Sharon Keogan (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I raise the issue of Ireland's future and what the Government’s plans for it are. Two areas of importance relate to the brain drain and birthrates. It is no secret that many Irish people and foreign nationals are educated in Ireland at the taxpayers' expense only to move abroad and take their education, experience and social capital elsewhere. While, of course, the free legal movement of people can be of benefit and Ireland has a long history of emigration, it does somewhat amount to money out of our pockets and into those of other countries, which will receive income tax from people who have been educated and paid for by the Irish taxpayer. Of course, tax is not the be-all and end-all; it is more so the case that we really need those people here.

One of the sectors in which this phenomenon is most often observed is healthcare. Irish doctors and nurses flee the country on qualifying because there are many greener pastures for our young healthcare professionals. Their vacant posts are then filled by immigrants who are also leaving a worse country or situation for a better one. The point is often made when we debate immigration that the HSE could not run without immigrants and it is presented as a sort of 'gotcha' moment to those who propose decreased immigration, but the question is never asked as to why our national healthcare system is reliant on the labour of foreign persons or whether it is desirable that it is. Why is our healthcare system, the most expensive in the EU by some metrics, so bad that our young doctors and nurses flee the country to escape working in it? Maybe if young professionals had any reasonable expectations of a place to live, that might make them stay, but they do not, of course.Earlier this year, a poll found that when young people in Ireland aged 18 to 24 were asked if the accommodation crisis would make them consider leaving Ireland, 75% said "Yes". The brain drain affects every sector, even Cabinet, as we are set to lose the Minister, Deputy Donohoe, to the IMF, and maybe the Minister, Deputy McGrath, to Europe. I hope this is not a sign of the sinking ship.

Last week, we had to address Ireland's population graph and its demographics. Countries across the EU are starting to wake up to just how much trouble will be caused by Europe's collapsing birth rates. As populations age, new workers must be found to pay for the elderly. Some countries, such as Germany, have turned to immigration to try to solve this. This approach brings its own problems. Ireland's birth rate has decreased steadily since 2008. It is down by 20% in the last ten years. It is a demographic time bomb. Is the Government aware if this? If so, what Minister will do something to address it?