Most Irish people want more economic governance from EU

More than three-quarters of Irish people are in favour of stronger EU economic governance, according to Eurobarometer poll results published today.

Along with the Finns, Ireland showed a 13% rise in those who want stronger European measures and coordination to combat the economic crisis, with a total of 77% in favour.

When asked how they felt about the national economic situation, 95% of Irish people polled think things are very or rather bad – as compared to an EU average of 77%.

The most pessimistic of all are the Greeks (98%) and the Hungarians (96%). When asked about the national employment situation, 97% of Irish people polled were pessimistic, third most gloomy in the EU, behind the Greeks and the Spanish.

The overall EU average was 83%. On the other hand, the Swedes are the least pessimistic about their national economy in the EU, at 26%.

Even while remaining bleak about the economy, Irish people polled were becoming more positive about the next 12 months - almost a quarter believe things will improve, a rise of seven points on the previous Eurobarometer poll. There was a fall in numbers who thought that things would get worse, down 17 points to 37%.

On the more classic Eurobarometer questions regarding support for the EU and its institutions, Ireland continues to show strong support, with 66% believing that EU membership is a good thing, although this is down 6% from autumn 2009.

The most positive are Luxembourgers at 70% followed by the Dutch at 69% and then Ireland and Denmark at 66%. The EU average for this question is 49%.

On other matters, a high proportion (72%) of Irish respondents believe that support for research and development policies is important (EU average 59%).

Ireland was in second place with 66% for agreeing that it was important to strengthen the e-economy by developing ultra-fast broadband in the EU. The EU average was 46%.

The 'Standard' Eurobarometer is carried out every six months. In Ireland, approximately 1,000 face-to-face interviews were conducted in May 2010. The previous poll, which it is compared with, was conducted in October 2009.