Irish residents are increasingly concerned about the cost of housing and are still worried about unemployment, according to the latest Euro barometer survey on life in the European Union.
It shows housing concerns have risen considerably and are now a worry for 23 per cent of Irish people, compared to 9 per cent a year ago.
Data released by the European Commission on Friday shows some 43 per cent of Irish people remain worried about Ireland's unemployment rate, despite the fall in the numbers signing on the national Live Register to 344,900 in June from 449,200 in September 2010 at the peak of the crisis.
A similar percentage of European citizens cite unemployment as one of their top concerns, followed by immigration and their country’s economic performance.
The survey found one in three Irish residents said rising prices, inflation and the cost of living are the most important issues facing them daily.
Some 23 per cent of Irish people worry about health and social security and unemployment affecting them personally.
On a Europe-wide level, 23 per cent of Irish respondents said immigration is one of the most serious problems facing the EU, with 27 per cent concerned about the ongoing EU-wide economic situation.
Despite concerns over rising prices, inflation and the cost of living, Irish people are more optimistic about the future than the EU average.
The majority of those surveyed believed the impact of the financial crisis has reached its peak, with 74 per cent saying the worst is behind us.
Some 46 per cent of respondents expect Ireland’s economic situation to continue to improve over the next 12 months, compared to an EU average of 26 per cent, while 49 per cent of Irish people believe employment opportunities across the State will continue to rise.
Just under a third of Irish people also expect their employment situation to improve in the coming months, above the European average of 22 per cent.
The Housing Agency reported earlier this week that houses and apartments in Dublin, Wicklow and Kildare were no longer affordable with costs relative to incomes almost back at 2008 levels.
The agency said the affordability problem was due to a mismatch between supply and demand and said a minimum of 63,000 homes needed to be built within the next three years.
It also warned that rental prices had increased and said average rents nationally were seven per cent higher in the first three months of 2015 compared with the same period in 2014.
