Barry Ward (Dún Laoghaire, Fine Gael)
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Apologies have been received from Senator O'Loughlin. Today's meeting is to discuss the findings of the 2026 European Movement Ireland EU poll, which was published last Wednesday. Its findings have been much discussed in the media. It examines attitudes to the EU throughout the island of Ireland and has given us some very important information. There is a lot of food for thought in the poll, as members know. While it indicates strong support for Ireland remaining a member of the European Union it gives us as policy makers a lot to think about, specifically in terms of the proportion of people who consider the European Union represents their values, which was an important finding.

I am delighted to welcome to the committee today representatives of European Movement Ireland. I welcome Mr. David Geary, the new CEO, and I congratulate him on his new role and welcome him to his first official meeting with the committee as CEO. I also welcome Ms Lorna Hayes, who is deputy CEO for policy and research. I recognise the presence of Ms Emma Rooney, engagement officer, Mr. Matthew O'Neill, policy adviser and Ms Liadán Sage, EU policy and research manager. They are all very welcome.

I acknowledge the award last night to the European Movement of the European laureate award by the Trinity Long Room Hub. It is a fitting acknowledgement of the work it has done to promote European values and knowledge of what is going on in Europe also. On the last occasion European Movement Ireland was before the committee there was a different CEO. Noelle O'Connell has moved on to different pastures. We recognise the work she has done and the regularity of her business with the committee. We wish Mr. Geary the very best of luck.

Before we begin I am obliged to read a note on privilege and housekeeping matters. Witnesses are reminded of the long-standing parliamentary practice that they should not criticise or make charges against any person or entity by name or in such a way as to make him, her or it identifiable, or otherwise engage in speech that might be regarded as damaging to the good name of the person or entity. Therefore, if their statements are potentially defamatory in relation to an identifiable person or entity, they will be directed to discontinue their remarks. Members are reminded of the long-standing parliamentary practice to the effect that they should not comment on, criticise or make charges against a person outside the Houses or an official either by name or in such a way as to make him or her identifiable. We do not have any member joining online today.

Members have been furnished with the opening statement and I invite Mr. Geary to make that opening statement. He will have five minutes, after which we will go to questions and answers.

Mr. David Geary:

I will share the time with Ms Hayes. We are very grateful to have the opportunity to present and discuss the findings of European Movement Ireland's island of Ireland poll, which is the only dedicated poll conducted throughout the island of Ireland on EU issues. I acknowledge this is my first appearance before the committee and I am very grateful to the Cathaoirleach for the invitation.

Our 2026 poll took place during a period of ongoing global instability that has also affected the EU. Growing uncertainty in the transatlantic relationship has affected EU-US trade, European security and co-operation on international issues. Another year of unprecedented disregard for international law and the United Nations took place alongside escalating conflict in the Middle East and the ongoing war in Ukraine, with devastating consequences for civilians. While competitiveness, security and defence have continued to dominate the agenda in Brussels, the EU has at times failed to assert itself as a defender of international law and its own values.

Since 2013, European Movement Ireland has carried out annual independent polling on public sentiment towards the EU, which has been on an all-island basis since 2023. Conducted by our partners in Amárach Research, our unique all-island EU poll is a valuable tool for tracking Irish public attitudes towards the EU and monitoring how sentiment evolves over time. Following a gradual decline in support for Ireland's membership of the EU since it was 88% in 2022 to 2023, support in Ireland remains stable at 82%, which is unchanged from 2025.

While our annual all-island poll continues to show very solid support for EU membership among the public North and South, there is declining satisfaction in some areas of EU performance, with only 45% believing the EU is moving in the right direction, down two percentage points from 2025 and 13 points from 2023, while 26% believe it is moving in the wrong direction and 28% are unsure. Among those who believe the EU is moving in the right direction, unity and co-operation, economic benefits, and stability and security were cited as the top three reasons, while migration, economic and regulatory issues, and federalism and national sovereignty were the top three for those who perceive the EU to be moving in the wrong direction. Other reasons cited for dissatisfaction with the direction of travel were foreign policy and intervention, democratic deficit and militarisation concerns.

As in 2025, respondents in Ireland placed a lot of value on the co-operation and stability that being an EU member state brings to the country; a sentiment that is likely further reinforced at times of significant geopolitical and economic upheaval. Moreover, citizens continue to recognise the economic benefits that Ireland has gained as a result of EU membership.

Unsurprisingly, it is tangible, day-to-day issues such as the cost of living, housing and energy that dominate concerns in Ireland. The cost of living features as the number one issue of concern at EU level in Ireland and Northern Ireland, with migration and housing also among the top concerns in the Republic. However, foreign policy issues also continue to rank highly among public concerns, including the EU's response to the expanding conflict in the Middle East, led by Israel and the US, at 34% in Ireland and 41% in Northern Ireland, and Russia's ongoing war in Ukraine. With dissatisfaction around foreign policy and intervention also ranking as the fourth most cited concern about the EU's direction, it is clear that some members of the public remain dissatisfied with the EU's response to Israel's violations of international law in the occupied Palestinian territories, Lebanon and elsewhere. I will now hand over to my colleague, Ms Hayes, who will provide additional insights on the poll.

Ms Lorna Hayes:

In 2026, consistent with recent years, migration once again features as the area where the EU's performance is considered to be the weakest and by a significant margin, with defence and security coming in second. Similarly, trade, at 39% in Ireland and 49% in Northern Ireland, continues to rank as the area where the EU is performing strongest and for which the EU is rated considerably higher in contrast to other policy areas.

This year marks the fourth year of Northern Ireland's inclusion in the poll and ten years since the UK voted to leave the EU. A strong majority in Northern Ireland, at 63%, say they would vote in favour of a united Ireland in the EU. This figure is 59% in the Republic. Moreover, 73% of respondents in the North agree that Northern Ireland should have a greater say in EU decision-making, with 73% also agreeing they would vote to rejoin the EU if a referendum were held tomorrow.

Concerns around militarisation at EU level are not as prominent in 2026, while agreement on whether Ireland should be part of greater EU defence and security co-operation remains broadly stable at 48% in Ireland. However, one third are opposed and there is significantly higher support expressed by men compared to women.

In response to the increasing fragility in US-EU relations, 71% in Ireland and 79% in Northern Ireland state the EU should seek greater independence from the US, demonstrating clear public support for greater EU autonomy and self-sufficiency, presumably in a range of areas including trade, technology, security and foreign policy.

With the EU having influence over policies that impact people's daily lives in Ireland, it is important that democratic processes are transparent and that inclusive citizen participation is facilitated. Of concern, however, is that the largest share of respondents, at 37% in Ireland, do not believe they are adequately represented at EU level, with 35% believing they are and 27% unsure. Notably, young people feel more represented than older demographics. Importantly, while half of respondents in Ireland believe the EU is upholding its founding values, a significant minority do not.

In Ireland, trust in the Irish Government increased to 36%, with 27% stating they trust the EU the most. However, a sizeable 37% state they trust none of the institutions and women expressed significantly more distrust than men. Trust in institutions in Northern Ireland remains relatively stable, with the EU the most trusted entity followed by the Irish Government, with lower trust in the UK Government and the Northern Ireland Executive.

In an increasingly uncertain world, European Movement Ireland's EU opinion poll provides an important insight into public attitudes towards the EU across the island of Ireland.

We hope these findings will help to inform debate and policymaking, while supporting our work to deepen and strengthen public engagement and participation in the EU. We welcome the Government's continued commitment to strong Irish-EU relations, and particularly its focus on public dialogue and outreach during Ireland's upcoming Presidency of the Council of the European Union. We see the Presidency as an important opportunity to continue meaningful conversations with people across the island about Europe and Ireland's place within it.

Barry Ward (Dún Laoghaire, Fine Gael)
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I thank Ms Hayes. Members will now have five minutes each but this must include both the questions and answers, so I ask them to keep an eye on time. I call Deputy Crowe.

Seán Crowe (Dublin South West, Sinn Fein)
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Our guests are very welcome. I welcome the fact that the poll covers the whole island. I will start on that. It was said that the results have been weighted to reflect the demographic structure of both jurisdictions. Does the poll reflect the reality of cross-community representation in the North, or is it a blind sample? When European Movement Ireland refers to the results of other polls in the North – on the question of Irish unity, for example – is the cross-community dimension specifically taken into account? It would be useful to be able to cross-reference the results and gauge the feeling on how important EU membership is regarded right across society, particularly given that a significantly greater percentage said Ireland should not remain in the EU. The percentage for the North is 17% and that for the South is 11%. Is Brexit a factor in the 17%?

The other issue relates to the distinction in question 2 between "defence and protection" and "militarisation concerns". Were any definitions of these offered to respondents, or was it left to them to decide? Defence, for example, sounds positive, whereas militarisation sounds negative.

Was foreign policy offered as an answer to the question on whether the EU is heading in the right direction? Again, it is a question of what that actually means. Foreign policy is significantly absent from the "Yes" column. I take the view that the EU is out of step with many citizens, particularly on foreign policy. Foreign policy on the situation in Gaza is one example. There are other issues where the stance of the EU is questioned. Maybe the witnesses could explain the position on militarisation and defence.

Ms Lorna Hayes:

I can start with the first part of the Deputy's question. We do the polling through Amárach Research, which uses a local polling company in Northern Ireland. In both jurisdictions, standard sampling criteria are used. In both the Republic and the North, the samples are weighted by gender, age, religion, social class and region. In Northern Ireland, there is clear weighting by religion. The sample breakdown this year was 45% Roman Catholic, 40% Protestant and 5% mixed faith, with the remainder made up of those with no religion, those who preferred not to say and others. In that sense, it is quite consistent with other polls.

Did the Deputy have a question about 17%?

Seán Crowe (Dublin South West, Sinn Fein)
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It was on whether Ireland should leave the EU. Seventeen percent of respondents in the North were in favour of leaving it whereas 11% of those in the South were in favour of leaving it. Am I right about that?

Mr. David Geary:

We will come back to the Deputy on that. On his points on security and defence, this is a matter that comes up time and again. This year, we brought focus groups into the mix to better understand what people were thinking about some of the questions we asked. Particularly in relation to security and defence, there were disparate views, as we would expect. There was a strong attachment to neutrality, but also recognition that the world is changing. There was a general recognition that issues around security and defence would have to be discussed. It came across in the focus groups, which allow us to articulate what people were thinking, that most participants believed the EU should play a role in defence but that this should be about self-defence rather than aggression. That illuminates how they were thinking about it. There was also recognition in the focus groups that Ireland could not defend itself on its own, and an acknowledgement that no country could. When compared with policy areas such as those related to the cost of living and housing, security and defence did not rank as highly in importance, which we see across the board with geopolitical issues. However, that was the lens through which people were speaking about and engaging on the issue.

Seán Crowe (Dublin South West, Sinn Fein)
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Question 1 was on whether Ireland should remain a member of the EU. Eleven percent 11% said "No" in the South and 17% said so in the North. There is a big difference between the two jurisdictions. I am asking whether Brexit was a factor in that.

Barry Ward (Dún Laoghaire, Fine Gael)
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If Mr. Geary wants to respond, he is welcome to.

Mr. David Geary:

I will answer that briefly. We may have a chance to get into this later in the session. Specifically on Brexit, one of the questions we asked people was whether, if a hypothetical referendum were held in the UK on rejoining the EU, they would support that. Interestingly, one in five voters who had voted to leave in 2016 said they would vote to remain if such a referendum were held again. That indicates a definite change in the "leave" sentiment in the community since the Brexit referendum in 2016.

Barry Ward (Dún Laoghaire, Fine Gael)
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I thank Mr. Geary.

Chris Andrews (Sinn Fein)
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Like most people in Ireland, we are all well disposed towards the EU and the whole idea of it. However, it is concerning that, since 2016, the proportion of people in Ireland who believe the country should remain a member has fallen from 90% to 82%. The poll asks, "Do you think the EU is moving in the right direction?". In 2023, the number who agreed was 58%, but it is now down to 45%. That is pretty depressing if you are a strong supporter of the EU.

Deputy Crowe mentioned the EU's militarisation policies. The EU states it is not too concerned with militarisation but people are concerned about the EU's response to what is happening in Gaza and the Middle East. There seems to be a separation between those at the top and ordinary EU citizens. Will this continue? I suppose our guests cannot tell. The separation between the top tier in the EU and ordinary citizens must be a concern for those who support the whole European ideal.

Mr. David Geary:

I will respond on the first two points and my colleague Ms Hayes will respond on foreign policy and Gaza.

On the trends since we began doing the poll in 2013, the Senator is correct. In 2019, there was a bucking of the trend, with a percentage of 93%. That year was, of course, a very important year in the Brexit story. The second major peak was in 2022, when Russia invaded Ukraine. What we are seeing is a natural increase in solidarity with the European project at times when it is under external pressure. Eurobarometer polling shows a trend of 74% to 76%, so Ireland's solidarity is still significantly higher than the average across EU member states. However, it is absolutely the case that we cannot be complacent. When we dig down into where people feel the EU is going in the wrong direction, we find the issues that come up are the likes of immigration control issues, economic and regulatory concerns, and concerns about federalism and national sovereignty.

In Northern Ireland, economic and regulatory concerns constituted the strongest issue at 36%. Concerns around sovereignty increased dramatically compared to 2025 so the number went from 4% to 26% in the Republic of Ireland and from 12% to 26% in Northern Ireland. Notwithstanding the fact that this is a significant increase and we need to understand it, we think from the work we have done with members in the focus groups that it is more about the centralisation of power at the expense of national ability to deliver or respond to emerging developments and things like that. We think that is what is happening.

While things like federalism and sovereignty were big issues during the Brexit referendum in the UK, we do not think it is a symptom of far-right and Eurosceptic sentiment taking hold here because the macro picture and the polls show that there is still a really strong appreciation of the benefits of EU membership and the fact that Ireland is better inside working constructively to change direction on issues with which it disagrees.

Ms Lorna Hayes:

Regarding the Senator's point about foreign policy, intervention and militarisation, foreign policy and intervention come up. It is an open-ended question where our respondents list why they believe the EU is not moving in the right direction. That comes up as the fourth issue so it is significant. In the kind of extended data we get from more research, we know that by foreign policy and intervention, they are talking about the EU's failure to act in Gaza, the West Bank and Lebanon. That is what that means so the Senator is quite right that this continues to be a really important concern for the Irish public.

While militarisation has dropped known as an issue of concern, that is talking about the EU's investment in militarisation, security and defence so that is still an issue. It is less of an issue but it is an issue among the Irish public. There is a distinction there. The EU's failure to respond to what is happening in the Middle East also comes up in another question so it is still important. What is interesting in the other question, which is more about issues of concern at EU level broadly, is for Irish people both in the North and the South, day-to-day challenges like the cost of living and housing are important. Of course, migration is always among the top issues followed closely by issues such as the EU's response to the Middle East and also the Russia-Ukraine conflict.

Chris Andrews (Sinn Fein)
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Does Ms Hayes think the powers-that-be - the top tier - are aware of or have any concerns or any notion of changing things to address that downward trend, which only spikes when there is an external threat? When there is no external threat, the trend seems to be down.

Ms Lorna Hayes:

At least in the Irish context, overall support is high. It is higher than the average - probably one of the highest at EU level - so I do not think that there would be concerns in terms of support for membership. We think the poll is helpful because it flags issues where maybe we need to have more conversations, dialogue and discussion with the Irish public. In particular, the issue of migration consistently comes up and raises concern. That concerns us because we realise there is a lack of information and misinformation but there is a whole range of issues that underpin that topic. It just points to areas where we as a society, the Government and MEPs need to do more and have kind of open conversations about.

Barry Ward (Dún Laoghaire, Fine Gael)
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Does any other member wish to come in?

Eamon Scanlon (Sligo-Leitrim, Fianna Fail)
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A key takeaway from the data for Ireland, excluding Northern Ireland, is that the EU is strong on trade but weak on migration. Is this a fair assessment or is there a trend behind this data?

Ms Lorna Hayes:

The issue of migration has come up consistently in the past few years. It comes up in a range of questions as the top concern or among the top concerns for respondents. There are multifaceted reasons behind that. One issue is that migration is a prominent issue in the media and public discourse at EU level and it is often framed, particularly in Brussels, in a very negative way. There is a lot of rhetoric about returns and about closing borders. It is rarely framed as something positive so there is a lack of public campaigning and messaging on inclusion, integration, etc. The ESRI found that people overestimate numbers coming, underestimate the contributions of refugees and migrants to Irish society and underestimate qualifications, etc., so there is an information gap there as well. In our focus groups, we can see that people who have economic and social concerns sometimes scapegoat migrants or equate migration with pressures on infrastructure coming from the increase in people coming to Ireland. Again, there is little discussion on the underlying structural and infrastructural issues relating to our housing crisis, housing pressures and so on, so there is a gap there. Maybe a more transparent discussion is needed on what the real issue is. We can also see in the focus groups and with other research that at community level, there are lots of really positive examples of people who live next door to an asylum seeker or migrant family, have welcomed them and understand why people are coming. I think those examples and that community-level solidarity need to be communicated and to be understood. Unfortunately, the far-right narrative gets amplified on social media but that does not represent broad communities in Ireland either.

Mr. David Geary:

When we look at the areas where the respondents feel EU is getting it right, there is recognition of things like the economic and trade benefits. Things like unity, co-operation and stability are the things people are putting forward as the reasons they think the EU is heading in the right direction. A lot of that has been reinforced in the focus groups we have been doing because of the geopolitical headwinds we are dealing with and seeing around the world. In some of the focus groups, the importance of trade blocs and economic blocs in terms of navigating some of the shocks we see in the world at the moment was frequently represented.

Paula Butterly (Louth, Fine Gael)
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The witnesses mentioned centralisation and perhaps some dissatisfaction at the fact that it has become more centralised or perhaps more bureaucratic. When it comes to defence, housing, online protection and energy, we see Europe wanting to have a more centralised role in order to respond effectively. There are proposals with the multi-annual financial framework that the budget should actually go back to the national governments to give them a little more flexibility to make individual choices. Rather than the separation of the pillars, we would have the amalgamation of the famous pillars that have traditionally been there. Could the witnesses elaborate on the whole theory of centralisation because we have two contrasting methods and proposals at the moment?

Mr. David Geary:

There is an inherent conflict in terms of the responses we are seeing. Our interpretation is that they would like to see more national autonomy to deal with issues. They also get why that is not the case and they understand the need for centralisation in dealing with some of these issues. There is concern about things like harmonisation of rules and how they are affecting things in Ireland. It involves things like distance, proximity from source, lack of understanding and awareness of the issues and how they have arisen. When it comes to things like trade deals, maybe there is an information deficit around the complexity of such deals and the competing priorities that go into negotiation. What is really interesting, and we will probably say this a lot as we go, is that it underscores the need for more engagement and communication on these issues. I actually think the Irish Presidency is a great opportunity to do that because inevitably people will have more of an understanding about what the EU is doing. The Deputy mentioned the budget negotiations there. There will likely be a higher level of awareness across the general population about the trade-offs, discussions, debates and negotiations that will go into the multi-annual financial framework that will be spearheaded during the Irish Presidency.

Ms Lorna Hayes:

I do not think the EU wants more control over issues like energy or housing. I think it sees its role more in crisis assistance, so that where there are significant pressures across the EU or situations of crisis, it can complement and supplement member states. For example, on housing, it is aware that there is a housing crisis so it is about how it can complement that. Its approach to health is the same - how to prevent future pandemics across borders, as well as health co-ordination and procurement.

It is similar to energy. The EU steps in to support member states when there are crises.

The Deputy is very right in terms of the amalgamation of a whole range of regulations within the national and regional partnership plans. On the one hand, the EU is trying to give member states far more flexibility to move between where they see priorities, but on the other, there are concerns among civil society and local authorities because it is not clear. Certain pieces of regulation or policy areas are ring-fenced within the national and regional partnership plans but some are not. There are concerns that, at national level, some things could be deprioritised. The regulation is still being negotiated. We do not know what the final regulation will look like, so it is important that, while there is still flexibility, there is clear ring-fencing for policy areas and a clear process behind it whereby civil society, local authorities and so on can participate in any decision-making on how and where that funding will be spent at a national level.

Paula Butterly (Louth, Fine Gael)
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The expectation is that Ireland will advance a lot of these files under its EU Presidency. LEADER funding, in particular, springs to my mind.

Ms Lorna Hayes:

Yes.

Paula Butterly (Louth, Fine Gael)
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LEADER is core funding for an awful lot of businesses and activities within rural and urban communities. There are great concerns in that regard.

Now that Hungary has a new president, there is nowhere to hide for countries that might not be 100% in favour of enlargement. Only a couple of weeks ago, there was a little commentary in France on the need to slow down the enlargement process. Does that feed into the sentiment? Are people aware of this? It is another example where, like migration, a negative or false narrative could make it a very polarising once it gets going.

Mr. David Geary:

Yes. The findings suggest that there are broad levels of support among respondents for the principle of enlargement. They look at that through the lens of the EU's capacity to manage those internal challenges, including migration, cost-of-living pressures, geopolitical issues and all that kind of stuff. They also reflected an understanding that enlargement could strengthen the EU both economically and strategically, particularly in the context of Russia's invasion of Ukraine and wider geopolitical concerns. There were also concerns expressed about the pace of EU decision-making and whether the EU can effectively absorb additional member states while maintaining cohesion and shared values. Broadly speaking, from an Irish perspective, there is an understanding of the fact that small states clubbing together is how we can have more clout and influence at an EU level.

Barry Ward (Dún Laoghaire, Fine Gael)
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I will start by asking a few questions on trends in regard to questions Nos. 12 and 14 in the poll. Particularly for Irish people, I feel that the association with the values of the European Union is very important. We see in Ireland a huge regard for the rule of law and the importance of its precedence, yet in the context of what happened in Israel in 2023, we saw a European Union that kind of abandoned the rule of law. I am surprised that the numbers have held up as well as they have because an awful lot of Irish people have been very disappointed by the reaction of the European Union to the onslaught in Gaza. I in no way justify what Hamas did, but the overreaction has been allowed to happen, if I can put it that way, by the European Union collectively, if not individually. I know from speaking to people on the ground that there is a huge disappointment that Europe appeared to endorse what Israel was doing. It certainly did not try to stop it. The numbers have changed a small bit. Question No. 14 asks: "Do you think that the EU is effectively upholding its core values (respect for human dignity, freedom, democracy, equality, the rule of law and human rights) in its policies and actions?" These are policies that have not been enforced by Europe in a way it can, for example, under the EU-Israel association agreement. How does European Movement Ireland assess the trends in that regard? Does it see any impact on the thinking in Ireland generally as regards attitudes about whether our views are being represented at a European level?

Mr. David Geary:

I will start by discussing representation and Ms Hayes will talk about the values that I mentioned, which are really important. We are really pleased, as an organisation, to see that values form one of the three pillars of the Irish Government's Presidency programme.

When we talk about people's feelings about representation at an EU level, we have the findings. Looking at the demographics is interesting. Men are more likely to feel represented than women. That is important. There is theme that is weaved through this about women's perception about European issues and the conversation that needs to happen. We can talk a little bit more about that.

Interestingly, 18-to-34-year-olds felt the most represented while 35-to-44-year-olds felt the most under-represented. The geographical perspective on that is important: of Dublin respondents, 56% felt significantly more represented than, let us say, people in Connacht and Ulster at 44%. There is a regional and demographic imbalance in perceptions around representation. That is important to think through and points to the important twinning exercise that is being run as part of the Presidency. Rural and agricultural communities have told us that they feel less represented or connected to EU decision-making. For us, the key takeaway is that there needs to be more and not less civil participation and conversations, especially conversations that take place outside of Dublin and more regionally.

Ms Lorna Hayes:

The Cathaoirleach is right in his assessment. We can see what broad segments of the public feel about the EU's past failure and ongoing failure to react to what is happening in Gaza, the West Bank and Lebanon, but our poll is just a snapshot. It comprised 1,200 people in the Republic and 1,200 people in the North. Even though it has not come out as strongly in the poll's values question, that does not mean it is not an issue. We have seen it in our interactions. We travel around the country and hold meetings and even though Mercosur is being discussed people will raise the issue of Gaza. We receive emails about the issue as well. We know people are very upset.

We have focus groups involving tiny numbers of people. The focus groups give us a sense of the different opinions but are not representative in any shape or form. We had an over-40s group who, while upset about what was happening in Gaza, felt that the EU had no role to play because they viewed the EU just as an economic bloc. They did not understand that the EU had a role to play in foreign policy. Of course, it is a competence of member states but the EU does take measures, for example, what we have seen with Russia, and it can use its trade relations and other mechanisms to hold third parties to account. Sometimes, there could also be a disconnect between the values and what is happening in the Middle East, in that the public does not always connect it. In our sample, at least, not as many people made that connection.

Barry Ward (Dún Laoghaire, Fine Gael)
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Am I right when reading the responses to question No. 14 that more than half of adult women under the age of 34 feel that the EU does not hold up their core values? I think that is the only one over the 50% threshold but perhaps I have not read the information correctly. On page 16, in answer to question No. 14, under the heading of "Age Breakdown", 52% of women-----

Ms Lorna Hayes:

Some 46% of women believe they are, 35% do not. I am sorry - the Cathaoirleach meant the 18-to-34-year-old category.

Barry Ward (Dún Laoghaire, Fine Gael)
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Yes. I believe those are the figures for Northern Ireland

Ms Lorna Hayes:

We do not have the ages by gender. We can see that, overall, females-----

Barry Ward (Dún Laoghaire, Fine Gael)
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Is that the general figure for 18-to-34-year-olds in Northern Ireland?

Mr. David Geary:

It is, yes.

Ms Lorna Hayes:

Yes.

Barry Ward (Dún Laoghaire, Fine Gael)
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But everyone else - actually, it is the majority - feels that the EU is representing their values.

Ms Lorna Hayes:

Yes.

Barry Ward (Dún Laoghaire, Fine Gael)
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The issue of migration arose in a lot of different ways in the poll. I agree that there is a communications gap in this jurisdiction in terms of Government information on migration. To what extent does the poll distinguish the different types of migration, for example, international protection applicants and those who come here to work? Is there any exploration of the fact that this country would cease to function if we do not have immigration in terms of work visas and people coming here to do essential work?

Is that explored at all?

Ms Lorna Hayes:

No, not in the questions in the poll. It comes up in an open-ended question and Amárach shared the extended data so we can see that when people say migration is a concern, they are talking about what they perceive to be the EU's weak response to refugee movement, concern about the EU's capacity to manage its borders and concern about cohesion between the EU response and the member state response. It is quite a negative sentiment, at least on that question. However, in our focus groups you get a far more nuanced understanding and people made interesting distinctions. Some people spoke about the fact they understand why Ukrainians came to Ireland and they understood or accepted that women and children from Ukraine came but they did not really understand why young men were coming from other regions of the world. That points to a lack of information on the different dynamics of conflict and persecution around the world and why young men are often sent from further afield because it is a very high-risk journey. There are also reasons young men could not leave Ukraine, like conscription. It is a lack of understanding. People were more open to Ukrainians, so there was a hierarchy, I suppose, between refugees and asylum seekers. There was recognition and appreciation more broadly of essential services, as the Cathaoirleach pointed out, and how migrants are contributing to society in a broad range of ways. Young people seemed more open to migration and they spoke a lot about how they travel around the EU and elsewhere. They seem to have a more open attitude.

Barry Ward (Dún Laoghaire, Fine Gael)
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Okay, thanks. I want to ask about involvement as well because the committee visited Luxembourg last week and met a lot of Irish people working in European institutions there. I was struck by their age. Many of them were quite young. From speaking to people from one of the institutions, the European Court of Auditors, while we are at the top of that organisation, I think six senior Irish people are due to retire from it in the coming years. To what extent does involvement of Irish people in working within the European Union affect our perception of how the Union operates?

Mr. David Geary:

It is essential. We have always had a good track record of Irish people in influential positions and we should acknowledge Mr. Whelan's appointment to the Directorate-General for Trade recently. As an organisation we do a lot of support in facilitating and helping people get jobs in the EU, particularly at the graduate level. We do practical things like having a green book and publishing jobs lists and resources to help and facilitate that. It is really because we see this as a hugely important thing to happen. Interestingly, for the first time since 2019, the graduate entry track has opened for jobs across the EU institutions at AD5. It has been a long time since Irish graduates have had the opportunity to get into them. These are permanent jobs and people can rise very quickly through the institutions. We have Catherine Day on our board. She rose through the institutions to the very top. We know that 1,700 Irish citizens have submitted applications to that competition. That places Ireland tenth of 27 on a per capita basis. About 1,500 posts will be filled from this competition.

Involvement is absolutely essential. It is really important for us to see more Irish people actively working within the institutions. It helps the communication gap as well because more families have people connected. We do a lot of work in Brussels to connect Irish people who have worked there for many years with those who are newly arrived. Brussels can be a really big step for people leaving Ireland to work in a multilateral or EU institution. The other thing that has come across in some of the research we have done is that there are still some language deficiencies as well, which are being worked on. It also needs to be said the Department of foreign affairs is providing a lot of services to help people with that particular competition because everybody sees the benefit of getting more Irish people into those roles.

Barry Ward (Dún Laoghaire, Fine Gael)
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Can I ask you two follow-up questions on that? First, how are we performing in terms of the number of positions Irish people are getting relative to the number of applications that are being made? How do we compare with other European Union states?

Mr. Geary mentioned the Department of foreign affairs assisting people with language skills or applications and I know there is a big drive around aistriúchán and access for Irish translators to European institutions. What can we do better or more as a State to encourage, facilitate or assist people with getting those jobs? One of the things I learned in Luxembourg last week was that the Italians are particularly astute at promoting their citizens in going for jobs. There are whole institutions in Italy that not just inform and prepare people but assist them with the application process. In what ways can we do more as a State?

Mr. David Geary:

There are a couple of things I could point to there. The first is that Ireland has the highest number of seconded national experts per capita in the European Commission. That illustrates the Irish representation and influence in those roles. In 2025, 34 Irish people undertook the Schuman traineeship programme in the European Parliament, which doubled what the Government was expecting at that time. On the supports being offered by the Department of foreign affairs, especially with the AD5 recruitment competition, which has, as I said, taken a long time to come around again, the Department offers things like free supports which include practice materials for the EPSO, reasoning tests, webinars, interview preparation and Irish language resources for people who are relying on Irish to get into those jobs. It is a very rigorous testing process to get through, and challenges remain in terms of language skills for Irish applicants.

Taking a step back, there is a lot of work happening at the graduate level to facilitate people getting into these jobs at that level. We think these EU conversations have to happen at an earlier stage in a person's development. That is why we are really passionate about being the national delivery body for the Blue Star programme at primary level. We are introducing the EU to people at a younger age so that as they grow up, develop and start to think about careers, jobs and opportunities, the EU is something they are thinking about as well.

Barry Ward (Dún Laoghaire, Fine Gael)
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Is there data on the success rate?

Mr. David Geary:

Do you mean of the Blue Star programme?

Barry Ward (Dún Laoghaire, Fine Gael)
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Of Irish applicants to these jobs.

Mr. David Geary:

I do not have that but we can come back to the committee on it.

Barry Ward (Dún Laoghaire, Fine Gael)
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Great, thanks.

Seán Crowe (Dublin South West, Sinn Fein)
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I want to go back to question 12, which was "Do you feel your views are adequately represented at EU level?". Quite a lot of people are saying they do not know. Is that a worrying trend, particularly given the number of women who have said they do not know? I am looking at a figure of 31% of female respondents saying they do not know if they are adequately represented at EU level. Does that suggest something about the way we are asking the questions or is it just that people genuinely do not know about the workings of the EU?

Question 11 asked, "Given that certain EU laws still apply in Northern Ireland, do you think Northern Ireland should have a greater say in EU decision-making?" Some 73% said "Yes", which is a huge number. People feel locked out. What is that saying to us? It follows from the notion that if there was a vote in the morning would people rejoin, and so on. What is that saying about the views of people in the North of Ireland? It suggests they feel excluded from the decision-making but that they want to be part of it.

Mr. David Geary:

On question 12 about representation, we see across the survey that women respondents are much more likely to say "Don't know" when they feel they do not have enough information to say "Yes" or "No".

Seán Crowe (Dublin South West, Sinn Fein)
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Are they more honest than men?

Mr. David Geary:

Yes, but what is really important is that we do not assign a particular view to that. It is people saying to us that they do not have enough information. It is great to see people saying they need more information to make up their minds. It would be very easy for a respondent to jump and say they feel like they are not represented or that they feel like they are, but it is about a respondent taking that time and saying that they do not know, and asking what the question means and what success looks like in terms of-----

Seán Crowe (Dublin South West, Sinn Fein)
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Would that be reflected in other polls as well?

Mr. David Geary:

Yes.

Seán Crowe (Dublin South West, Sinn Fein)
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I am putting it down to honesty. I am not suggesting it is anything other than that.

Mr. David Geary:

It is, but for us in our work it is a sign there is an appetite for more conversation, engagement and information and that is kind of the deficit the Deputy mentioned there. There is a deficit in information about EU-level activity and work. The hope is that during the Presidency the bridge will come closer and the EU institutions will become closer to everyday life.

The hope is that people will be much more familiar and aware as a result of that as to what is happening at EU level. It is part of it. I think the "don't know" is interesting and something we have seen across the board. For us, it suggests we need many more conversations at a national and regional level on these issues.

Ms Lorna Hayes:

On the Deputy's question on Northern Ireland, I would say 73% is a very high percentage. I think it does reflect the reality that a lot of EU law still applies to the North, something like over 300 laws. It is very understandable that they would feel that they would like representation in the decision-making and development of laws that apply to them. As it stands, they have no representation and no voice. It is reflective of what is happening. A cross-party group of Irish MEPs have asked for the possibility of observer status in the Parliament. It is reflective of discussions and review of the implementation of the Windsor Framework. The review also found that there is a democratic deficit. Recommendations have been made around how that representation could be strengthened. I think that response in combination with the other questions about whether people would vote to rejoin the EU, as well as a united Ireland in the EU, show this desire to have better relationships, more access and more decision-making power. In that question, it is interesting to look at the "yesses". Within our poll sample, 62% of those who voted to leave voted yes on having a greater say in EU decision-making.

Mr. David Geary:

It also underscores the work the Irish Government is doing in terms of bringing more Northern voices into the Irish Presidency as part of the ongoing efforts there. Certainly we have seen this with civil society groups we have worked with. There is a clear desire even at civil society level to have much more engagement at European level.

Paul Gogarty (Dublin Mid West, Independent)
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I thank the witnesses for their presentation; I had a good look through it. I apologise I am not down there physically. I an unable to sit for too long at the moment due to an injury. I have two questions which I am not sure were answered in their entirety in the previous interjections. The first one relates to Northern Ireland. I would love to see a united Ireland by consent. Obviously you need to bring a larger number than a 52%-48% split to make that happen. It is welcome in the context of EU membership that a united Ireland is supported by such a number. Do our guests have any views on the discrepancy between the height of that poll versus other standard polls on a united Ireland? Has there been any other corresponding poll on a united Ireland with EU membership?

My second question relates to support for other countries joining the European Union. There is not a comparative graph in terms of other years. Has that declined significantly over the last ten years or is it a slow decline as witnessed in respect of some other sentiments regarding the EU in general?

Ms Lorna Hayes:

On the first question on a united Ireland, I think it is very much linked to the framing of the question. We have been asking this for a few years. We have to ask these questions in the context of the EU so we are not just asking about a united Ireland, we are asking if people would be in favour of a united Ireland in the EU. That framing really matters. With the other questions in relation to Northern Ireland, we can see that people may assess their response differently when they are thinking about a united Ireland in the EU. Part of the higher response may be that they could see it as a vehicle to return to the EU, for some people anyway. For us, it highlights a growing sentiment for more conversations and more dialogue on what the possibilities could be for the North in terms of its relationship with the EU. The Deputy is right that the figure is higher than other polling. I cannot answer if there is other polling specifically on the question of a united Ireland in the EU. I think ARINS perhaps asked that but I do not have their data to hand.

We have worked really carefully with Amárach and its partners in the North to look at the samples. We are really happy. We felt the religious community breakdown is consistent with other samples. We do blind polling in Northern Ireland so perhaps there is an element of people seeing that it is about the EU and choosing not to participate because they are not as interested. That could potentially influence the findings a little. All in all, it is higher but we think it flags that there is interest in having a stronger relationship with the EU, stronger representation and more conversations about what that could potentially look like.

Mr. David Geary:

To respond to the Deputy's question on enlargement, he is right, it has come down marginally in the last number of years. It is 51% this year but it was 57% in 2024 and 56% in 2025. It has come down marginally. We talked earlier in the session about some of the concerns people have expressed to us around migration and how they view it. One of the really interesting things that came through was that they will view enlargement through the lens of the EU's capacity to manage internal challenges, things like migration, cost-of-living pressures and the ongoing geopolitical volatility. By and large, there was a strong awareness of the benefits of enlargement to a small nation like Ireland, working with others. To be fair, there were concerns expressed, particularly in the context of EU decision-making, on whether the EU can effectively absorb additional member states while maintaining cohesion and shared values. It is marginally down in the last number of years, against a backdrop of a conversation that has been ongoing about enlargement.

Paul Gogarty (Dublin Mid West, Independent)
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Is there any other information in the comments about people's welcoming or not welcoming of specific likely accession states? Was that information ascertained in any way, directly or indirectly?

Mr. David Geary:

No, we do not have information on that to share. We can go through the findings of the focus group and see if there is anything else but I am not aware of anything in that vein that we could share with the committee today.

Eileen Lynch (Fine Gael)
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There is an awful lot of interesting findings in the report. I would like our guests' comments on some of them. Women in Ireland are expressing a higher distrust of both national and EU institutions than men. Personally I am struggling to find a reason for that. Maybe we are more cynical as a gender, I do not know. I would welcome any thoughts on that and whether it is similar to the findings of this report over the past few years, that there has been a higher level of distrust among women in comparison with men.

While it is great to see that support for EU membership is at 82% and that it is 84% among 18 to 34-year-olds, which is very encouraging, at the same time, only 45% of respondents believe that the EU is moving in the right direction. That seems to be a contradiction in terms. How can we explain this gap in public satisfaction? On the one hand, so many people are in favour of our membership but on the other hand quite a large number also feel the EU is not moving in the right direction.

The EU's weakest performance area is migration at 49%. Is this indicative of the way in which the migration pact has been communicated at national or European level, or both? How do we deal with the difficulties we are facing, not just as Ireland but as a Union, when it comes to the physical struggles of migration but also the struggles we are dealing with in how the public perceive it, the rise in dissatisfaction and the rise in racist behaviour, opinions and narratives? How do we decrease the percentage of those who feel the EU's weakest performance area is migration? That is something that will stay with us. How do we deal with it and how do we communicate more coherently to the public the measures that are being implemented?

Mr. David Geary:

I will take the question on trust and support and then Ms Hayes might come back to the Senator on migration. The Senator is absolutely right: distrust was highest among 35- to 54-year-olds in the Republic and women in particular, as well as respondents in Connacht-Ulster and leave voters in Northern Ireland, which is probably no great surprise. The focus groups highlighted that widespread scepticism towards the institutions. When we talked to participants in those focus groups, which, as my colleague Ms Hayes mentioned, are a small subgroup of the people we polled, the 2,400 people in the poll, they referred to things like spin or their views on how housing or services are being delivered. Post-Covid mistrust was referred to, as was the influence of online misinformation in forming and impacting how people view the world. We know that this is fairly consistent with other polls that have looked at things like trust in the institutions. In terms of tackling that, again, not to beat around the bush, but I think it is really about clearer and more accessible public communication. We know there are needs for a stronger focus on civic education and media literacy. We also need more opportunities for direct engagement and we need concrete steps to tackle disinformation and misinformation. In that vein, the EU's democracy shield, which is being led by Commissioner McGrath, is maybe worth mentioning.

In terms of briefly squaring off the point about support for the EU and the disconnect, I think that by and large, at a really simple level, people recognise that there are advantages to being in the EU. They recognise the economic benefits and the benefits to a country like Ireland being in, but there are - and this is where we cannot be complacent - emerging areas of disagreement in terms of policy direction, strong disagreement in some cases, in some areas. For us, that is something we need to pay attention to. These are areas that we cannot shirk away from. We have to embrace these issues and talk about them. It is really about having a safe and respectful space where we can discuss these things in a factual, informed way. For us, it gives a roadmap of those issues that need to be focused on. That is what we see in that poll finding. They are the issues that are on people's minds when they see that disconnect with the EU.

Ms Lorna Hayes:

I can speak quickly on that point and then on migration. The Senator is quite right: it is an interesting disconnect between very high support for membership versus concerns about the direction of travel. As Mr. Geary mentioned, we saw in our focus groups that Brexit has had such impact in Ireland that Irish people see Brexit as the case study of what not to do, such that we see support for EU membership remaining very strong but it does not mean people cannot have concerns. I suppose the gap for us is that if those concerns continue and people feel there is no channel through which to express their concerns or to try to take action, to talk to policymakers and decision-makers, then apathy and disconnection with the EU could grow. That is what we want to try to focus on, to make people believe it is normal to have concerns and to question certain things, but who can they communicate that to? Do they know who their MEP is or what other access do they have to institutions? Do they have a voice in different policymaking processes, etc.? That is why, as Mr. Geary said, informed citizen participation is so crucial.

On the migration pact, we had also thought that could be a key issue in terms of people's understanding or lack of understanding and we did do research on the migration pact a few years ago but on disinformation, and we saw quite a lot of disinformation. I think it was in quite small groups. It was more a kind of far-right agenda, using the migration pact to talk about conspiracy theories, Ireland being invaded and threats to our Christian values and that sort of thing. This year, however, in our focus group not many people had heard about the migration pact, so I do not think the issue is so much a lack of communication about the measures and the EU's asylum and migration policy and how that is implemented here in Ireland through the International Protection Act. I think it is more a lack of communication on the whole dimensions of what migration means and the positive aspects. We discussed this earlier today, but it is really looking at how there should be communication about what the benefits are. We have also seen that there is a lot of misinformation about numbers of people arriving. People overestimate the numbers of people coming, they underestimate what they contribute to society and they underestimate their qualifications. I think that is where the gap is. We saw in our focus groups - again, we see this in other research - that at community level people are welcoming by and large but they do have concerns about pressures on housing and other infrastructure, and there is not enough of a conversation about what the solutions to those pressures are. The conversation seems to shift towards scapegoating migrants and refugees, whereas that is not the solution. That is where we see the discussion, so it is not so much about the specific measures, as such; it is more that that more positive communication is lacking.

Barry Ward (Dún Laoghaire, Fine Gael)
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I will have to step out, so may I ask somebody to take the Chair? I will ask Senator Lynch. Is that agreed? Agreed. I will come back as soon as I can.

Seán Crowe (Dublin South West, Sinn Fein)
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To continue with the migration thing, and looking at the polls from last year, in the South of Ireland migration was the second issue, and this year the cost of living is first and migration is then the second issue, but it is still there, even though the figures would suggest that the migration figures are actually down in North and South. Again, there are concerns, so whatever the kernel of concern that people had has certainly stayed there with them, and whatever assurances or reassurances that people have had, that is still there. Is there a link there then between people's concerns about migration and the platforms they get the information from?

The other big story, and the thing that jumps out at me, relates to question 8, whether the EU should have greater independence from the US. Is that a question that has been asked in previous polls? If I were the US ambassador to Ireland, this would be really concerning if these are the views of people North and South on the island that there is clearly a disconnect between US policy or what the US is saying about their view on Europe. It is the big story, I think, that is coming out of it, with 79% in the North and 71% in the South. That is extremely concerning for anyone looking from a US perspective at Ireland.

Ms Lorna Hayes:

On migration, the Deputy is right that the numbers are down, but what we have seen in other research - I think I have mentioned the ESRI - is that people are still overestimating the numbers arriving, so maybe not everyone has access to that information or understands that the numbers are down. There is maybe a bit of a disconnect there. In terms of social media, when we and others have been monitoring disinformation in the past few years, migration is always one of the top issues for disinformation narratives. It is massive. I am sure there is disinformation influencing to a certain extent that response. I do not think we have the data on which social media channels people use. There is likely more disinformation, I suppose, on X than on some of the platforms, but we do not have that kind of breakdown or analysis, really.

The Deputy's-----

Seán Crowe (Dublin South West, Sinn Fein)
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Sorry, just before we go off migration, as regards the fact that people are concerned about migration, they could be concerned that we are not doing enough about the migration issue, could they not be?

Ms Lorna Hayes:

No. We would have liked to think that, but Amárach is able to give us from the open-ended question the data behind those responses, and in that it is not concern that we are not doing enough; it is more concern about border control and so on.

As regards the Deputy's question about the US and EU relations and whether the EU should seek greater autonomy, yes, that is a new question for 2026, so we have not asked it in recent years, or we certainly have not asked it in that formulation. We thought it was particularly timely this year to ask given the implications not just in the EU but globally under the current US Administration. Obviously, it is a very high figure both in the North and in the Republic. We do not see it as any sort of endorsement of cutting off relationships either between Ireland and the US or the EU and the US. We see it more as a public feeling that the EU needs to become more self-reliant and perhaps needs to fend for itself more.

These are the discussions happening in Brussels, and there are more in the areas of trade, technology, defence, security, international law and multilateralism. For us, we did not find the result that shocking, given what the public have seen happen with tariffs and uncertainty in the trade relations between the EU and the US. That is an ongoing negotiation. The trade deal is there, and it is going through the European Parliament. Even a few days ago, the US President announced, or threatened, potential new tariffs. There is such uncertainty there that definitely impacts public opinion. People will understand that tariffs could impact their cost-of-living situation and day-to-day challenges.

We also see it as an opportunity for the EU to focus more on its competitiveness and what that means, the savings and investments union, and its digital and green transition. It also likely speaks to whether the public perceives the EU as taking enough of a leadership role amid the global crises and massive upheavals we are seeing. There have been the US actions in Venezuela, Greenland, Iran, Lebanon and so on. Maybe the public would again wish the EU to reinforce its leadership role on the global stage and be a bit more outspoken on international law and the importance of multilateralism. While the US, of course, remains an extremely important partner, it is, at the same, about the EU seeking new trade agreements and new bilateral relationships. We are seeing that happening already with Mercosur and relationships or trade agreements with India, Australia and so on. I think those are some of the aspects.

Mr. David Geary:

On where people are getting their information on European issues and other issues from, traditional media is still really strong in Ireland, and it was good to see that again in the poll. We know younger audiences look to social media but, interestingly, what is also coming across from participants is an awareness of the levels of disinformation they are seeing on social media platforms. That is very important. It underscores again the importance of some of that work around media literacy and the democracy shield taking place at an EU level.

There is also sometimes confusion about where that line of responsibility lies between the Government's responsibility and the EU's responsibility. We see this bleed into a number of different issues. Again, this heightens the need for more information and awareness about what is happening. As Ms Hayes mentioned, it was interesting to see the lack of awareness of the migration pact, given that we see a huge amount of coverage of it in the media. That shows the real need for more media literacy and civic participation work to take place across Ireland on these issues.

Paula Butterly (Louth, Fine Gael)
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I have one quick question. If the witnesses have already answered it, they can just say that and I will look back at the Official Report. I could have missed it while I was out of the room. Question No. 15 asked which institutions respondents they trusted most. I am shocked that 37% of people do not trust any institution. What can we do to address those issues? In replying to that question, did respondents give any indication as to why?

Mr. David Geary:

We did discuss this issue already, but I am happy to continue.

Paula Butterly (Louth, Fine Gael)
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I will look back over the previous answer.

Mr. David Geary:

I will give the Deputy her time back. I am very happy to respond if the Deputy wishes.

Paula Butterly (Louth, Fine Gael)
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Yes, if Mr. Geary does not mind.

Mr. David Geary:

Not at all. We are very concerned about trust levels. In the Republic, only 36% support the Irish Government and 27% trust the EU. The figures are there as well for Northern Ireland, and they are very low as well for the Stormont institutions, which is obviously very concerning. We know that distrust is highest in the 35-54 age bracket, but also for women and respondents in regions like Connacht and Ulster as well.

In terms of what can be done, people are telling us that this is coming from a position where they feel like there is an effort to spend and how challenges around housing and service delivery, the high cost of living and those kinds of tangible, life-altering things are being dealt with. They also specifically refer to the post-Covid mistrust that crept in, when more and more people went online and started consuming their own information there. Tackling the situation involves media literacy, education and all the stuff we have been talking about already. There is a need for strong and co-ordinated efforts to tackle disinformation and misinformation at an EU level and at the Irish level. There is also a need to have a lot more opportunities for direct engagement on some of these issues. When we bring people together in focus groups, we find that is sometimes the first time in their lives they have been brought together to talk about European issues. That should not be the norm.

Paula Butterly (Louth, Fine Gael)
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It is actually the age bracket that surprises me the most. The 35-54 group, give or take, accounts for a very large percentage, and we would have imagined that they would have seen, let us say, the pre-social media situation and the current one. If I had been asked without seeing this information, I would have said it would definitely be those in the 16-30 age bracket. It is not, though, and they seem to have more faith than those in the 35-54 age group. That concerns me because those in that group traditionally probably get their information from different sources and then put it all together.

Mr. David Geary:

Yes. Additionally, a lot of these findings concerning trust in institutions and national governments are fairly consistent across the EU level as well, so we are not an outlier in some of these findings either, which is important. For us, it is about targeting these demographics in our outreach and advocacy and being really clear about that.

Ms Lorna Hayes:

To add to that, more broadly, across the poll, we see generally, at least in the Republic, more positive answers or sentiment coming from the 18-34 age bracket, and then, often, the 55-plus age bracket. In between those age brackets, including those from 35 to 44 and 45 to 54, is where we see the most dissatisfaction. That is really interesting. It is then about finding out how we can sustain the situation with young people, who are more positive and hopeful and have trust.

Paula Butterly (Louth, Fine Gael)
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It goes back to the Chair's points. When we were out in Luxembourg last week, a key factor was that we needed to get young people back connected to Europe. Italy was spoken about, and I saw this myself. Once upon a time, certain universities, such as Bocconi University, were the places to go to get training to apply for a civil service job and to get involved in the Italian institutions. The focus now, however, is very much on applying for the European institutions, so there is a real drive there. We felt, from talking to people in Luxembourg, that there was a disconnect. Years ago, we felt that Europe was very important to us and offered us lots of opportunities, and we felt that young people were perhaps not feeling the same way, yet their positivity level is, in some cases, double that for my generation, shall we say. It is a curious situation.

Mr. David Geary:

There is an opportunity there to double down on that positivity and encourage more people to follow that pathway and look at European jobs and careers as well. There is a strong awareness among that group of things like free movement, roaming, consumer rights and protections and things like that. They can see tangible, everyday benefits from being in the European Union as well, which is really important. For us, in terms of getting more people to consider jobs in the European institutions, the hope is that we can build on that positivity and see more people making that leap.

Paula Butterly (Louth, Fine Gael)
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I am sorry. I have just noticed that a vote has been called for in the Chamber, which is going to affect me and Deputy Crowe for a couple of minutes.

Eileen Lynch (Fine Gael)
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Does either Senator Andrews or Deputy Crowe have follow-up questions?

Seán Crowe (Dublin South West, Sinn Fein)
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No.

Chris Andrews (Sinn Fein)
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No.

Eileen Lynch (Fine Gael)
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Does either Ms Hayes or Mr. Geary have any follow-up comments before we close the session?

Ms Lorna Hayes:

As we have discussed EU values a lot, we just want to share that we will be launching a campaign on EU values in mid-June, which we will definitely share with the committee. We have done a range of videos with people around Ireland who uphold EU values in their day-to-day lives. We have done videos with people working on homelessness and disability rights, asylum seekers, women's rights, the rule of law, youth participation, protecting the Irish language, a Palestinian activist, and so on. We would be delighted if the committee could share it perhaps and maybe we will have an opportunity to present the campaign to it at some stage.

Eileen Lynch (Fine Gael)
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Great. I thank Ms Hayes very much. We look forward to that. This is an incredibly important issue, particularly in terms of the Presidency and values being one of the themes. On behalf of the committee, I thank Ms Hayes and Mr. Geary very much for their engagement today. It has been a very insightful and interesting discussion.

We will shortly go into private session to discuss some housekeeping matters before we adjourn until next Wednesday, 20 May 2026, when we will discuss the savings and investment union with Irish funds.