THE SAYING GOES that the grass is always greener on the other side. It’s a clichéd expression we often hear when comparing ourselves to someone else, and over the past two years, whilst Ireland grappled with Covid-19 restrictions, it was a phrase that regularly came to mind for me personally. I regularly compared our situation to other countries in the EU, and how it often felt like we had the strictest measures to limit the spread of the Coronavirus.
I finished my degree last June, and after a year of both working and studying remotely from my childhood bedroom, I missed out on an in-person graduation from NUI Galway in August because of restrictions.
Like many my age, I felt disenfranchised and I neared burnout because there was a lack of things to look forward to. There were no music festivals or concerts, or nightclubs to let off steam in, and pubs were closing at 11.30 pm.
I was living at home, and if I wanted to move back to Galway, or Cork or Dublin, I would have been paying nearly half my monthly salary to rent a room where I would still be working from home. It didn’t seem worth it, and after applying for graduate jobs, I was fortunate enough to be accepted to a five-month Schuman Traineeship in the European Parliament in Brussels.
On the move
When I moved to Belgium in September, I thought I would return to Ireland when my internship finished in February. However, living in Brussels has me considering a master’s or further job opportunities in mainland Europe, and I don’t want to return home yet.
The quality of life is a lot better here, and rent is a lot cheaper. For example, a three-bedroom apartment in Brussels in 2020 would have cost €1,300 compared to the same apartment in Dublin for €2.800.
For a double room, just seven minutes walk from the European Parliament, my rent is currently €550 with all energy bills included. My landlord is responsive and has fixed any problems with our apartment within days, which is a more positive experience than I’ve had in the past in Ireland.
Train tickets to other cities in Belgium are cheap and cheerful, and I’ve done more travelling in five months in Europe than I was able to in the past two and a half years in Ireland. A return train to Paris from Brussels costs on average €60-100 depending on when you book, and the 261-kilometre journey only takes one hour and 20 minutes.
Considering that the same distance from Dublin to Killarney would take you three hours and 20 minutes, at €42.49 return, you would wonder why Ireland’s public transport infrastructure is not as far advanced as its European counterparts, given how pricey it is.
Loss of certainty
Despite Ireland removing most pandemic restrictions, the country is now facing a fresh crisis – this time a hike in the cost of living. New statistics released on 17 February show that consumer prices are on average 5% higher in January 2022 than they were this time last year.
The cost of housing and rent in Ireland has also steadily been increasing over the past two years over various lockdowns, and it is becoming increasingly difficult to source accommodation in Irish cities with affordable rent. Public transport is nearly non-existent in rural counties, and discussions about a Metro in Dublin have all but resulted in a can being kicked down the road to 2034.
Amid this crisis in the cost of living, young people are being left behind, already well locked out of the housing market. A study of 1,001 professionals by LinkedIn in January revealed that almost three-quarters of professionals with up to two years’ experience are considering changing jobs in 2022 and that 26% of people felt that they missed out on up to €6,000 by staying in their current job during the pandemic.
House prices in Ireland are 77.7% higher than the EU average, and we have the highest cost of third-level education in the EU.
I hear regularly from my friends that they are frustrated by the cost of living in Ireland, and how they would love to leave for a while. Some have already emigrated to work or study in the likes of France, Spain, Germany, and the UK, while others have plans to go soon.
I never wanted to leave Ireland growing up. I saw what the recession did in 2008 to my aunts and uncles. Some of them left to go to the UK, Scotland, and Canada because there were no opportunities for them at home. I remember being told that the same thing wouldn’t happen to me because things would get better by the time I was in my 20s.
What next?
Life is certainly different now than it was back in 2008. Ireland’s economy has recovered, but with it, high inflation has brought seemingly uncontrollable costs of living. The European Commission has predicted that Ireland’s economy will grow overall by 14.6% in 2022, but that inflation will hit 2.3% this year and 3.1% next year.
Not only are young professionals struggling with rising costs, but they are missing out on the important social and learning aspect of simple things like being in an office environment. Not to mention that there’s no sign of progressive nightlife measures being introduced to try and rejuvenate post-pandemic Irish society.
And when it comes to the big picture, let’s be honest, people of our generation need to see progress and need to see it fast, but the political class has let us down. We are the people staring down climate catastrophe, and yet we have to contend with piecemeal politics, where even the failure of the smallest of proactive environmental and lifestyle measures such as a trial cycle path in Salthill are just so disheartening.
What we are going to end up seeing is a rise in brain drain, with young people of all ages fleeing Ireland for better opportunities elsewhere. When there are cities with more flexible rent strategies, more progressive nightlife cultures, cheaper education costs and better public transport facilities, young people will not stay here.
Investment in youth opportunities is key to improving society in Ireland, as like most things, what you invest, you get back tenfold. It’s more than time we started that investment.
Conor Brummell is a young communications professional and freelance journalist. He has just completed a Schuman Traineeship in the European Parliament.
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