Elderly return migration from Britain to Ireland: a preliminary study

There has been a long history of migration by Irish people to Britain, with the Irish-born population in Britain numbering 837,464 persons in 1991. This population has a much older age structure than that in the Republic of Ireland. In England and Wales for example, 32 per cent of Irish women and 19 per cent of Irish men are above pensionable age. There is also evidence that a large section of the Irish-born older population in Britain have some desire to return to Ireland. 2. Significant sections of the Irish-born population in Britain seem to have a poor economic and health-related quality of life on a number of indicators. In the areas of housing and finance, this may be due to the economic dislocation generally experienced by first generation migrants. The poorer average health of the Irish-born population on the other hand; is linked to its older age profile.