Ireland was hit extremely hard by the recession, FAR more so than the United Kingdom.
Added to which a sense of protectionism (waning admittedly) which made it extremely hard to actually get employment.
Even today there are still hundreds of thousands out of work.
I would say it is particulary disengenuous for people here to insinuate that British nationals who have emigrated (or just moved for periods of time) are less likely to seek employment than people with no skills moving through multiple countries to seek the one with the most beneficial system....
Germany has *massively* higher immigration than the UK. You aren't entitled to any unemployment benefit on arrival (until you have held down a job for a year).
Guess immigrants are coming to work, not scrounge....