Nearly two thirds of young Irish people say language difficulties would make it difficult for them to find a job abroad, according to a new survey.
The results are contained in the first Eurobarometer public opinion survey of young people in all 27 member states of the EU carried out for the European Commission.
It finds that young Irish people have strongly positive attitudes towards the European Union and that, of all young Europeans, the Irish are the most confident that the EU can protect citizens' rights and improve the economic situation in Europe.
"For most young Irish people, the concept of EU citizenship means the right to study, work and live in other EU Member States," the Commission said in a statement.
"However, despite their enthusiasm for travel to other European countries, Ireland has the highest number of young people citing language difficulties as the main obstacle when looking for a job abroad - almost two thirds of Irish youngsters said that their lack of language skills would make it difficult to find work abroad.
"Indeed, less than 5 per cent of Irish young people thought that foreign language skills were key to finding a new job," the Commission said.
The survey finds that young Irish people also have some of the highest levels of confidence in the future of the European Union.
"When asked what the EU would accomplish within the next ten years, 86 per cent of Irish respondents said that the EU would mean a better quality of life for most people and 96 per cent believe it will be easier to travel, study and work anywhere in the EU."
The Commission said the survey also showed Irish people are also optimistic that the EU can bring about a decrease in levels of discrimination towards foreigners and those from ethnic minorities within ten years.
Less than one tenth of Irish young people who took part in the survey believed the European Union would no longer exist in 2017.