Letters

Leaving for Australia

Living and renting Down Under

Thu Jan 18 2024 - 00:10

Sir, – I refer to Laura Kennedy’s article from Australia where she makes some erroneous assertions in relation to emigration from Ireland and the cost of renting living accommodation in Australia (“Thousands of young Irish are leaving but it’s not ‘for the craic’”, Abroad, January 17th). According to the Central Statistics Office, the year ended April 30th, 2023, was the first year since 2016 in which more Irish-born people left the country than returned from living abroad. The excess was 900, with emigration of 30,500 compared with immigration of 29,600. In all previous years there was net immigration of Irish-born people into the country. Personally, I regard the experience which these retuning Irish bring with them to be a very positive influence on the country and I welcome their decision to go and live elsewhere for a number of years. As to the cost of accommodation, I would refer Laura Kennedy to the well-documented crisis in Sydney, Melbourne and other Australian cities which was publicised last autumn and highlighted that rents had risen by 30 per cent in Sydney between 2020 and 2023 while asking prices for a room in a shared house were running at $600 Australian (€363) per week. In Melbourne, average rents rose 15 per cent in 2023, with a prediction of a further increase of between 5 per cent to 10 per cent this year. – Yours, etc,

MICHAEL CAWLEY,

Delgany,

Co Wicklow.

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Sir, – It’s interesting to read Laura Kennedy’s article on moving to Australia, citing the fact of 21,000 Irish people using working holiday visas to go there last year. Perhaps now she’s there she’ll find less to complain about and start writing more cheerful articles. There’s full employment here now so perhaps people like to travel and enjoy the sunshine, which is perfectly normal. – Yours, etc,

TINA DERMODY,

Blessington,

Co Wicklow.