Just over one fifth of people have said they are 'very unlikely' or 'unlikely' to adhere to Covid-19 restrictions over Christmas if they were to prevent them from seeing family and friends according to a survey conducted by the Central Statistics Office (CSO).
Men claimed to be more likely to comply with the restrictions, with 65.3 per cent saying they are 'very likely' or 'likely' to adhere, compared to 50 per cent of women.
Older people were the most likely to say they would follow public health guidance, with 81.8 per cent of people over 70 saying they would comply, almost double that of the 18 to 34 cohort (41.9 per cent).
The fourth 'Social Impact of Covid-19 Survey' was carried out between November 12th and 18th, before the Government's announcement of the country's move to Level 3 measures.
Lessened restrictions around household visits from December 18th will have eased the worries of many of those surveyed, 74.1 per cent of whom said they were concerned about not being able to mix with other households or see friends and family over Christmas.
Women were more likely to worry about seeing friends and family, 79.4 per cent compared to 69.4 per cent of men, while the men were more concerned with the possibility of pubs and restaurants not being able to open for the festive period, 25.3 per cent versus 15.2 per cent.
Older people reported the highest level of concern regarding the opening of places of worship, worrying 35.8 per cent of those aged over 70 and 31.6 per cent aged between 55 and 69.
International travel
The CSO also asked respondents how they felt about international passengers arriving into the country, particularly from those with a colour classification under the EU traffic light system.
More than half said people coming from red regions should not be allowed to enter the country, falling to just 22.9 per cent for passengers from orange regions.
Just 10.3 per cent of people felt those arriving from green regions should also not be permitted to enter the country.
Currently, Greenland is the only country with a green classification, while the Republic of Ireland and Iceland are the only two countries with all orange rated regions.
Finland and Norway are largely orange, but retain some red areas.
Looking on the bright side, 53.9 per cent predicted their next flight would be before the end of 2021, while 36 per cent expected their next flight would be 'sometime in 2022' and only 6.8 per cent said '2023 or later'.
