Irish people in Australia explain why they left as 20,000 flock Down Under in one year

Over 20,000 Irish citizens were granted working holiday visas in Australia in the 12 months to June 2023. 

That's according to the Department of Home Affairs, which confirmed 21,029 Irish people applied for a Working Holiday visa during this time period, doubling on the previous year's numbers (10,077 applications). 

The figures place Ireland in the number three position behind France (26,504 applications) and the United Kingdom (37,669 applications). 

Over 17,000 of Ireland's applications were first Working Holiday visa applications, compared to approximately 7,500 the previous year, while 2,036 were for second Working Holiday visas, marking an increase of over 800% on the 12 months to June 2022 (225 applications). 

It paints a picture of Irish emigrants choosing to stay in Australia rather than return home to Ireland where the cost of living crisis is ongoing. 

However, applications for a Third Working Holiday visa are down by 87% (from 908 in the year to June 2022 to just 115 in the year to June 2023). 

According to a report published by the Central Statistics Office (CSO) in April 2023, 141,600 immigrants came to Ireland in the 12 months to the end of April 2023, marking a 16 year high. 

Of those immigrants, almost 30,000 were returning Irish citizens. 

However, over 64,000 people departed Ireland in the 12 months to April 2023 compared with 56,100 in the same period the previous year, making it one of the highest figures in recent years. 

Reacting to the news that over 21,000 Irish citizens have received Working Holiday visas in Australia over the past year, Irish TikTok user Kerry Fairy said, "First of all I think this is really sad that Irish people have to actually leave their country to have a good life. Second of all I think it's actually just embarrassing because the average salary in Ireland is closer to forty grand and to buy a house in Ireland is like quarter of a million. 

"There's no life there, it's actually making Irish people hate their own country. 

"We live to work, that's all we do. But in Australia, [it's] not only the weather, but the standard of living and wages compared to back home, that's why it's really scary because if you move here you will not want to go home." 

According to News.com.au, Brisbane scaffolder Joe Kelly also posted a TikTok video explaining why he left Ireland for greener pastures in Australia. 

He said, "I'm on double the wages I was on back home doing the exact same job and I was on a good wage back home. I have a house which is $350 a week rent. The quality of life is just better, I'm not going around depressed out of my head all day.

"Ireland is just such a negative place at the minute, everything is so expensive, no one has anything for themselves, so for any young person that's thinking about moving away and to make a life for themselves, I highly recommend it. You won't get a chance like it back home. At least out here they give you a chance." 

Sinn Féin's Mairéad Farrell recently brought up the ongoing exodus of Irish people in Dáil Éireann this week (January 18 2024). 

Directing a question to the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Simon Harris, Deputy Farrell asked: "What work is being undertaken by the Department to ensure that current students and apprentices are retained here? I ask the Minister to make a statement on the matter." 

The Minister cited a Higher Education Authority (HEA) survey of 70,000 graduates in 2022, showing 83% were in employment and over 10% were engaging in further study. 

He said, "This shows that the overwhelming majority of graduates are choosing to stay in Ireland after graduation and to work and do further study here." 

In regards to apprentices, the Minister acknowledged data is currently not collected in relation to this area, but that Deputy Farrell "raised a valid point" which he will pursue. 

He said, "The sense we have from engagement is that the majority of apprentices stay with the employer they train with for a period after they are fully certified. That makes logical sense but we could do with more data in this area." 

Bringing up the recent data showing over 21,000 Irish citizens have received Working Holiday visas in Australia in the last year, Deputy Farrell said, "This will not come as a surprise to any of us because we see it in our friendship groups and neighbourhoods. With the number of people going to Australia, it feel like it did when I came out of college or did the leaving certificate in the 2008 period.

"According to The Sunday Times, between July 2022 and July 2023, 21,525 holiday permits were granted. That makes us the largest recipient per capita of this kind of visa, ahead of Britain, France and Germany. We keep hearing that the economy is doing well but very clearly something is going wrong for young people here that they feel there is no alternative to going to Australia.

"Of course, there will always be an element who want to go and travel, see the world and all that kind of thing, but when there is that level of an increase there is clearly something amiss." 

Minister Harris disagreed with this analysis, and cited revised CSO data which shows that although 30,000 people who came back to Ireland in the 12 months to April 2023 were returning Irish citizens, just over 30,000 Irish citizens left the country during that same time, leading to a net migration figure of almost zero. 

Deputy Farrell said, "The reality is 21,000 young people went to Australia last year, which is a massive increase from the previous year. Obviously there is something amiss here. We are not in the age group where our friends who had left are coming back or hoping to come back and are trying to raise a family.

"Fundamentally, the housing crisis is having a severe impact on that. In recent years, I have been to countless weddings and a large number of those who got married some years ago are still living with their parents as a married couple because they have nowhere to go. They cannot get a mortgage if they have been abroad. They find it impossible to get a full-time permanent job. As a result, they cannot get a mortgage. They cannot get planning and they find the rents are very high.

"The Minister and I can argue the point about the numbers. I do not have the figures in front of me. However, we do have the figure of 21,000 and we know that is a doubling. We need to look at why so many young people are leaving and we need to try to deal with that."