Forget Irexit... we are EU’s biggest fans

NINE out of 10 people believe Ireland has benefited from European Union membership, far exceeding the EU average of just under two-thirds (64%).

And 80% of people in the country say being in the EU is ‘good’ for Ireland, according to the poll for the European Parliament.

Welcoming the findings, Fine Gael MEP Deirdre Clune said: ‘Irish satisfaction rates with the EU are much higher than the average across Europe. In fact, Ireland has the highest satisfaction rating of the EU28, with Italy having the lowest at four in ten people believing their country has benefited.’

The latest Parlemeter poll of almost 28,000 people across the 28 member states also found that just under half (47%) of people feel that their voice counts in the EU – the best result since the European Parliament elections of 2009.

European Parliament president Antonio Tajani said: ‘The result of the survey is very positive and encouraging. The poll shows that the confidence in our institutions and our work continues to rise and that we are leaving the crisis of recent years behind.’

The share of citizens who have a neutral image of the European Parliament is 42%, while 33% have a positive image, up eight points within a single year. The share who have a negative image is down seven points, to just over 20%. Over half the respondents (55%) confirmed being interested in the 2019 European elections, but just under half (47%) thought the European Parliament should play a bigger role in the future.

Ms Clune noted the UK attitude to the EU had softened since they voted to leave. She said: ‘The 55% of people who are happy with the EU in the UK is a different result to their Brexit vote.’ The research was carried out from September 23 to October 2 this year. Some 27,881 people were interviewed faceto-face across the 28 member states, with 1,002 interviews in Ireland.