EU survey: 90% of Irish happy with life

DESPITE Ireland’s dire economic state, more than 90% of its people say they are happy with their lives, and more than half say they are in fact very satisfied.

And good as it is, many expect things to get even better in the next 12 months — in this we are second only to Germany.

In the unhappy league are our fellow austerity club sinners, Greece and Portugal.

Five of the six AAA-rated countries were positive about their economies with the French being negative about their present and future.

However, like the Greeks, 90% of Irish agree things are a lot worse than five years ago, and some even expect this deterioration to continue over the next 12 months.

Generally the Irish are among the biggest complainers when it comes to the cost of living, with 87% saying it is too high, while three quarters find energy too costly.

The one slightly bright spot on the horizon is the cost of housing. With house prices having almost halved in some parts of the country, the public feel they are getting closer to what they would consider reasonable.

The prices are more affordable than they were last year and certainly more so than five years ago, according to those questioned for the EU survey. They remain pessimistic about being able to afford to buy a house next year too, but they are not as negative as the Greeks and Portuguese — or those at the top of the pile, Germany.

Public administration has received a pretty damning rating, coming just above those of Latvia, Romania and Greece — despite the latter two being noted for inefficiency and corruption.

Perhaps reflecting the huge cuts in spending on equality and poverty issues, 58% said they way they were addressed were bad — an increase of 25% over the last year.

Three quarters of those questioned considered that relations with other nationality and religious groups in the country were good, although some thought they had deteriorated.

More than half rated the health service as bad and expect it to get worse. But despite a big proportion of pension schemes being in trouble, 38% thought pensions provision was good.

When asked about unemployment benefits, more than half described them as good but, perhaps anticipating budget warnings, most expected that to change over the coming year.

Social Affairs Commissioner Laszlo Andor said the survey highlighted the growing gap between countries compared to 2010, with the situation in wealthier countries improving and the countries at the bottom of the scale worsening.

“Putting growth, employment and social cohesion on an equal footing is vital for Europe’s recovery because achieving real prosperity also means taking well-being into account when measuring our progress,” he said.