There has been a sharp fall in the number of people travelling in and out of the country in March.
Figures from the Central Statistics Office show overseas visits to Ireland were down 16% on the same month last year to 532,800.
The number of trips made by Irish people abroad was down 15% to 563,700 for the same period.
The CSO said the main factor in the fall in visits to Ireland was a 26% drop in the numbers coming from Britain to 269,400.
The figures may aslo have been affected by the fact that Easter fell in March in 2008.
Trips from North America were down 8% to 59,600, but visits from Continental Europe rose by 2.8% to 190,100.
For the first three months of 2009, trips to Ireland are 9% lower than in the same period a year ago, while trips by Irish people abroad are down 12.6%.
