According to a new survey, nearly three-quarters of Irish people regard membership of the European Union as positive.
The Eurobarometer survey, released today by the European Commission, says a mere six per cent regard EU membership as "a bad thing". The figure of 74 per cent who support membership is a drop since support for the EU peaked in 1997, when 82 per cent of people said they supported membership.
The new survey shows 87 per cent of Irish people believe that Ireland has benefited from EU membership, the highest such score in Europe.
The poll also shows nearly two-thirds of people trust the European Parliament and over 60 per cent of Irish voters believes Government energy and environmental policy should be more closely tied to the European Union.
The research, which was gathered last month as part of the six-monthly update on changing attitudes across the 27-member EU, also found that crime and health care were the most important issues for the Irish public.
The director of the EC office in Ireland Martin Territt said EU member states need to work together to meet the challenges of modern society. "The latest survey shows a clear mandate from the Irish people to act on many levels," he said.
Mr Territt noted that the Lisbon Treaty, which is to be the subject of a referendum in Ireland, proposes significant measures to improve EU action on energy, the environment, as well as on cross border crime and health threats.
The Government has yet to make a decision on when to hold the vote. The Cabinet will discuss the referendum wording when it meets today. An announcement of a date for the vote is expected within weeks.
The treaty has to be ratified in all 27 member states before it can come into force.
According to the latest Irish Times/TNS mrbi poll, nearly two-thirds of the electorate don't know how they will vote in the forthcoming referendum.
The poll shows that the number of people in the Don't Know category has risen by two points to 64 per cent, compared with the last Irish Timespoll in October 2007.
Support for the Yes side has increased by one point to 26 per cent, while the number intending to vote No has declined by three points to 10 per cent.
When asked if they were satisfied with their level of knowledge about what is contained in the Lisbon Treaty, 68 per cent of people said they were dissatisfied. Just 12 per cent expressed satisfaction and 21 per cent said they didn't know whether or not they were satisfied.