EU:Irish people report some of the highest levels of satisfaction and personal optimism in Europe, a new study shows.
The Eurobarometer survey has found 90 per cent of Irish people are satisfied with the life they lead, a figure 10 per cent higher than that reported across the EU as a whole.
Forty-seven per cent of Irish people believe their personal situation will improve over the next 12 months. A similar number believe it will stay the same and only 5 per cent of people say it will get worse.
Only the UK and Latvia reported higher levels of optimism. A majority of Irish people believe the national economic and employment situation to be better than the EU average.
Healthcare, crime, rising prices and housing figured most frequently - and at higher levels than cited across the EU - when respondents were asked what issues they felt were the most important facing the country.
Concerns over issues related to the economy, unemployment and terrorism were found to be low by European standards.
The survey, carried out in the run-up to the general election, found that attitudes towards the European Union remain very positive in Ireland.
Sixty-eight per cent of Irish people hold a positive image of the EU, 76 per cent said they believe Irish membership is a good thing, and 86 per cent believe that Ireland has benefited from being in the EU.
While trust in EU institutions was found to be high in Ireland, a significant proportion of people are uninformed about the workings of the EU.
More than 55 per cent of respondents said they did not understand how the EU works with a further 10 per cent saying they did not know.
When it comes to decision-making, a majority of Irish people expressed a preference for joint decision-making at EU level in areas such as energy, defence, foreign affairs, environmental protection, agriculture and immigration. However, on issues of healthcare, education, taxation, the economy, transport and crime, respondents wanted decisions to be taken by the Irish Government.
Asked about their attitude to the EU's enlargement in 2004, more than 40 per cent said they had found it a positive development, while 12 per cent said it had been negative.
On the issue of further enlargement, however, Ireland was one of seven "former 15" countries where less than 50 per cent favoured expanding the EU in the future. Furthermore, Ireland was one of only two of these countries where a majority of respondents were against further enlargement.