.”

The Sydney Opera House. Picture by: Mark Hertzberg/ZUMA Wire.

Co-presenter Shane Coleman said housing is “undoubtedly an issue”. 

“It comes back to the conversation we had yesterday about the delays in infrastructure,” he said. 

“A lot of the politicians jumping up and down on this are politicians who also object to housing developments in their constituencies and I think that’s a problem as well.” 

“I do think lots of people are going to Australia for fun and adventure.”

According to the Irish Embassy in Australia, there are around 27,000 Irish people living in Down Under on temporary visas.

Main image: Ciara Kelly in the studio. Image: Newstalk