A new survey from the European Commission shows that Ireland appreciates the benefits of EU membership more than any other nation.
The findings, based on work conducted before the Lisbon Treaty referendum, are in line with a snap poll of 2,000 Irish voters conducted immediately after the referendum decision.
The snap poll showed that 80 per cent of those voting No were in favour of the EU.
Today's survey shows that 82 per cent of Irish people believe their country has benefited from EU membership. That represents a five per cent drop since the last survey, but still higher than anywhere else in the EU.
Estonia comes closest with a 76 per cent approval rating for the benefits of membership. At the other end of the scale, the UK, Austria and Hungary all record a lowly 36 per cent who think there have been benefits from membership.
The Irish are also top of the poll when asked if they think membership has been "a good thing", with 73 per cent agreeing and only six per cent describing EU membership as a bad thing.
In the UK only 30 per cent see membership as a good thing and 32 percent say it has been a bad thing - once again recording the lowest level of EU support amongst 27 countries.
When asked if the EU represented a "positive" image, 65 per cent of Irish voters said yes, compared with only 29 per cent in the UK.
The Romanians were top of this poll, with 67 per cent seeing positive images when thinking of the EU. Bottom of the poll, tipping the UK by 1 per cent was Austria.
Trust in the EU is put at 62 per cent in Ireland, a 7 per cent increase on last autumn. The situation has improved in the UK too, with a 4 per cent increase in levels of trust in the EU - bringing the UK figure up to just 29 per cent and way below any other EU country.