Financial crisis brings gloom but Irish among happiest in EU

THE economic crisis is taking its toll on Irish people with fewer feeling happy compared with four years ago.

But despite suffering the biggest downturn of any economy in the EU, Irish people still feel more positive more often than our European colleagues.

The major blackspot is on the jobs front where a third believe their jobs are under threat. That is significantly more than the average European though less than other crisis-stricken nations like Latvia and Greece.