A NEW POLL has found that Irish people are not hopeful that our current crop of emigrants will ever return to live permanently here.

The Ispos MRBI poll, conducted on behalf of the Irish Times, found that 59 per cent of those surveyed believe that recent emigrants will stay away from Ireland for good. Almost exactly one-third of those surveyed – at 33 per cent – believe that those who have left the country recently will return at some point. Eight per cent didn’t express an opinion.

However, one’s political persuasion or geographical location in the country seems to have a bearing on the level of pessimism about emigrants’ future. Those surveyed who were living in Munster were most pessimistic about the possibility of a return home while those in Connaught and Ulster were more optimistic that the move abroad was temporary. Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael supporters were found to be more likely to believe the emigration was temporary while Sinn Féin, independent and Labour supporters erred on the pessimistic side.

Last month, the CSO released figures that showed emigration rose sharply in the 12 months from April 2010 to April 2011. The number of Irish nationals who emigrated in that time rose from 27,700 to 40,200. Irish people also constituted the highest proportion of emigrants from the country. (They counted for 53 per cent of the 76,400 emigrants who left the country in the 12 months up to April 2011.)