In the 2025 Trust Survey, respondents were asked to rate their interpersonal and institutional trust levels on a scale from ‘0 - Not at all’ to '10 - Completely’. This is in line with the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) requirements. The mean score for each trust level indicator is calculated by adding individual scores and dividing the total by the number of individuals (see Background Notes for more details). In line with the OECD’s recommended groupings, responses were grouped as ‘Don’t trust (0-4)’, ‘Neutral (5)’, or ‘Trust (6-10)’.
Statistics are available by gender, age group, level of education attained, employment status, voting status in the last election, and NUTS 2 region. Please see Data chapter.
In 2025, almost eight in ten (78.7%) respondents trusted most people, representing a decrease of 3.8 percentage points from 82.5% in 2023. Over three quarters (77.3%) of respondents trusted the electoral system. In 2025, similar percentages of respondents trusted the civil service (64.2%), the courts and legal system (68.2%), the armed forces or military (69.1%) and the Gardaí (69.5%). The percentages who trusted the courts and legal system, and the Gardaí, were largely unchanged from 2023 rates. The percentage who trusted the civil service fell from 66.5% in 2023 to 64.2% in 2025.
In 2025, similar percentages of respondents trusted the national government (43.8%), the local government (44.2%), the Oireachtas (45.9%) and the news media (46.0%). Compared with 2023, there was approximately a 3 percentage point decrease in trust in the national government (46.6%) and the Oireachtas (49.1%). The percentage of respondents who trusted the local government increased by 2.7 percentage points from 2023, when the rate was 41.5%.
Over a quarter (27.4%) of respondents trusted political parties in 2025, an increase from 26.4% in 2023. Less than half (46.0%) of respondents trusted the news media, a 1.1 percentage point decrease from 47.1% in 2023.
Comparisons with 2023 cannot be made for trust in the military/armed services or electoral system, as associated questions were first introduced in 2025.
The percentage of men who trusted most people decreased by 1.4 percentage points from 83.4% in 2023 to 82.0% in 2025. The percentage of women who trusted most people decreased by 6.1 percentage points from 81.7% to 75.6% over the same period. See figure 2.1 and table 2.1.
In 2025, a higher percentage of those aged 50 years and over trusted the national government (51.1%), the Oireachtas (52.1%) and political parties (33.0%) than other age groups. The percentage of respondents who trusted political parties and local government was lowest for those aged 30-49 years, at 21.5% and 38.5% respectively. The percentage of respondents who trusted the national government was lowest for those aged 18-29 years at 36.3%. The same cohort had the highest percentage of respondents who trusted local government, at 48.9%, when compared to other age groups.
The percentage of younger respondents (those aged 18-29 years) who trusted the national government, the Oireachtas, local government and political parties increased between 2023 and 2025. For those aged 30 years and over, the percentage of respondents who trusted the national government, the Oireachtas and local government decreased over the same period (See table 2.3).
A 7.2 percentage point decrease was seen for the percentage of respondents aged 50 years and over who trusted the national government, falling from 58.3% in 2023 to 51.1% in 2025. However, the percentage of respondents in this age group (aged 50 years and over) who trusted political parties, increased from 31.2% to 33.0% over this period.
The percentage of respondents who trusted the civil service decreased for all age groups between 2023 and 2025, with a 3.6 percentage point decrease seen for those aged 50 years and over. See figure 2.3 and table 2.3.
Respondents were asked about their current work situation. In line with OECD requirements, this was categorised into: (1) Employed, (2) Retired and (3) Unemployed, in training or other. The ‘Unemployed, in training or other’ category included unemployed, respondents unable to work due to long-standing health problems, students, those fulfilling domestic tasks and other.
In 2025, a higher percentage of retirees trusted the Gardaí (85.3%), the armed forces/military (81.6%) and the courts and legal service (76.8%) when compared to those who were employed or unemployed, in training or other. Six in ten (62.5%) respondents who were unemployed, in training or other, trusted the Gardaí (over 20 percentage points lower than the rate for retirees), 59.9% trusted the courts and legal system and 60.3% trusted the armed services/military.
The percentage of employed respondents who trust the Gardaí decreased from 69.5% in 2023 to 66.3% in 2025 while the percentage of respondents who trusted the courts and legal system increased from 74.6% to 76.8% for retired respondents over the same period.
Comparisons with 2023 cannot be made for trust in the armed services/military, as associated questions were first introduced in 2025. See figure 2.4 and table 2.4.
Almost half of respondents (46.0%) reported they trusted the news media in 2025, a small decrease from 47.1% in 2023.
Analysis by highest level of education shows that half of respondents (50.1%) with a tertiary education trusted the news media compared to approximately a third (37.6%) of respondents with a lower than leaving certificate level of education. Although there was an overall decrease in the proportion of respondents who trusted the news media between 2023 and 2025, the percentage of respondents with a lower than leaving certificate education, who trust the news media increased from 34.6% to 37.6% over this period. See figure 2.5 and table 2.5.
Under six in ten respondents (57.4%) trusted international organisations in 2025, a 6.3 percentage point decrease from 63.7% in 2023. Those living in the Eastern and Midland region reported the highest percentage point decrease (9.1) in trust in international organisations between 2023 and 2025, from 66.8% to 57.7%.
When comparing respondents’ levels of trust in international organisations by region in 2025, the percentage of respondents who trust were similar between regions. Respondents living in the Southern region had the highest percentage of respondents who trusted international organisations (57.9%) whereas those living in the Northern and Western region had the lowest percentage of respondents who trusted international organisations (55.4%). See figure 2.6 and table 2.6.
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