Ireland’s Future: The Country for Old Men

A couple of weeks ago, a friend shared a photo of their son in Sydney, Australia. It looked like a picture of a soccer team. It was him and twelve of his classmates who had all emigrated from Ireland. They were smiling with the healthy glow of youth and sunshine.

I’ve been thinking about that image of late as I’ve been talking to friends who tell me of their children in London, in Toronto, and in Melbourne.

Stories of parents working to balance their sense of loss against the opportunities for their children, centered around a common consolation: a refrain of, “It’s for the best”.

Emigration has been the safety valve for failed government policies for generations.

This year, around 35,000 people have left from the South. Rising rents and no hope of homeownership place accommodation out of reach. For this generation leaving Ireland is “for the best”. That is how low expectations have fallen.

Landlords line their pockets, vulture funds swell their bottom line, and we all pay the cost.

The housing crisis is undermining our economy, increasing costs of living, and depleting our labor force. Public services cannot recruit doctors, nurses, teachers, or police officers. Dublin is the second most expensive capital in Europe, and costs are rising. All due to the policies of Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael.

Emigration should be an informed choice made a route home as part of the plan if that’s what’s preferred. It should never be a forced choice or “for the best”, because our best is now leaving.

It does not have to be this way.

The South is a wealthy state with a huge surplus. We should be living in a state that provides opportunities for our young people to live their best lives here as they work, raise families, and build a better Ireland. Instead, they are being raised for export.

The coming election is an opportunity to break from the past and elect the first-ever Sinn Féin government. A government that will undo failed policies and build homes. A government that will stem the tide of emigration and build a pathway back to Ireland.

We can do better. A new and united Ireland can be a home to all. We can realize the legacy of Bobby Sands who dreamt of the days when our revenge would be the laughter of our children.

The generation that has been forced into exile “for the best” needs to find a voice in the coming election. They may be denied a vote but they should still be heard.

Those who have been forced to emigrate should be part of setting the agenda for this election, demanding a better Ireland where they can return home, and calling out the failures of the government of Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael.

When the election is called, our exiled children can call for a government of change and a route home.