SUPPORT FOR IRELAND to remain in the European Union remains strong, but a new poll reveals support among the public is at an 11-year low.

The European Movement Ireland’s EU 2025 poll with Amárach Research asked 1,200 people in the Republic of Ireland if Ireland should remain a member of the EU. 

The poll reveals that 82% agree that Ireland should remain a member of the EU, while 9% said no. A total of 8% said they did not know. 

The European Movement/ Amárach Research

While the 82% figure is strong, it is more than a ten-point drop in the response given to the same question more than five years ago. 

In 2019, answering the same question, 93% of respondents said Ireland should remain a member of the EU.

The following year, in the midst of the pandemic, support plummeted from that 2019 high, with 84% that year saying Ireland should remain in the EU. 

Since 2020, the figure has fluctuated, but has never recovered back into the high ninety percentile. 

The European Movement The European Movement

The Amárach Research was commissioned by European Movement Ireland to undertake research on attitudes to the EU across the island of Ireland. 

This research poll is based around a nationally representative sample of 1,200 for each jurisdiction of the Republic and Northern Ireland.

Respondents in Northern Ireland also answered the question; their responses showed a five-point difference with people in the Republic, with 77% stating that Ireland should remain within in the EU. 

The poll asks a number of other key questions, such as whether the EU moving in the right direction, with just 47% of respondents in the Republic saying that it is. 

Migration

Of the 26% that stated the EU is not moving in the right direction, the main reason for answering this way was put down to “immigration control issues”, at 35%.

The other issues cited were economic and regulatory issues and militarisation concerns. 

The European Movement/ Amárach Research

When it comes to the issue of defence, the poll asked: “Do you think Ireland should be part of increased EU defence and security cooperation?”

Of those polled, 50% responded yes, while 32% said no and a total of 18% said they did not know.

Support for increased EU defence co-operation was highest among those aged over 55 and lowest among those aged between 25 and 24. 

Some 36% of respondents said they are not satisfied with Ireland’s current role and influence in the EU, while 50% said they are. 

Cost-of-living

When asked which issues people are most concerned about at EU level, the results showed that the cost of living topped the poll, with 56% giving it as their top issue. 

Migration followed, with 53% stating that this most concerned them at EU level, followed by EU-US relations at 44%. 

Commenting on the findings of European Movement Ireland’s EU 2025 poll, Noelle O’Connell, CEO of the European Movement Ireland, said it was encouraging to see strong support for EU membership in Ireland, despite the decline on recent years.

“In our twelfth year of polling, it is clear that we cannot be complacent, with some people expressing dissatisfaction with the EU’s current trajectory and Irish influence at EU level,” she said.

“At a pivotal time in European politics with intensifying efforts to end the war in Ukraine, the ongoing issues relating to EU-US trade which could have serious implications for Ireland, and the increasing influence of populism, among other issues, it is important citizens feel their views are heard across all levels of the EU.”

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