Housing crisis and key workers

Sir, – I spent a couple of months in Australia last year where I met numerous Irish-trained nurses and teachers. They were all enjoying the Australian work, pay scales and lifestyle but in the majority of cases they would love to return to work in Dublin. Many wanted to be near their parents and family and friends but could not even contemplate the cost of renting in Dublin. When I visited Dubai, I met a group of Irish-trained teachers. They informed me that between Saudi and Dubai there were 7,000 Irish teachers.

Surely no one can dispute there is a real shortage of nurses in our health system. More gardaí are leaving than joining, and teachers are becoming as scarce as hen’s teeth.

If these very valuable persons are leaving in their thousands, then Ireland definitely has a major problem which will impact Ireland as an attractive country for inward investment, and our surplus billions of foreign tax receipts will be at risk.

Something has to be done to keep our future key workers at home and make it affordable and attractive for our exiles to return. – Yours, etc,