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Ireland’s people are a happy bunch THE Irish
are one of the happiest nations in the European Union according to new
figures.
The Irish rate third-happiest population after Denmark and Finland in
results from Cambridge University.
Researchers believe trust in authority might be the key to Irish smiles.
Economists at the top university have been studying contentment levels
since 2002.
Britain came ninth and the Italians, despite their climate, wine, fashion
and antiquities were bottom of the league.
Some 20,000 responses were analysed. People were asked to rate happiness,
life satisfaction and other subjective responses out of 10. Results showed
that women tend to be happier than men and extreme ages, old and young,
are both happier than people in their middle years.
In Scotland, Wales, North and South-West England the average score out
of 10 for happiness fell to 7.5 in 2004 compared with almost eight in
2002.
Researchers at Cambridge’s Faculty of Economics say the slump in
British public contentment could be due to flagging trust in Tony Blair’s
government and other institutions.
Dr Luisa Corrado who led the research said: “The survey shows
that trust in society is very, very important. The countries that scored
highest for happiness also reported the highest levels of trust in their
governments, laws and each other.”
Money can, perhaps, not buy you happiness but it sure helps. A high income
in countries where people trust their public institutions such as Ireland,
was the icing on the cake.
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