Irish citizens are among those in Europe with the highest levels of concern about not having complete control of their personal information online but they are also among those happiest to hand it over in return for free services.
A new Eurobarometer survey for the European Commission found some 67 per cent of all citizens across the 28 member states were concerned about not having full control of their personal data.
In Ireland, the UK and Portugal, however, some 79 per cent of those surveyed expressed concern that they did not have complete control of their data.
Irish citizens were, however, still among those most comfortable with allowing companies to use information about their online activity to target them with advertising.
At least half of the people surveyed in eight member states said they were comfortable with the fact that internet companies do this.
Citizens in Bulgaria (61 per cent) and Ireland (58 per cent) were the most likely to be comfortable with the practice, while people in Latvia (23 per cent), the Czech Republic (27 per cent) and Germany (29 per cent) were the least comfortable with it.
Men were slightly more likely than women (45 per cent versus 40 per cent) to feel comfortable about internet companies using information about their online activity to tailor ads.
Some 51 per cent of 15-24 year-olds said they were comfortable, compared with only 32 per cent of those aged 55 and over.
The proportion of people who agreed they did not mind providing personal information in return for free services online ranged from 40 per cent in both Ireland and Malta, to 17 per cent in Portugal and 20 per cent in Bulgaria.
The UK (49 per cent) and Ireland (41 per cent) were the only countries where at least four out of 10 respondents said they wer concerned about the recording of their activities in public spaces such as in the street or in the metro.
Only 12 per cent of people in Sweden and 16 per cent in Estonia were concerned about this.
The 2014 annual report of the Irish Data Protection Commissioner, published last week, revealed just 3 per cent of of about 900 complaints opened last year related to CCTV footage.
In 16 countries, at least half of respondents said they were concerned about the recording of their activities via payment cards, with over six out of 10 expressing concern in the Czech Republic (64 per cent), Ireland (63 per cent), France (62 per cent), and the UK (61 per cent).
Only about a third of people were concerned about this issue in Sweden and Romania.
At least half of respondents in five member states said that they were concerned about the recording of everyday activities on the internet, with citizens in the UK (59 per cent), Ireland (56 per cent) and Belgium (55 per cent) the most likely to express concern about this issue.
Just a quarter of respondents in Sweden were concerned by this, as were 28 per cent in both Estonia and Hungary.
Some 28,000 people across the EU were questioned for the Eurobarometer survey on dates in February and March.