IRISH PEOPLE are among the most pessimistic in Europe about the state of the national and global economies and future prospects over the next 12 months.
But they remain among the strongest supporters of the EU, despite a small drop in the levels of trust they place in the union's key institutions such as the European Parliament and European Commission.
The latest Eurobarometer opinion poll highlights a dramatic shift in public opinion in the Republic, with 84 per cent of people judging the current economic situation as "bad", which represents a 62 percentage point change on the result in last year's survey. Just 17 per cent of people think the employment situation is "good", a fall of 55 percentage points - a result the survey notes is the most dramatic drop in confidence across the EU.
Some 69 per cent of people believe the Irish economy will deteriorate over the next 12 months and 74 per cent of people think job prospects will get worse. Public expectations for their household finances are slightly less pessimistic, with 34 per cent saying they will get worse, 8 per cent saying they will improve and 54 per cent saying they won't change.
The pessimistic sentiment towards the economy in the Republic is mirrored across the EU, with 94 per cent of Hungarians, 92 per cent of Portuguese, 85 per cent of French and 84 per cent of Italians also judging the current situation "bad". But the steepest falls in consumer confidence are in Ireland, where attitudes last year were still rather upbeat.
"In autumn 2008, reality has caught up with public opinion and the negative economic climate now permeates all aspects of life. The newest results show that the 'feel bad factor' is not only affecting people's general sense of wellbeing but is also making them much more pessimistic and cautious in their attitudes to public life," concludes the survey, which interviewed 30,000 people across the union on a range of different topics.
The survey was carried out shortly after the collapse of Lehman Brothers bank in the US, in autumn 2008, which prompted a banking crisis throughout Europe. Just one-third of Europeans said they thought the current economic situation was good, while 69 per cent of EU citizens said they thought the employment situation was "bad" in their country.
Despite negative economic sentiment, public support for the union has stabilised following a sharp drop in support last autumn when it fell to 52 per cent, down from 58 per cent in spring 2007.
The survey shows that 53 per cent of EU citizens now say membership of the union is generally a good thing for their country, with the Dutch registering the highest level of public support at 80 per cent. The lowest levels of support for the EU are in Latvia (27 per cent), Hungary (31 per cent) and Britain (32 per cent).
Some 67 per cent of Irish people say EU membership is a "good thing", which ranks it as the third most supportive country of the union. However, since the last Eurobarometer survey, published in spring, support has slipped by 6 percentage points in Ireland. There has also been a slight dip in the levels of trust for key EU institutions. Trust in the European Commission is now 50 per cent, down 4 percentage points since spring, while trust in the European Parliament is now 54 per cent, a drop of 8 percentage points.
"There's no doubt that Irish people, like all Europeans, are very concerned by the economic crisis. The challenge for the EU is to follow through on the recovery plan recently promoted by the European Commission and approved by the European Council," said Martin Territt, director of the European Commission Representation in Ireland.
He said the fact that Irish support for the EU and the perceived benefits of membership was among the highest in Europe suggested people see the union as part of the solution.
Future imperfect: main points
People surveyed were asked if their attitudes were positive or negative in a number of areas. Below are their answers:
The current Irish economy - good: 14 per cent, bad: 84 per cent.
The current European economy - good: 18 per cent, bad: 71 per cent.
Current employment in Ireland - good: 17 per cent, bad: 80 per cent.
The global economy - good: 11 per cent, bad: 81 per cent. Expectations of the Irish economy for the next 12 months - better: 5 per cent, worse: 69 per cent.
Expectations for next 12 months in personal and household finances - better: 8 per cent, worse: 34 per cent.
Expectations for next 12 months in employment - better: 4 per cent, worse: 74 per cent.
Is EU membership a good or a bad thing? - good: 67 per cent, bad: 9 per cent.
Has Ireland benefited from EU membership? - Yes: 79 per cent, No: 11 per cent.
Do you tend to trust the European Commission? - Yes: 50 per cent, No: 24 per cent.
Do you tend to trust the European Parliament? - Yes: 54 per cent, No: 23 per cent.
Source: Eurobarometer survey, Autumn 2008