Emigration on rise to US and Britain
JAMIE SMYTH Social Affairs Correspondent
http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/ireland/2010/0505/1224269734931.html
Wed, May 05, 2010
THE NUMBER of Irish people emigrating to the US increased by 12 per cent last year despite a significant drop in the number of temporary visitors from Ireland.
There was also a slight increase in the number of people from the Republic registering to live and work in Britain in 2009, according to immigration figures compiled by the US and British authorities.
Some 1,637 Irish people were granted legal permanent residence in the US in 2009, up from 1,465 a year earlier. The vast majority (1,066) were granted residence on the basis of having an immediate relative with US citizenship. A further 494 people gained residence on the basis of employment, according to the US department of homeland security.
The rise in emigration to the US mirrors recorded increases in emigration to Canada and Australia in 2009, which experienced 13 per cent and 25 per cent jumps respectively in the number of residence visas issued to Irish nationals.
Figures published by the British department for work and pensions show there was a 7 per cent rise in the number of Irish people registering to work in Britain in the first nine months of 2009.
Some 8,620 people were issued national insurance numbers in Britain up to the end of September, compared to 7,990 in the same period a year earlier. The vast majority of those who registered to work (7,380 people) were between the ages of 18 and 34.
Peter Hammond, director of the London Irish Centre, said there was probably a slight increase in the numbers of Irish people arriving, but it was nothing like the situation in the recession of the 1980s, when there were larger numbers of Irish emigrants.
“People who come here are finding it difficult enough to get work. It’s important to realise the streets of London are not paved with gold,” he said.
Crosscare Migrant Project, which provides advice to people considering emigration, said temporary options of travelling to Australia and Canada continued to be more popular than the US, which has a more cumbersome visa application procedure.
“There continue to be general inquiries about the US but it is simply not as accessible as Canada and Oz for young people who are interested in taking a year or two out doing casual work,” said Joe O’Brien of Crosscare.
Some 18,400 Irish nationals emigrated in the year to April 2009. The Economic and Social Research Institute predicts this trend will continue during 2010 and 2011, with a further 100,000 people leaving the country to travel or find a job.
Despite the increase in emigration the overall number of people travelling to the US for tourism or business fell by 103,893 to 526,017 in 2009. The number of students taking part in exchange visits to the US fell to 11,402 in 2009, down from 13,721 a year earlier. There was also an 11 per cent fall in the number of Irish temporary workers and their families entering the US during 2009.
Usit said the number of J1 visas issued in 2009 was down on the previous year.
“There was probably not one dominant factor but a squeeze on discretionary spending here and the fact that many Irish students may not have wanted to lose their existing part-time jobs by travelling to the US are factors,” said Seona MacRéamoinn of Usit.
Joanne Richardson, chief executive of the American Chamber of Commerce in Ireland, said the recession was clearly affecting tourism and business travel.
© 2010 The Irish Times