Survey: Irish putting economy ahead of environment 28/01/2010 - 12:22:57
There has been a sharp increase in the number of Irish people putting economic growth above protection of the environment, according to the results of a new European survey.
More than 60% of Irish people answered "Yes" when asked whether "Economic growth must be a priority for Ireland, even if it affects the environment."
This compares with 44% for the same question in spring 2008.
The figures come from the latest EU-wide attitude study (Eurobarometer) and support the similar recent data coming from across the EU. There has been a sharp increase in the proportion of Europeans putting growth ahead of environmental protection - but the change has occurred at a faster pace in Ireland than elsewere.
Irish people also consider climate change much less of a priority (38%) for the EU than some of our neighbours such as Sweden (70%) Denmark (67%) or Austria (62%). Ireland ranks in the lower half of EU countries for this question with the EU average being 44%.
Respondents were also asked whether they thought that the EU is indispensable in tackling global problems such as climate change. The answers show that less people in Ireland than in any other EU country thought so – just 47% of Irish people agreed that EU action was key while the EU average was 75% with many countries scoring higher again.
