The Journal leads this morning with news that almost 1 in 10 (8%) people aged between 18 and 34 say they are actively planning to emigrate from Ireland. One of the main reasons for the figure is housing, and the article says the "level of emigration among young people has spiked concerns – particularly from the front-line public sector  – that the country is running out of educated young workers."

The polling reveals that private renters are more likely to consider emigrating: "While the economy is set to grow and inflations rates are set to fall over the next two years, these forecasts are flanked by warnings from the Central Bank that say the State must get its act together on housing first for those estimations to come true."

Other top news stories today include a revision to the legal age for tobacco sales and the University of Limerick is seeking Revenue mitigation from interest and any penalties on a €1 million tax bill, after its purchase of 20 student homes in the mistaken belief that the deal was exempt from stamp duty. 

Ireland's Climate Change Advisory Council (CCAC) has warned the Government that delays and appeals in the planning process are hindering progress in scaling up electricity generation using renewable energy and must be urgently addressed.

Elsewhere, Aer Lingus has reported an operating loss of €82 million for the first quarter of 2024. Last year the airline reported an operating profit of €225 million, up almost 300% on its 2022 performance. 

Finally, Brianna Parkins had this piece in Saturday's Irish Times, about the supposed phenomenon of 'quiet quitting', which includes some good insights from ICTU's Dr Laura Bambrick.

Zen

Your social media and/or your WhatsApp feed was probably full of images of the Northern Lights / Aurora Borealis on Saturday morning. I was alerted to Friday night's light show by excited neighbours, and we enjoyed the rare and lovely celestial phenomenon.

Have a great Fórsa conference week.

Niall