A new poll shows that large numbers of Catholics in Ireland do not believe some of the central teaching of the Church.

However the poll did not break this down by Mass attendence.

The poll, carried out by MRBI for the Irish Times, also showed that most Catholics do not attend weekly Mass. According to the survey, just under a third (31 per cent) of Catholics said they attended Mass at least once a week.

Some 39 per cent said they either never or very occasionally went to Mass. A further 20 per cent said they attended every two to three months, while 8 per cent went once a fortnight.

Many Catholics do not believe that the body and blood of Christ is present in the Eucharist. Almost two-thirds (62 per cent) believe the blessing of bread and wine during Mass only represents the body and blood of Christ. Just over a quarter believe it is transformed (26 per cent).

Belief in the church is strongest in rural areas but it is considerably weaker in urban areas.

However a significant proportion of the country – including non-Catholics – believe the church has had a broadly positive influence on Ireland.

The national survey was undertaken last month among a representative sample of 1,000 voters aged 18 and over.

A total of 89 per cent of respondents were Catholic. The remainder were either not religious (6 per cent), Protestant (3 per cent) or from other faiths.

Fianna Fáil supporters were most likely to be Catholic (95 per cent), followed by Sinn Féin (89 per cent), Fine Gael (88 per cent), Labour (85 per cent) and Greens (58 per cent).

Those who attend Mass regularly are twice as likely to live in rural rather than urban areas. They are also more likely to be older and support Fianna Fáil or Fine Gael.

Nearly two-thirds of the over-65s attend Mass once a week or more, compared to 13 per cent of those aged 18-24.

Four per cent of women attend daily, while 3 per cent of men do. The gap widens to 8 per cent in the once-a-week or more category: 35 per cent of women versus 27 per cent of men. Overall, the gap between the two is about 10 per cent.

Also, most Catholics (59 per cent) said they are aware of the Eucharistic Congress, due to take place this week, but a very small minority (4 per cent) planned to attend.

Unsurprisingly, 92pc of Catholics believe in God; and 85pc believe Jesus is the son of God, while 83pc believe in Heaven. Only 50pc believe in Hell, however.

Despite the negative publicity surrounding the Church because of the child abuse scandals, only nine per cent of people believe Ireland would be a better place without the Church, while over four times that number, 38pc, believe Ireland would be a worse place, including 29pc of Protestants and 34pc of those under 34, and 48pc of the over-65s.

Forty six percent said they believed it would make no difference.

The poll was carried out among a representative sample of 1,000 adults last month. The margin of error is plus or minus three percent.