EU continues to fall from grace among Irish people, poll shows

THE Irish love affair with the EU appears to be waning with a drop in support for membership for the third survey in a row.

A growing number of people also believe they do not benefit from EU membership, despite receiving over €45 billion from the union over the past 30 years, or €9,000 per citizen. But the Irish can still not be described as eurosceptics since 67% still believe membership is a good thing the third highest in the 15-member Union, while only 5% believe it to be a bad thing.

There has been a drop in support for enlargement due to become a reality next May and the public's attitude towards the US has soured slightly since the invasion of Iraq.