One man who recently moved home to Poland from Ireland says he wants to come back as soon as he can.
Polish people are said to have been leaving Ireland in their thousands over the past three years.
This is seen as due to the pandemic, but also rising rents and high house prices.
Latest figures suggest there are some 120,000 Polish citizens living in Ireland.
Lukasz Kozlowski lived here since 2004, but moved back to Poland last year.
He told The Hard Shoulder: "I moved to Poland because of three reasons: the first was the weather.
"We couldn't manage Irish weather for as long as we could.
"The second reason - actually that was the main reason - my father has leukemia.
"So we want to stay together and closer; we have a son, so we wish to have him together.
Lukasz Kozlowski and his family. Picture: Supplied"And another reason was the house: my wife said 'We are over 40-years-old, so it's time to have our place... not for rent."
He is now hoping to work for an Irish company in Poland, but admits he misses the country.
"I miss Ireland a lot - and to be honest, if my wife will agree I'm ready to pack my bags and go back to Ireland ASAP".
He says while his Irish salary wouldn't get him a house here, it was the opposite in Poland.
"I had a good job and my salary was quite OK, but I couldn't get a mortgage for the house.
"I was just surprised when the lady in the bank told me that I will not be able to pay mortgage.
"I paid €700 for rent, and my mortgage would be around €500/€550 - that was surprising.
"There's nothing we can do, there's no time for discussion with the bank. But here in Poland I got my mortgage just based on my Irish salary.
"On the other side I couldn't get it on the Polish salary".
'Not so likely to go back'
The Polish ambassador to Ireland, Anna Sochanska, believes there are two categories of people who come here.
"First category would be people like Lukasz - Lukasz was forced to leave Ireland because of his father.
"But people who [have] grown their roots into the Irish soul, and they have children at school and they are established families.
"And there are younger people, in their 20s/30s, who came to Ireland just to earn some money and to go back home.
"My impression is that the first category would be the category of people who would not so likely like to go back."
And she says the economic balance that was once in Ireland is no longer as clear.
"Ireland was always perceived as one of the most expensive countries, but this was balanced by high pay and by a stable economy.
"And now this difference is not so evident... people cannot afford a mortgage.
"If they rent a flat, they are not sure if they will not receive an e-mail from the landlord that they will have to leave in a couple of weeks.
"So this is not stable, and this is I think the most important problem for the Polish people".
