Madam, – I am one of the lucky few in this country; I have a job and was too young to buy a house during the Celtic Tiger. I do not know the pain of negative equity.
Yet since I graduated I have watched a steady stream of friends leave for foreign shores in search of work. Some left to do their Master’s abroad; they thought they’d only be gone for a year. Next year they’ll be gone three years. They have new jobs, new lives and new friends and some will never come home. They’ve unofficially emigrated.
My generation is emigrating and long-distance relationships and friendships are becoming increasingly frequent. Most have left for London, a 50-minute trip on a flight but still a different country. The Government talks of a smart economy being the future, but it has let some of the smartest and brightest that availed of free fees leave the country in droves.
We are told in the news that the numbers signing on are decreasing but we are not told how many are leaving the country. This Budget is the final nail in a coffin that has been sealed for a long time.
At least now with a decrease in the travel tax it won’t cost quite as much to leave for those who can. I am one of the lucky few: I have a job, so for now I will stay. – Yours, etc,