With the European Parliament elections just around the corner in June, an EU-wide survey has indicated that 15% of Irish people believe that agricultural policy should be discussed “as a matter of priority” in the run up to polling day.
However, the survey, carried out for the parliament, shows that Ireland is behind the EU average of the proportion of people who see agricultural policy as a priority, with 23% of people taking that view across the bloc as a whole.
When asked to pick their two most important issues from a list of 15, Irish people came out slightly above the EU average when it comes to actions against climate change, with 29% of people surveyed here naming that issue as a key priority, compared to 27% in the EU generally.
The ‘Special Barometer’ survey saw 1,001 people Irish people interviewed between February 8 and February 27, and 26,411 people interviewed around the EU as a whole between February 7 and March 3.
69% of Irish people said they were interested in the upcoming European elections, higher than the EU average of 60%, while 76% of people here said they would vote if the election was held ‘next week’, which was again higher than the EU average (71%).
In terms of those issues which appear most important to Irish people, according to this survey, 46% of people picked public health as a priority issue, while 42% went for migration and asylum. Both of those figures were considerably ahead of the EU average for those issues (32% and 24% respectively).
Other issues of note are support to the economy and the creation of new jobs, which 33% of Irish respondents selected as a key issue (compared to the EU average of 31%), and the EU’s autonomy in the fields of industry and energy, which 13% of Irish people flagged (compared to the EU average of 17%).
When asked what policy actions the EU should take to reinforce its position in the world, 29% of Irish respondents (again, picking their two most important issues) selected food security and agriculture, slightly lower than the EU average of 30%.
33% of Irish people cited climate action and emissions reduction when asked this question, higher than the EU average of 24%.
67% of Irish respondents said that the EU conjures a ‘positive’ image for them, considerably higher than the EU average of 47%.
Similarly, 55% of the Irish people said that that EU’s role in the world has become more important over the past number of years, compared to just 40% in the bloc generally.
77% of people here said that the EU has an impact on their daily lives, slightly higher than the EU average of 73%, while 90% of Irish people said that, on balance, Ireland has benefitted from being a member, notably higher than the EU average of 71%.
81% of respondents to the survey here said they are optimistic about the future of the EU, compared to just 61% in the bloc generally.