Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 23 April 2026
262. Deputy Paul Lawless asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science if his Department collects or monitors data on the rate of youth emigration; the number of post-graduates who remain in the country after achieving their degree; and the number who leave, from each faculty; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [22114/26]
Amharc ar fhreagraI thank the Deputy for his question.
For clarity, the information I am providing refers to the outcomes of postgraduates (that is, people who have completed postgraduate qualifications).
Information on the destination of postgraduates is contained in the Graduate Outcomes Survey. This is a nationally representative survey of graduates across the higher education system, which is conducted annually by the HEA, and takes place nine months after graduation. The most recent report covers the Class of 2024, with results published in November 2025.
Overall, the most recent Survey found that 86.9% of respondents were employed, with 2.9% in further study, and the remaining 10.3% seeking employment or engaged in other activities.
Regarding the location of postgraduates, 87.4% of those in employment were employed on the island of Ireland.
The survey further breaks down employment location by field of study. For those employed from education related courses, 95.5% were employed on the island of Ireland, the highest across all fields of study. For those employed from arts and humanities related courses, this figure was 77.0%, the lowest across all fields of study.
Regarding Youth emigration, the CSO’s annual Population and Migration Estimates publication provides the total number of people emigrating, broken down by age group.
In its most recent publication, covering the period May 2024 to April 2025, the CSO estimated that 21,500 people between the ages of 15 and 24 emigrated during that period. This was a reduction from 24,600 the previous year.
