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 are new categories for 2025.
In Ireland, the Availability, Quality, or Affordability of Housing and Inflation / Cost of Living were the most frequently selected issue with almost two thirds (64%) of respondents selecting these topics as a top three issue facing the country in 2025. The Availability, Quality, or Affordability of Housing was down from 71% in 2023. Inflation / Cost of Living increased from 60% to 64% between 2023 and 2025. The Availability, Quality, or Affordability of Essential Services (Healthcare, Education etc.) was next, with 45% of respondents choosing it as a top three issue in 2025, a 12 percentage point decrease on 2023, at 57%.
Although Climate Change or Other Threats to the Environment was the fourth most frequently selected issue in both 2023 and 2025, the percentage of respondents who chose it decreased from 40% to 25% between those years.
In 2025, almost one in four (24%) respondents chose Immigration as a top three issue, an 8 percentage point increase on 2023, at 16%. The percentage of respondents who chose Crime or Violence as an issue was similar in 2023 and 2025, at 26% and 24% respectively.
The percentage of respondents who chose the Spread of Misinformation / Fake News as a top three issue facing the country increased from 15% to 22% between 2023 and 2025, a 7 percentage point increase.
Around one in ten respondents chose the Dangers of Social Media (10%) and National Security (e.g. War, Terrorism) (9%) as top three issues facing Ireland in 2025. Less than one in twenty respondents chose Corruption (5%), Unemployment and Jobs (4%) and Other Issues of Concern to Ireland (2%) in 2025.
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