NEW RESEARCH PUBLISHED today shows that close to half of the population would house a refugee for a short period.
Some 44% of Irish adults say they would willingly put up a refugee while their paperwork is being finalised, if they had a spare room, according to the Red C poll.
However, the majority of people (56%) would not be willing to accommodate someone fleeing conflict, the poll found.
Women over the age of 45 were found to be significantly more unwilling to house a refugee than other groups, with only 35% of this group saying they would do so.
The majority (51%) of people said they think Ireland’s response to the current refugee crisis is “about right”, but a similar proportion (45%) believe that the European Union should do more to assist displaced people.
Almost half (47%) of respondents feel that economic migrants strengthen the country through their talents and hard work, a view most widely held in Dublin (56%).
However, 53% believe economic migrants are a burden on society by taking jobs, housing and putting pressure on the health service.
Some 60% of people living in rural Ireland held this view.
Red C interviewed a nationally representative sample of 1010 adults across the country online between 5-10 November.
The research is part of a wider survey of adults across 14 countries in Europe.
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