A total of 1,006 Irish adults were surveyed in-home, in strict accordance with Aimro (Association of Irish Market Research Organisations) and Esomar (European Society for Opinion and Market Research) guidelines.
Q. How would you define your sexuality?
96 % Hetrosexual, 4 % Homosexual, bisexual, asexual or declined to say.
Q. Do you admire those who choose long-term celibacy for religious or moral reasons?
48% Yes 35% No 17% Don’t know
Q. Do you regard sex outside marriage as immoral?
15% Yes 79 % No 6% Don’t know
Q. Would you think less of a person if he/she revealed to you that he/she is gay or lesbian?
5% Yes 91% No 4% Don’t know
Q. Do you think gay couples should be allowed adopt children?
46% Yes 38% No 16% Don’t know
Q. Do you believe the recently enacted civil partnership legislation undermines the institution of marriage?
23% Yes, 60% No, 18% Don’t know
Q. Is virginity a quality you would value in a potential partner?
50% Yes, 36% No, 13% Don’t know
Q. At what age to you believe it is appropriate for young people to begin having sex?
Less than 18 – 28%, Aged 18 – 18%, 19 years and over - 14%, Not until married – 5%, Don’t know – 12%
Q. In banning underage sex, the law now provides that boys can be prosecuted for having sex with girls under 17, even if consensually. Girls cannot however be prosecuted for having sex with underage boys. Do you believe this law is correct or incorrect?
7% Yes, 87% No, 6% Don’t Know
Q. Couples in Ireland increasingly live together before marriage. Is this trend more or less likely to result in stable marriages?
57% More likely, 25% Less likely, 18% Don’t know
Q. Do you think gay couples should be allowed to marry?
67% Yes, 25% No, 8% Don’t know
Q. Should people who have changed their gender be allowed to change their birth certificates to reflect their new sex?
48% Yes, 39% No, 13% Don’t know
Fieldwork was conducted at 100 different locations across the country, with the sample controlled by region, age, working status and socioeconomic status.
The survey findings can be said to be accurate to within approximately plus or minus three percentage points.
Interviewing was conducted between August 3rd and 15th, 2010.
Behaviour Attitudes is one of Ireland’s longest established marketing research agencies, and is a member of Aimro, Esomar and the Market Research Society Company Partner Service.