IRELAND is experiencing a profound and continuing crisis of trust in business and government, according to the findings of a newly published survey.

The 2010 Edelman Trust Barometer shows that while trust in business has risen globally, it has declined dramatically here. The study reveals that Ireland is the only country to experience declines in trust across four surveyed institutions – business, government, media and NGOs.

The survey consisted of telephone interviews with 4,875 men and women carried out in 22 countries between September 29th and December 6th, 2009.

Trust in government and business in Ireland was the lowest in Europe, with business falling from 38 per cent in the previous year’s study to 31 per cent – substantially lower than the global average of 50 per cent.

Trust levels in the political process fared little better. Those who have trust in government registered an all-time low score of 28 per cent – down from 31 per cent last year and compared to a global average of 49 per cent.

The banking sector was identified as the least trusted industry category in Ireland with only 23 per cent of respondents having faith in the industry – a fall of 16 percentage points since 2007.

The barometer reveals that trust in banks was only lower in two other countries: the UK at 21 per cent and Germany at 17 per cent.