In some ways, you can consider Ireland as a small regional labour market in Europe, and migration – both in and out – is an inescapable part of our social and economic history.
In our most recent Central Bank Quarterly Bulletin, we noted that reaching the limits of domestic sources to meet labour demand inevitability means a greater role for inward migration to support sustainable employment growth.24 In the last two years, three quarters of growth in the working age population came from inward migration – from both EU and nonEU countries, including many returning Irish immigrants.