Marie Claire McAleer

As the economy starts to show signs of recovery, the Government must consider ways to facilitate return migration. It needs to forge closer links with young Irish emigrants, and to adopt a long-term approach to facilitate their future return: in three, five or even 10 years.

With a more sophisticated global employment market, there is a question mark over whether or not this wave of young Irish emigrants will return. In the past year, there has been a decline in the number of Irish nationals returning. Failure to attract young emigrants back will have serious social and economic policy implications in the future.

On the other hand, significant return migration would play a significant role in the recovery of Ireland’s economy. Almost half of all emigrants are third-level graduates; the majority of those who left in the past year were either employed or students prior to leaving. Any future upturn in the economy requires a pool of educated and skilled young people to stimulate and sustain economic growth.

There are many impediments to return migration. Availability of employment is a key factor of course, but there are other issues.

I have asked emigrants around the world for their views on what the Government should do to support a process of future return to Ireland. Some spoke about attitudinal barriers, others identified structural ones.

Deterrents included: poor infrastructure; precarious working conditions and poor salaries; lack of career opportunities and limited career progression options in Ireland; the inability to have a career outside of Dublin; lack of affordable quality housing; the cost of health care and health insurance; high taxes; the increasing cost of living; difficulty accessing school places, and the high cost of childcare.

One young emigrant told me recently that, despite a yearning to come back, she felt a return would be “quite an isolating process. Some sort of Governmental assistance would certainly be a step towards supporting, encouraging and indeed welcoming return migrants home.”

Another told me that although he really wants to come home in the future, he is concerned about not being able to use the skills, capital and expertise he had acquired whilst abroad.

In addition, there are attitudinal barriers. One emigrant who participated in NYCI’s Time to Go? research study, said it “it feels very much like, you’re gone now, goodbye and good luck and nobody really cares.” Another talked about a “kind of benign neglect of emigrants abroad.”

There have been recent improvements. We are delighted to see the recent appointment of a new Minister of State for the Diaspora. The CSO now provides data on the level of educational attainment and economic status of migrants at the point of migration. The announcement of a strategic review of diaspora policy is also a significant development.

But while we are encouraged by these developments, there is no room for complacency. Substantial work remains to be done to stem the tide of young people having to leave Ireland at present and to provide the opportunities for them to return in the future

This is an edited address by Marie Claire McAleer of the National Youth Council of Ireland to the NYCI’s conference on youth migration and return this week. It appears in Weekend Review today.