A new survey has highlighted a troubling trend among Ireland's youth, with an increasing number of young people expressing a desire to leave the country in search of better opportunities. The Central Statistics Office's 'Growing Up In Ireland' survey showed the country's youth, particularly those in their 20s, thinking about moving away from Ireland, saying they don't really "see the future" in the country.
According to the Irish broadcaster RTE, the survey also found that 34% had difficulties making ends meet, and more than one in 20 said they had great difficulty making ends meet. It found 86% were very concerned about access to housing in Ireland. The study showed nearly one third of women (31%) had been diagnosed with either depression or anxiety at some point in their lives compared to 18% of men. One in eight of the respondents contacted to take part in the survey had emigrated.
A majority of the men (51%) in the group with degree-level education engaged in drinking alcohol to a level that the World Health Organisation (WHO) categorises as hazardous or dangerous.
Meanwhile, a majority of the respondents (58.5%) were in a romantic relationship, and almost one in five, or 20%, said they had no interest in politics.
The study, called the 'Growing Up In Ireland Cohort '98', interviews the same group of people who were born in 1998 as it follows them from childhood to adulthood.
The group have been interviewed at the ages of nine, 13, 17, 20 and 25. There were 3,380 respondents to the survey.
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