Thursday 29 November 2018

Despite the announcement of Joe Schmidt’s departure, 48% believe Ireland will win next year’s Rugby World Cup

Reach Insights Press Release

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29th November 2018
  • Despite the announcement of Joe Schmidt’s departure, 48% believe Ireland will win next year’s Rugby World Cup
  • Ahead of the Euro 2020 draw in Dublin, an enormous 73% agree with Martin O’Neill’s departure as football manager.


November has been a hectic month for Irish sport, from the high of defeating New Zealand in Dublin, to the low of relegation in the UEFA Nations League. Off the field, both the IRFU and the FAI have been busy dealing with coaching arrivals and departures. With so much sport in the news, iReach has conduced as nationally representative survey on Irish sport, to gauge how Ireland supporters are feeling about the current state of rugby and football teams.

It is of little surprise that there is a stark contrast between the sentiments expressed towards the Ireland rugby and football teams.

A resounding 73% of people are happy that Martin O’Neill is no longer in charge of the Republic of Ireland football team and a further 54% do not believe O’Neill was successful during his time in charge. Nonetheless, the current difficulties of Irish football are seen as the responsibility of FAI boss John Delaney, with 49% stating Delaney is most to blame.

O’Neill’s successor, Mick McCarthy, at 30% is the most popular of those who were in the running for the role, followed by Roy Keane (18%) and Stephen Kenny (12%), who will take over from Mick McCarthy following Euro 2020.

The survey results highlight the positivity currently surrounding Irish rugby. Despite the announcement of Joe Schmidt’s departure following the tournament, 48% predicting Ireland will next year’s Rugby World Cup in Japan, compared to just 30% who think New Zealand will be crowned champions for the third time in a row.

The contrast between Irish rugby and football are further underlined by other results too, with only 15% of respondents who believe the Republic of Ireland football team are entertaining to watch compared to a remarkable 75% who are entertained by the Ireland rugby team.

There is some room for sympathy for Irish football however, with over half of those surveyed noting that it is easier for Ireland to be successful at rugby than football.

About iReach Insights
iReach Insights provides a range of research and market intelligence services in Ireland and Europe. iReach has built a Consumer Decisions Research Panel of 40,000 members in Ireland, delivering robust research insights. The survey questions were included in the Nationally Representative iReach Consumer Decisions Omnibus run between the 8th November and the 14th November and has a 3% Confidence Interval and 95% Confidence Level.

 
iReach Insights Limited – Temple Hall, Temple Road, Blackrock, CO. Dublin, IRELAND.
iReach Managing Director: Oisin Byrne
T: 01-214 3740 or email:
PR@ireachhq.com

Wednesday 21 November 2018

Veganism is more about being trendy than being healthy, say 40% of young people, as 22% think the idea of being vegan or vegetarian is ridiculous.

iReach Insights Press Release

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21st November 2018


  • Veganism is more about being trendy than being healthy, say 40% of young people, as 22% think the idea of being vegan or vegetarian is ridiculous.
  • 67% believe the number of vegans and vegetarians is constantly increasing.
  • Animal welfare, health reasons and environmental concerns behind drive to stop eating meat.



In recent years the food habits of Irish people have been changing. Far more focus and concern is now placed on what exactly is in the food we eat and where it comes from. As a result, many of us have altered our diets for a variety of causes. To find out what these reasons are, iReach has conducted a nationally representative survey to understand more about healthy eating in Ireland.

The findings demonstrate the increasing prominence of veganism and vegetarianism, with 67% of people feeling that the number of those not eating meat is constantly increasing. Whilst vegetarians for the most part do not eat meat or fish, a vegan refrains from eating any animal products at all, such as dairy.

This November has been World Vegan Month, highlighting just how far the vegan movement has come not just in Ireland but around the world.

59% of respondents have stopped eating meat over animal welfare concerns, including 73% of over 55s. 39% of males stated health reasons as the cause for their switch in diet compared with 30% of females, whereas 30% of females also cited environmental concerns for the change versus just 14% of males.

A recent study in the UK carried out by OnePoll for the supermarket chain Waitrose also found that animal welfare, health and the environment were the top factors in why people became vegans and vegetarians.

Despite research suggesting that plant-based diets are both healthier for individuals and the planet, a great deal skepticism around veganism and vegetarianism remains. 2 in 5 young people believe that veganism more about being trendy than it is about being healthy, with a further 22% who think the idea of plant-based diets as ridiculous.



About iReach Insights
iReach Insights provides a range of research and market intelligence services in Ireland and Europe. iReach has built a Consumer Decisions Research Panel of 40,000 members in Ireland, delivering robust research insights. The survey questions were included in the Nationally Representative iReach Consumer Decisions Omnibus run between the 15th November and the 22nd November and has a 3% Confidence Interval and 95% Confidence Level.

 
iReach Insights Limited – Temple Hall, Temple Road, Blackrock, CO. Dublin, IRELAND.
iReach Managing Director: Oisin Byrne
T: 01-214 3740 or email:
PR@ireachhq.com

Monday 19 November 2018

Only 18% are satisfied with the current policies and restrictions for content on social media sites 🔏💻💬

iReach Insights Press Release

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19th November 2018



  • Only 7% believe that social media has a solely positive influence on mental health.

  • 53% have adjusted their privacy settings in the last 12 months.

  • Just 18% are satisfied with the current policies and restrictions for content on social media sites


The findings of a nationally representative survey recently carried out by carried out by iReach highlights the ambiguity felt by Irish people regarding how their social media usage affects them.   Only 7% of respondents believe that social media has a solely positive influence on mental health, with those suggesting the impact is solely negative far more prevalent on 32%.

Furthermore, in the last 12 months almost 1 in 4 have taken a break from social media, and additionally 34% of young adults have deleted social media applications from their phone.

Unsurprisingly, given the number of recent and highly publicised data breaches at platforms such as Facebook, 53% of those surveyed have adjusted their privacy settings in the last year.

Nonetheless, Facebook remains the most used social media platform across all tested demographics with 73% of people active users. WhatsApp (69%) and YouTube (52%) are the second and third most used after Facebook. Some platforms have a notably higher number of female than male users, for example Instagram (41% vs 24%), WhatsApp (74% vs 63%) and Snapchat (24% vs 15%).

Facebook is not only the most used but it also the most popular form of social media (34%). Interestingly however, Facebook is far less popular amongst younger adults than older adults, with 25% of 18-34-year old’s stating it as their preferred platform compared to 47% with over 55s.
42% of respondents believe that there should be greater restrictions put in place to better regulate what content can be posted on social media, with a mere 18% who are happy with the policies and restrictions currently being implemented. Doubts over the content that people see on social media are further illustrated with 24% who state that social media is a reliable way to receive news.

Social media users also see the networks themselves as bearing the main responsibility for what  content is posted on their sites (41%), with the author of the post itself the next in line for culpability (38%).


Despite the issues already mentioned surrounding privacy and mental health, 69% of young people would find it difficult to give up social media, demonstrating how important networking sites are to young Irish adults.


About iReach Insights
iReach Insights provides a range of research and market intelligence services in Ireland and Europe. iReach has built a Consumer Decisions Research Panel of 40,000 members in Ireland, delivering robust research insights. The survey questions were included in the Nationally Representative iReach Consumer Decisions Omnibus run between the 8th November and 14th November and has a 3% Confidence Interval and 95% Confidence Level.

iReach Insights Limited – Temple Hall, Temple Road, Blackrock, CO. Dublin, IRELAND.
iReach Managing Director: Oisin Byrne
T: 01-214 3740 or email: 
PR@ireachhq.com

Thursday 8 November 2018

70% believe the Irish Government is not doing a sufficient job in easing the housing crisis.

iReach Insights Press Release

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8th November 2018



70% believe the Irish Government is not doing a sufficient job in easing the housing crisis.

46% don’t think housing and homelessness are a priority of the current Government.

The findings of a nationally representative survey recently conducted by iReach highlight the pessimism of Irish people about the current state of housing and homelessness. The results also demonstrate a lack of faith from the public in the Government’s approach to the issue.

66% of people were not confident that Minister for Housing Eoghan Murphy’s most recent plan would be a successful mechanism to combat problems in the housing market. Under the proposal set to come into effect next June, landlords will be banned from renting properties on Airbnb in areas of high housing demand.

Furthermore, only 10% of respondents answered that the Government is doing sufficient work in ending the housing crisis, with 46% of the population who don’t think that housing and homelessness are among the Government’s priorities.

The most popular potential solution to tackle the housing crisis among all tested demographics is that of increasing housing supply building more accommodation (68%), with stricter rent controls (52%) also seen as a viable option alongside more co-operation with local authorities (53%). 

53% of those asked feel that the “Take Back The City” housing protest organisation has been successful in raising questions about the Irish property sector. The Connacht/Ulster the region views this question most favourably, with 62% believing in the group’s success.

Notably, only 28% of people agree with the occupation of private or public property as a form if demonstration, a method used frequently by the organization in recent months. Of older adults, 64% disagree with such occupations as a means of protest.


About iReach Insights
iReach Insights provides a range of research and market intelligence services in Ireland and Europe. iReach has built a Consumer Decisions Research Panel of 40,000 members in Ireland, delivering robust research insights. The survey questions were included in the Nationally Representative iReach Consumer Decisions Omnibus run between the 25th October and the 1st November and has a 3% Confidence Interval and 95% Confidence Level.

iReach Insights Limited – Temple Hall, Temple Road, Blackrock, CO. Dublin, IRELAND.
iReach Managing Director: Oisin Byrne
T: 01-214 3740 or email: 
PR@ireachhq.com

Monday 5 November 2018

iReach research shows that only 18% of Social Media users in Ireland believe that they could identify a bot social media account.

iReach Insights Press Release

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7th November 2018



Social media bots can generate convincing internet personas that are capable of influencing real people and directly impacted on the vote for Brexit and the 2016 US Presidential Election.


iReach research shows that only 18% of Social Media users in Ireland believe that they could identify a bot social media account.

58% say bot accounts have a negative impact on social media.

Just 8% think bots are used with good intentions.


As social media grows an ever more powerful force for news, communication and advertising with each passing year, it is important to understand why the content people see appears, and where it comes from. To gain an insight into how knowledgeable Irish people are and how confident they feel about how information is presented to them online, we conducted a nationally representative survey on 1,000 adults in Ireland to find out their thoughts.

Social media is used by 80% of the Irish population, yet the results of this iReach survey show relatively little understanding of how bot accounts are often used to populate profiles with content. These bot accounts are used to automatically generate social media posts, sometimes advocating ideas and supporting campaigns for well-known brands, as well giving information in emergency situations.

Social Media bots are often seen as a source of misinformation that can be used to manipulate facts and manufacture false narratives. There has been a greater focus on the potential problems posed by bots on social media since the 2016 U.S Election and in the run-up to this month’s U.S mid-term elections, Twitter has intensified its crackdown of online spamming activities
.
Despite widespread use of social media across ages and locations (88% amongst 18-34 and 72% by over 55s), only 43% of people have even heard of social media bots. Furthermore, a staggering 78% of older adults and 66% of all females surveyed were unfamiliar with the concept.

This lack of familiarity is clear as only 21% of respondents feel that they have heard a lot about these accounts. More remarkable still, is that only 18% believe that they could spot a bot on social media. There is a degree of variance across age groups with younger users (18-35) 24% saying they could spot a bot but of those aged 55+, just 9% felt comfortable that they could identify a bot account with 67% who believed they could not.


In terms of the actual content bots produce, results point to a pessimism across the board. 58% of the total population think that bot accounts have a negative impact on social media, with a mere 14% who say that their impact is a positive one. This adverse outlook is even more obvious as only just 8% believe that bot accounts are operated with primarily good intentions on social media. 

About iReach Insights
iReach Insights provides a range of research and market intelligence services in Ireland and Europe. iReach has built a Consumer Decisions Research Panel of 40,000 members in Ireland, delivering robust research insights. The survey questions were included in the Nationally Representative iReach Consumer Decisions Omnibus run between the 11th October and the 18th October and has a 3% Confidence Interval and 95% Confidence Level.

 
iReach Insights Limited – Temple Hall, Temple Road, Blackrock, CO. Dublin, IRELAND.
iReach Managing Director: Oisin Byrne
T: 01-214 3740 or email:
PR@ireachhq.com