June 16, 2008 (LPAC)--The reality of the harsh economic conditions of the lower 80% of the Irish income brackets, a strong majority of whom voted "no" to the Lisbon Treaty on June 12, was revealed in an Irish Times report that over a third of the Irish population had difficulty paying their bills. The underlying dynamic evidenced in Ireland is similar to the strong support Hillary Clinton gained from working class voters in the Democratic primary in the U.S., leading one insightful commentator to note that the vote in Ireland amounted to another primary won by Hillary.

The Irish Financial Regulator found in a survey that 37 per cent have difficulty keeping up with bills and debts. This rose to 60% and 66.2% for divorced and separated couples, respectively. With real inflation rates hitting double digits, the report found that 50% of the population would be in financial difficulty after six months, if their income dropped by a quarter for three months or more. Some 13% have found themselves in financial difficulties within the past five years, where they were three months or more behind on their regular commitments. This rose to 20% for people aged between 21 and 35, and to 36% for divorced people and 26% for separated couples. One in four had experienced a large, unexpected drop in income over the past three years.

Some 44% said they were not prepared to take any risks with savings and investments, while 61% didn't have a credit card and 17% didn't have a current bank account.

The survey involved interviews with just over 1,500 people across the State between November 2007 and February 2008. If the same survey was taken today, it would most likely be even worse.