Worse Than The 1980s: 1,000 Per Week Emigrate From Ireland

The equivalent of the entire population of Galway city will emigrate from Ireland over the next 12 months.

New figures show up to 60,000 people will have left the country between April of last year and April of this year.

And a further 40,000 will be forced to move overseas in the following 12 months.

The State's economic think-tank, the ESRI, which produced the figures, says that amounts to around one thousand people per week.

And it's a higher rate than was reached at any time during the bleak years of the 1980s.

Job prospects remain poor too, with the organization predicting that 25,000 more jobs will be lost this year.

It predicts unemployment will remain at around 13.5% this year, one of the highest in the EU and double the rate in Germany.

Worryingly, long-term unemployment - defined as being out of work for more than 12 months - is now at 6.5%, and particularly severe among people aged 15-24.

Canada, Australia, Eastern Europe, the UK and America remain the most popular destinations for young people travelling abroad to seek work.

The ESRI predicts the economy will grow by 1.5% in 2011, with exports increasing by 6%.

However, most job creation comes from the indigenous sector and the combination of tax increases and austerity measures means there are little signs of consumer confidence recovering.

"We really need to see Irish consumers going out again and spending before we see a significant employment pick up," said Prof Alan Barrett, ESRI.

"Given the state of consumer confidence, given what people are looking at in terms of the stability of their jobs, concerns about their wages, concerns about their tax bills, it's very hard to see Irish consumers reacting positively over the next number of years.

"So we see consumption as being somewhat depressed, and as a result the employment picture is depressed as well."

It's an astonishing turnaround in two years.

In the decade to 2008, almost 400,000 immigrants came to Ireland to live and work.