Landing an Irish woman is apparently not for the faint of heart — and definitely not for the out-of work.

That bad news and more comes from a new survey claiming that Irish women are the fussiest in Europe.

Irish women have no use for men on the dole, according to the survey by online dating firm Parship. Some 55 percent say they wouldn’t date an unemployed man, and one-third say they could “barely accept it." Almost 84 percent say they don’t want their partner to be financially dependent on them. (Just 46.4 percent of men say this is an important issue.)

Good communication, honesty and faithfulness are the qualities that Irish women are particularly fussy about. They care little about athletic or academic prowess, but 90 percent say an optimistic attitude to life is important or very important in a partner.

Like the women of Eire, Irish men also rank good communication and honesty highly but are not that bothered by their partner’s domestic skills, their religion, nationality or earning power.

However, their partners’ attractiveness is one area where Irish men are more demanding than women. Almost 60 percent of Irish men say good looks are important to them, compared with just over 38 percent of women.

Irish women are not unique when it comes to making demands, with women across Europe being 27 percent more choosy than men when it comes to selecting a potential partner. But their fussiness could explain the claim from 40 percent of single women that they haven’t had a relationship in three years.

While Irish women are the fussiest in the 13 countries surveyed, laid-back Irish men brough down the nation's fussiness score, making it the fourth fussiest race in Europe, after the Austrians, Swiss and Germans.

Those hoping to find an undemanding partner should look to the Netherlands, which has the least fussy single people in Europe, followed by France and Britain.

The survey was conducted by Innofact throughout Europe, involved 13,000 people, either single or in relationships, aged between 18 and 59 years old.