Switzerland had the highest percentage of respondents who reported trust in local government, national government, and national parliament at 68%, 62% and 61% respectively in 2025.
Six in ten (62%) respondents in Switzerland trusted the national government compared with 44% of respondents in Ireland.
Seven out of ten (70%) Irish respondents had trust in the police, compared with 89% of respondents in Finland and 25% of respondents in Bulgaria.
In the United Kingdom, 55% of respondents reported trust in the courts and judicial system compared with 68% of respondents in Ireland.
In Ireland 46% of respondents reported trust in the news media, a similar percentage to respondents in Australia, New Zealand, Sweden, and Norway.
Regarding the healthcare system, 32% of people were satisfied with it in Ireland, compared with 55% of people in the United Kingdom and 80% of people in Luxembourg.
Ireland was one of 38 countries that participated in the 2025 round of the OECD Trust Survey, which also included Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Iceland, Italy, Japan, Korea, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Slovak Republic, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom.
People who participated in the survey were asked to rate their trust levels on a 0-10-point scale from ‘0 Not at all’ to ‘10 Completely’. For the OECD report, people who had recent access to the education system, healthcare system, and quality of administrative services were asked to rank their satisfaction level on a scale of 0 (Not at all satisfied) to 10 (Completely satisfied). Those with a score of 6-10 were grouped as satisfied.
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Statistician's Comment
The Central Statistics Office (CSO) has today (15 September 2026) published intercountry results on trust in institutions and satisfaction with public services from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development’s (OECD) Trust Survey 2025.
Commenting on today’s release, Sarah Crilly, Statistician in the Social Cohesion and Sustainable Development Goals Division, said: “Ireland was one of 38 countries that participated in the OECD Trust Survey 2025. The Trust Survey monitors respondents’ self-reported interpersonal trust and trust in different institutions and levels of government across participant countries. The CSO published national results of the Trust Survey 2025 and the OECD published the intercountry results in the OECD Survey on Drivers of Trust in Public Institutions 2026 Results, Navigating Rising Expectations and New Horizons in June 2026.
Trust in Government
In Ireland, 44% of respondents reported trust in the national government, slightly above the average of 40% for the 38 countries that participated in the survey. A higher percentage of respondents trusted the national government in Switzerland (62%) and Iceland (59%), compared to Germany (35%) and the United Kingdom (33%). Bulgaria reported the lowest percentage of respondents with trust in their national government at 16%.
When it comes to local government, 44% of respondents in Ireland reported trust, just below the OECD average of 46%. A higher percentage of respondents in Switzerland (68%) and Finland (62%) reported trust in local government, compared to Bulgaria (26%), Slovenia (26%) and Greece (28%).
Trust in Political Parties
The percentage of respondents who reported trust in political parties was low for most participant countries, and Ireland’s figure of 27% of respondents was very close to the OECD average at 26%. A higher percentage of respondents in Switzerland (49%) and Finland (42%) reported trust in political parties, while the percentages were lower for Bulgaria (10%) and Chile (11%).
A lower percentage of respondents reported trust in political parties when compared with trust in local government, national government, or national parliament in 2025. The only exception was Peru, where 15% of respondents trusted the national parliament, compared with 17% for political parties.
Trust in Police and Courts and Judicial Service
Seven in ten respondents in Ireland (70%) reported trust in the police, compared with an average of 63% across participating countries. Ireland’s percentage was similar to Estonia (70%) and New Zealand (71%). Finland had the highest and Bulgaria had the lowest percentage of respondents reporting trust in the police, at 89% and 25% respectively. In the United Kingdom half of respondents (52%) trusted the police.
Trust in the National Civil Service
Trust in the national civil service was particularly strong in Ireland, with 64% of respondents reporting trust. This compares with an average of 46% among participating countries. Only Finland (69%) and Iceland (68%) recorded a higher percentage of respondents reporting trust in the national civil service. Ireland’s result contrasts with countries such as the United Kingdom (39%) and Poland (34%). Bulgaria had the lowest percentage of respondents (15%) who reported trust in the national civil service.
Trust in the News Media
Greece had the lowest percentage of respondents who trusted the news media (19%). In Ireland, 46% of respondents reported trust in the news media. This was similar to proportions seen in Australia (45%), New Zealand (45%), Sweden (46%), and Norway (47%). The highest proportion of respondents who trusted the news media was seen in Finland (64%).
Satisfaction with the Education System
Respondents who were personally enrolled in an educational institution in the two-year period prior to the survey, or who had a household member who was enrolled in an educational institution during that period, were asked to rate their satisfaction with the education system.
Around seven in ten respondents in Ireland (68%) reported satisfaction with the education system. This was above the OECD average of 60%. Ireland’s percentage of respondents who reported satisfaction was close to those of the United Kingdom (69%), Canada (70%), and Australia (72%), though below countries such as Switzerland (87%) and Finland (85%). It was higher than France (52%), Germany (46%), and Greece (33%).
Satisfaction with the Healthcare System
One in three (32%) respondents in Ireland who personally made use of a healthcare service or had a household member who made use of a service in the 12-month period before the survey, reported being satisfied with the service. This was below the participating country average of 54%. In countries such as Luxembourg (80%), Switzerland (79%), and Denmark (76%), a higher percentage of respondents reported satisfaction in their healthcare services. Ireland’s percentage of respondents who reported satisfaction was closer to that of Poland (32%), Latvia (29%), and Greece (29%), and above Peru (25%) and Bulgaria (22%). In the United Kingdom more than half (55%) of respondents were satisfied with their healthcare services.
Satisfaction with the Quality of Administrative Services
Among respondents in Ireland who had made use of administrative services such as applying for a passport or applying for benefits in the 12-month period before the survey, 68% were satisfied in the quality of administrative services. This was the same as the OECD average. In Luxembourg, Finland, Switzerland, and Estonia more than 80% of respondents reported that they were satisfied with the quality of administrative services in their country. A lower percentage of respondents reported satisfaction with the quality of administrative services in France (59%), Germany (53%), Italy (51%), and Bulgaria (40%).”