§ Mr. Proctorasked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many citizens of the Republic of Ireland were estimated to have entered and left the United Kingdom in each of the past five years; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. Geoffrey FinsbergMigration between the United Kingdom and the Irish Republic is not measured directly at the points of arrival and departure. However, information on persons whose usual address has changed328W as compared with one year earlier is collected in the biennial EEC labour force survey that is carried out in both countries. The results indicate that the numbers of persons aged 16 and over migrating from the Irish Republic to the United Kingdom averaged just under 10,000 persons a year during the period 1975 to 1981. The corresponding figure for migrants aged 15 and over to the Irish Republic from the United Kingdom was about 13,000 persons a year.
These figures cover citizens of all countries. Although information on nationality is collected in these surveys the relevant tabulations are not available.