merrion street

The Minister of State for European Affairs and Data Protection, Dara Murphy T.D., has welcomed the results of yesterday’s Eurobarometer poll, published by the European Commission Representation in Ireland, which showed that most Irish citizens see this country’s future firmly inside the EU.

Commenting on the findings, Minister Murphy said:

“I was very happy to see further confirmation that the Irish public is still strongly supportive of Ireland’s membership of the EU and that they see Ireland’s future as being firmly within the EU. I was heartened to see that 55% of the Irish public surveyed displayed a positive image of the EU, 20 points above the EU average and the most positive across all Member States. Ireland was also more supportive than the EU28 as a whole across the four headline EU policy areas surveyed – free movement, Euro, enlargement and the Trans-Atlantic Trade and Investment Partnership. This indication of strong public support for our place in Europe is very welcome as the Government continues to highlight Ireland’s key concerns and priorities to our EU partners as we prepare for the Brexit negotiations.”

"I believe that Irish people are both pragmatists and Europeans, understanding the importance of the values we share as well as the benefits of EU Membership. In my view, the Eurobarometer findings reflect the fact that membership of our Union has been central to the success of our open, competitive economy and the foundation for much of the social progress we have made since we joined the then EEC over forty years ago."