Ireland was one of 38 countries that participated in the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development’s (OECD) Trust Survey in 2025. In addition to questions on institutional trust, respondents were asked to choose the top three issues facing their country from a range of topics. Topics included were:
National Security (e.g. War, Terrorism) and Relationships with Other Countries were introduced as categories in 2025.
In 2025, Inflation / Cost of Living was the issue most frequently identified by women, with almost two-thirds (65%) selecting it as one of the three main issues facing the country. This was followed closely by the Availability, Quality, or Affordability of Housing (63%). For men, the Availability, Quality, or Affordability of Housing ranked highest (65%) followed by Inflation / Cost of Living (63%).
The greatest difference between men and women was observed for the Availability, Quality, or Affordability of Essential Services (e.g. Education, Healthcare), with 38% of men and 52% of women ranking it among their top three issues. In 2023, 53% of men and 61% of women considered this to be a top three issue. Women were more likely to rank Poverty and Social Inequalities in their top three issues facing the country in 2025, with 20% doing so compared with 14% of men.
Men were more likely to include Immigration among their top three issues facing the country, with 26% of men ranking it in their top three compared with 22% of women in 2025. In 2023, 17% of men and 15% of women considered Immigration to be a top three issue. In 2025, the spread of Misinformation / Fake News was a top three issue facing the country for 23% of men and 22% of women, compared to 17% and 13% respectively in 2023.
Younger respondents were more likely to rank the Availability, Quality, or Affordability of Housing, and Poverty and Social Inequalities among the top three issues facing the country, whereas older respondents were more likely to identify Crime and Violence, and Immigration in their top three issues.
Over eight in ten (84%) respondents aged 18 to 29 years considered the Availability, Quality, or Affordability of Housing to be one of the top three issues facing the country in 2025, unchanged from 2023. Among those aged 30 to 49 years, the percentage ranking Availability, Quality, or Affordability of Housing as a top three issue fell from 74% in 2023 to 63% in 2025. The rate fell from 65% to 59% over this period for those aged 50 years and over.
The percentage of those aged 18 to 29 years who considered Poverty and Social Inequalities to be a top three issue increased between 2023 and 2025, from 16% to 22%. Over the same period, it decreased for those aged 30 to 49 years, from 26% to 17%, and from 24% to 15% for those aged 50 years and over.
Around half of respondents aged under 50 years, considered the Availability, Quality, or Affordability of Essential Services, such as healthcare and education to be one of the top three issues facing the country, compared to four in ten (41%) of those aged 50 years and over.
Almost three in ten (28%) respondents aged 50 years and over considered Crime or Violence to be one of the top three issues facing the country in 2025, compared to 13% of those aged 18 to 29 years.
The percentage of respondents who chose Climate Change or Other Threats to the Environment as a top three issue saw an 18-percentage point decrease between 2023 and 2025 for 30 to 49 year olds, from 43% to 25%.
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, respondents unable to work due to long-standing health problems, students, those fulfilling domestic tasks and other.
Analysis by the employment status of the respondent shows greater variation in the proportion identifying the Availability, Quality, or Affordability of Essential Services (e.g. Education, Healthcare), as a top three issue than for other issues. For example, in 2025 half (51%) of those who were Unemployed, in training or other identified the Availability, Quality, or Affordability of Essential Services as one of their top three issues compared with over a third (36%) of Retired respondents. In 2023, the corresponding figures were 55% for respondents who were Unemployed, in training, or other and 54% for Retired respondents. The proportion of retired respondents identifying the Availability, Quality, or Affordability of Essential Services (e.g. Education, Healthcare) as one of their top three issues fell by 18 percentage points between 2023 and 2025.
Two thirds (66%) of those Employed and the same percentage (66%) of respondents who were Unemployed, in training or other considered the Availability, Quality, or Affordability of Housing to be one of the top three issues facing the country, compared to 57% of Retired respondents in 2025.
Poverty and Social Inequalities as a top three issue facing the country decreased for all employment groups between 2023 and 2025, with the largest decrease seen for Retired respondents, where 24% included Poverty and Social Inequalities as a top three issue in 2023 and 13% of this group included it in 2025.
In 2025, 16% of respondents who were Unemployed, in training or other considered the Spread of Misinformation / Fake News to be a top three issue facing the country, compared to a quarter of Employed (24%) and Retired (25%) respondents.
In 2025, over two in ten (22%) respondents living in the Southern region considered Immigration to be a top three issue facing the country, compared to almost three in ten (29%) in the Northern and Western region.
The Availability, Quality, or Affordability of Housing was the issue most frequently identified as one of the top three issues facing the country in both the Eastern and Midland (66%) and Northern and Western (64%) regions. In the Southern region, the Availability, Quality, or Affordability of Housing ranked second (61%), with a higher proportion of respondents (67%) identifying Inflation / Cost of living as one of the top three issues. The percentage of respondents who considered Inflation / Cost of living to be a top three issue facing the country was 62% for the Eastern and Midland region and 64% for the Northern and Western region.
The percentage of respondents who considered the Availability, Quality, or Affordability of Essential Services (e.g. Education, Healthcare) to be a top three issue decreased from 61% to 45% in the Southern region between 2023 and 2025, a 16-percentage point decrease. An 11-percentage point decrease was seen for the other regions for this issue, from 54% to 43% in the Northern and Western region and 56% to 45% in the Eastern and Midland region.
Regarding Climate Change or Other Threats to the Environment, one in four respondents considered this to be a top three issue in 2025, with 26% of Eastern and Midland respondents, 24% of Northern and Western respondents and 25% of Southern respondents. In 2023, the percentages were 42%, 35% and 40% respectively.
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