With unemployment standing at 14.4% and rising, and with the economy still contracting (GNP down by 2.2% last quarter), why on Earth are the the people of Ireland not taking to the streets like their counterparts in countries like Greece and Spain? While some grumble about the poor weather I am inclined to see emigration as the primary dampener, not the rain. Emigration is rather high in Ireland in comparison to the size of the population and has been rising throughout the recession. Furthermore many of these emigrants are young. January to April this year saw a 45% increase on last year with 33,100 emigrants in the 15-24 age group and 34,400 in the 24-44 age group and only 7,200 who were above 44.
Given that the average instigator of a riot tends to be a newly graduated unemployed male it is unsurprising that the high levels of emigrating have, in effect, prevented large scale protest. Not only does the high level of emigrating reduce the overall unemployment rate (thus leaving those who stay less affected) it also saps the country of the energetic and angry youths who would be on the streets in Spain or Greece, or indeed the Arab world. This high level of emigration seems integral to the Taoiseach Kenny's strategy. Not only does it prevent any major protest against his punitive budget cuts but it also leaves an Ireland with a much older population and given that older people tend to vote for Fine Gael that can't be a bad thing in his eyes.
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