Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees

Wednesday, 9 July 2025

Committee on European Union Affairs

Findings of the 2025 European Movement Ireland EU Poll: European Movement Ireland

2:00 am

Ms Noelle O'Connell:

Gabhaim buíochas leis an gcoiste as an gcuireadh a bheith anseo inniu. It really is a privilege for me, as CEO, and for our deputy CEO and head of policy and research, Lorna Hayes, to be here on behalf of European Movement Ireland to present the findings of European Movement Ireland's 2025 EU opinion poll. It is the only poll conducted on EU issues throughout the island of Ireland and we are delighted to present the findings here today.

It is fair to say the 2025 poll took place against a very turbulent and fast-changing geopolitical backdrop. Despite being in only the first year of the new EU mandate, we can already see the destabilising impact of the shift in the make-up and composition of the European Parliament evidenced in the increased far-right presence among the groupings. Far-right groups, including new political groupings, account for approximately 27% of seats in the current European Parliament. This uncertainty in Brussels has been further compounded by the volatile geopolitical dynamics, the impact of which we have seen borne out in this year’s poll results.

As members of this committee will be aware, since 2013, we in European Movement Ireland have carried out annual independent polling on a wide range of public sentiment in Ireland relating to our membership of the EU. These efforts to track, analyse and provide a snapshot of and insight into Irish sentiment towards the European Union are unique and are a very valuable tool to measure public opinion as regards the EU. The regularity with which we carry out this exercise provides us with a snapshot in time regarding sentiment towards the EU and enables us to track changes and to present trends on Irish EU sentiment as it has evolved over the decade for which we have been carrying out polling.

Bearing in mind the usual caveats and health warnings around opinion polls, something the distinguished members of this committee will be far more familiar with than we are, we will highlight a few points from our results this year that members may find interesting and useful. We are very happy to explore any of the findings in greater detail. Members have a copy of the full poll for their records and information.

Looking at the key findings, the primary question we have consistently asked in our survey every year relates to support for Ireland's continuing membership of the EU. We are glad to report that this remains very strong in 2025, at 82%. This has declined by 2% from 2024 and represents the lowest level of support since polling first began. Elsewhere in our poll, our findings illustrate that, while the overwhelming majority of people support Irish membership of the EU, there are clear signs and indications of growing levels of dissatisfaction with the EU’s performance on a number of issues. Half of those surveyed, 47%, believe the EU is moving in the right direction. That figure was 49% last year. In 2023, it was 58%. We are seeing a worrying trajectory of dissatisfaction with the direction of the EU. Against the geopolitical turmoil I have mentioned and unpredictable EU-US relations, our poll shows that “unity and cooperation”, “stability and security” and “strength in numbers” are the main reasons cited by those who believe the EU is moving in the right direction, which we believe is very welcome. Combined, those sentiments come to 68%. In contrast, the top three issues cited by those who believe the EU is moving in the wrong direction involve the areas of migration, economic and regulatory issues and militarisation of the EU. Other reasons cited included the EU’s trajectory on foreign policy, the political rightward shift and the democratic deficit.

Our poll this year demonstrates that people attach significant importance not only to domestic concerns but also to foreign policy issues. When we asked people which issues they were most concerned about at European Union level, the cost of living was cited as the most pressing issue for more than half of people, 56%, in the Republic, particularly for younger people, with housing also featuring very strongly, at 41%. Migration was also among respondents’ top five concerns. EU-US relations and the EU’s response to the Russia-Ukraine conflict and to the Israel-Palestine conflict also featured prominently. Meanwhile, 52% of respondents in Northern Ireland cited the Israel-Palestine conflict as their top concern at EU level.

Although just under a quarter of respondents, 24%, expressed dissatisfaction with EU militarisation, half of respondents in the Republic believe Ireland should be part of increased EU defence and security co-operation. When we asked a similar question in 2024 about whether people felt Ireland should invest more in EU security and defence co-operation, 56% of responses were positive. Younger people, the cohort aged between 18 and 24, expressed most uncertainty as regards greater defence and security co-operation. This was one of the questions on which there was the most marked difference in support among men and women, with 62% of men and just under 40% of women responding positively.

At a time of rapidly shifting policies emanating from Brussels on topics relating to the European Green Deal, security and defence, and migration, it is crucial that the Irish public be informed and feel that our voice is being heard on these crucial topics at all levels of the EU decision-making process. However, less than a third believe that their views are being represented at EU level, while 36% expressed dissatisfaction with Ireland’s role and influence, with just under half, 49%, satisfied.

Again, a third feel that the EU is not upholding its core values.

These questions offer vital perspectives for all of us working on EU affairs and point to areas where we could all potentially do much more. They continue to underline the need to promote and foster a strong Irish career pipeline of civil servants working within and for all EU institutions.

Looking at the Northern Ireland question, people were asked whether they support a united Ireland in the EU. Some 67% in Northern Ireland and 62% in the Republic were in favour of this. Regarding the timeframe of this polling, we took the fieldwork sample before the EU-UK summit on 19 May. Interestingly, 60% of respondents in Northern Ireland did not think that the EU-UK reset has improved Northern Ireland’s relationship with the EU.

Concerning for us as a civil society organisation working to support democratic and participatory engagement at all levels, the ongoing low trust in institutions is discouraging, particularly given the growing polarisation and the rise of disinformation in Ireland and across the EU. Indeed, this is something that the Cathaoirleach and members of the committee have spoken about before and that we have addressed before the committee previously. In Ireland, a majority of respondents - at 40%, four in ten - stated they trusted none of the institutions cited, which were the EU institutions and the Irish Government, followed by 30% having trust in the Irish Government and 30% having trust in the EU. Similarly, in Northern Ireland, 39% cited trust in none of the institutions cited, as the highest finding, with one third trusting the EU, which was the highest level of trust in Northern Ireland, 19% the Irish Government and trust in the UK Government and the Northern Ireland Executive standing at 7% and 6%, respectively.

Regarding where people accessed their information on European-related matters, we saw traditional media at just under half, or 48%, continuing to be the primary source on EU issues. This was followed by online at 20%, with social media standing at 12%. However, it is important to caveat this finding. When disaggregated by age, the majority of young people - again, that 18- to 24-year-old demographic - access their information on EU issues from social media. That is very much in contrast to older demographics, who rely more on traditional media. At the same time, the use and preference of social media platforms varied across both jurisdictions and across age groups.

To conclude our opening remarks, it is fair to say that in these ongoing uncertain times, which unfortunately look like they will continue for some time ahead, we hope our opinion poll, the only one on the island of Ireland dedicated to focusing on EU issues, provides a valuable resource and important observations on a wide range of public sentiment across the island on European Union issues for members, policymakers, decision-makers and parliamentarians, both here in Ireland and in Brussels. While support in Ireland for EU membership is consistently high, our findings clearly demonstrate and serve as a salutary reminder that we can never afford to be complacent and that ongoing citizen engagement and dialogue on our relationship and our engagement with the EU is essential. We welcome the Government's efforts and the efforts of this committee to ensure ongoing strong Irish-EU relations and engagement. It is particularly welcome that communication, engagement and outreach will form a key part of next year's Irish Presidency of the EU Council. We believe the Irish EU Presidency will provide an important opportunity to continue these key conversations and dialogue on European affairs with people in Ireland. We look forward to continuing to support the work of the committee members in ensuring an engaged public across Ireland, North and South, on all matters pertaining to Europe.

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