Michael Noonan: criticised by opposition for calling emigration "a free choice of lifestyle" and saying there were young people constantly leaving and returning to Ireland. Photograph: Niall Carson/PA Wire

Is emigration a lifestyle choice?

Yesterday, Minister for Finance Michael Noonan described emigration as a “free choice of lifestyle” and said there were young people constantly leaving and returning to Ireland.

He gave the example of three of his grown-up children, all of whom were living outside Ireland by choice. “It’s not being driven by unemployment at home, it’s being driven by a desire to see another part of the world and live there,” he said.

Read Harry McGee’s article about Noonan’s remarks here.

Have your say: Do you agree with Noonan, that emigration is a lifestyle choice? Or are his comments an “insult to the thousands of young people who had been forced to leave” as the opposition claim?