asked the Taoiseach the figures for emigration for the most recent 12 month period.

The only reliable estimates of migration flows relate to net migration and are compiled for inter-censal periods by relating population figures from successive censuses to data for births and deaths in the same period.

A tentative estimate of the net population movement made for the year ended mid-April 1980 indicates a net inward flow of 20,000. This estimate is subject to revision when the 1981 census results become available.