European Commission Representation presents the annual 2022 Eurobarometer Report for Ireland

The results were discussed at an online event organised by the European Commission Representation and European Movement Ireland. The main presentation of the results was given by Luke Reaper, Managing Director of Behaviour & Attitudes, who wrote the report based on the findings of the latest EU-wide standard Eurobarometer survey (SEB96), which was published on Monday 4 April.

This national report covers a period of time in early 2022 when Ireland started to re-open after almost two years of Covid-19 restrictions. However, the fieldwork was completed before the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the recent upsurge in Covid cases across Europe.

The report focuses on Irish citizens’ attitudes towards the EU in Ireland. It examines the level of trust in the European institutions and the future direction of the EU, and assesses how Irish people view the economic situation; their satisfaction with how democracy works in Ireland and in the EU; their trust in the media; and overall satisfaction with measures taken to fight the pandemic.

“The Covid pandemic has been a very difficult period for so many and as Ireland begins to return to a ‘new normal’ this spring, it is encouraging to see that Irish people continue to hold a very positive view of the European Union and remain optimistic for the future.”

Barbara Nolan, Head of the European Commission Representation in Ireland.

Key findings: Ireland

• 88% of Irish citizens are optimistic about the future of the EU, the highest across the EU27.
• 71% of Irish citizens have a positive image of the EU, the highest in the EU, and significantly above the EU27 average of 44%.
• 71% of Irish people think Ireland is going in the right direction, an increase from 64% in 2021 (SEB95). 62% think the EU is going in the right direction.
• Two thirds of Irish citizens trust both the European Parliament (64%) and the European Commission (63%) with 60% trusting the European Central Bank, and the European Council.
• 84% of Irish people believe they are in a rather good or very good financial household position and 63% believe the Irish economy is in a good place.
• 83% of Irish people are satisfied with how democracy works in Ireland, and 81% are satisfied with how democracy works in the EU. This is significantly higher than the EU average (56%: national democracy, 55%: EU democracy).
• Radio is the most trusted media in Ireland (65%) followed by TV (59%), and the written press (53%). Just 26% trust the internet and 17% trust online social networks.
• 78% are satisfied with measures taken by the Irish Government to fight the pandemic. This is up from 67% in 2021 (SEB95).
• 75% are satisfied with measures taken by the EU to fight the pandemic, the second highest across the EU27.
• 83% trust the EU to make the right decisions in the future (an increase from 79% in 2021), compared to 60% for the EU 27 average (a decrease from 65% in 2021).

More information:

The fieldwork for the survey was undertaken by B&A on behalf of KANTAR between 14 January and 14 February 2022, and 1006 people aged 15+ were interviewed. The data for the Irish report forms part of the Standard Eurobarometer (SEB) 96^th edition.

2022 Eurobarometer Report for Ireland.

Ireland country factsheet