It's official: Irish more satisfied with their lot than the average European

Irish people are considerably more optimistic and more satisfied with life than the average European, according to a new quality of life survey.

The report, published in Dublin yesterday, found Irish people to have a rosier view of their health and wellbeing than the European average but a more jaundiced opinion of the state of the society they are living in.

The quality of health services, public transport and water quality came in for particular criticism from Irish respondents to the survey, which entailed interviews with 1,000 people from each of the EU's 25 member states in summer/autumn 2003.

Asked to judge their happiness, on a scale of one to 10, however, Irish people came up with a mean of 8.1, the joint second-highest rank in Europe, with Finland, after Denmark.

Willy Buschak, acting director of the Dublin-based European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions, which carried out the study, said: "It does not mean you [in Ireland] have a better society. But it tells you a lot about the mood of the society, whether it is forward looking or closed in pessimism."

He said the results indicated "the economy and quality of employment" were the most important things for Irish people. Family ties were also highly valued in Ireland, with 56 per cent of respondents saying they would turn to their family rather than friends when they were depressed, compared to 47 per cent in France.

The survey (see: www.eurofound.eu.int) pointed out that while quality of life in Ireland was high overall in several dimensions, it was not enjoyed by everyone in society. "Irish people in the lowest income quartile report significantly high levels of subjective economic strain."

Some 28 per cent of respondents in Ireland said they could not afford a week's annual holiday, compared to an EU15 average of 24 per cent. Some 12 per cent of people in Ireland reported difficulty in paying utility bills, compared to an EU15 average of 7 per cent.

But a surprisingly small number of people in Ireland reported difficulties reconciling family and work life.

Just 7 per cent of respondents said they had problems in fulfilling family responsibilities, compared to an EU15 average of 9 per cent. Just 18 per cent said they were too tired to do household jobs, compared to an EU15 average of 22 per cent.

This was despite the fact that working mothers in Ireland reported spending an average of six hours a day caring for children - more than twice the average commitment of their French counterparts.

Fathers in Ireland claimed to have spent four hours a day on average caring for children - the highest such score in Europe, along with Finland.

Another unexpected finding was the high proportion of people in Ireland who did not use the internet (57 per cent, compared to an EU average of 54 per cent).

Irish people were generally satisfied with the quality of accommodation in the State, although once again they lagged behind the Danes in terms of satisfaction.

Some 17 per cent of respondents in Ireland reported a shortage of space (compared to 11 per cent in Germany) and 9 per cent reported rot in windows, doors or floors (compared to 2 per cent in Sweden). On the other hand, only 2 per cent of respondents in Ireland said they had no indoor flushing toilet (compared to 5 per cent in Portugal).

On personal wellbeing, just 3 per cent of respondents in Ireland said their health was poor, compared to 6 per cent in Finland and Sweden, 8 per cent in the UK and Germany and 21 per cent in Latvia.

Irish people also felt a higher than average degree of job security. Some 83 per cent of respondents in Ireland said it was unlikely that they would lose their jobs in the next six months, compared to an EU25 average of 76 per cent.