More sex please, we're Irish, is the message from a new survey which suggests the roar of the Celtic Tiger is matched only by its snore.
The famous laid-back Irish still exist, the survey found, but with an emphasis on the "lay". The results of the Jameson International Millennium Survey, released yesterday, reveal that Dubliners are much more relaxed than their counterparts in other capitals. However, Irish people generally would prefer a more exciting sex life to the promise of more free time.
Almost half of the Dubliners surveyed said they had three to five hours to relax each day, compared to just over 20 per cent in pressurised Prague and 30 per cent in neurotic New York. Irish men were shown to have more free time than women.
Irish respondents - along with South African and British city dwellers - were also found least likely to be in a rush. The French were the most frenetic surveyed, with 54 per cent admitting "always or usually" rushing around.
Presented with a choice between more free time or a more exciting sex life, the Irish put free time at the bottom of the scale. Of all nationalities, the French were more likely to be seduced by more free time than any sexual factors. French men displayed the least interest in more sex.
The survey, carried out in urban centres in Britain, Ireland, France, the US, South Africa, Australia and the Czech Republic, also confirmed what most employers across the State already knew - we are a nation of compulsive clockwatchers.
Irishmen - who admitted checking their watches at least once an hour - and those in full-time work are shown to be among the worst offenders in this category. The French, Australian and British are much less time conscious, consulting their watches only once every three to six hours.