Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank Deputy Farrell but I think the statistics paint a different picture. They are not my statistics but those of the Central Statistics Office. The Deputy will probably have seen that they were revised upwards during the Christmas period. They show the number of Irish citizens returning to this country significantly outstrips the number of Irish citizens leaving this country. There is a narrative out there, a statistically false one, that more Irish citizens are leaving the country than are coming back. The Deputy has not said that today. If we look at the CSO data for 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021 and 2022, all of which is published and available, we see significantly more Irish citizens - tens of thousands more - came back to Ireland than left during that period. The figure was revised by the CSO relatively recently.

There can never be room for complacency. Right across the world there is a battle for talent. One of the biggest issues we experience in public services and private industry is the recruitment and retention of our talent. Therefore it is important that we continue our annual survey. The point about apprentices that the Deputy's question has brought up is valid in terms of how we can gain more data on that. I am very happy to share the information I have with her.

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