Irish residents have a high level of trust in each other, but a low level of trust in political parties and in the news media, according to the Central Statistics Office.
More than eight in 10 (82.5 per cent) respondents to a national survey reported they trusted most people. This has increased since 2021 where 78 per cent of respondents reported trusting most people.
Older respondents had a higher mean trust score in most people compared with younger respondents.
More than nine in 10 (92.5 per cent) of respondents believed that a lost wallet or purse containing €100 and their identity details would be returned if it was found by a neighbour compared with 96 per cent of respondents in the 2021 trust survey. Approximately four in 10 respondents believed their wallet or purse would be returned if found by a stranger.
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Trust in both local and national Government has decreased since the first survey in 2021. Four in 10 respondents (41.5 per cent) trusted their local Government compared with 46.6 per cent reporting they trusted their national Government.
The respective figures for the 2021 trust survey were that 45 per cent of respondents reported trusting the local government and 51 per cent of respondents reported they trusted the national government.
The latter finding, however, is significantly higher than the international average where trust in national governments is at an average of 39 per cent across 30 countries in the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.
Trust in news media in Ireland has increased since 2021. Close to half of respondents (47 per cent) reported they trusted the news media. In the 2021 the equivalent figure was 42 per cent.
Gardaí (70 per cent), courts and legal services (69 per cent), the Civil Service (66 per cent) and international organisations (64 per cent) all enjoy high levels of trust with the Irish public.
Respondents were asked how comfortable they would feel asking a neighbour to keep a set of keys to their home for emergencies, for example, if they were locked out. Approximately half of respondents reported they would be very comfortable to do so.
The OECD survey of 30 developed countries found that 44 per cent of respondents now have low or no trust in their national government, surpassing the 39 per cent of respondents who express high or moderately high trust in national government.
Commenting on the findings, Minister for Public Expenditure Paschal Donohoe said trust in Ireland is relatively high compared with other countries.
“Trust is vital to ensure support for Government policies and for the work of civic institutions. I am very pleased that these results show that Ireland continues to compare well with other countries, particularly in the area of trust in public institutions,” he said.
“Nonetheless, public trust is complex and this survey will help us to better understand where confidence remains strong, where it might be improved and what could be done to further reinforce trust in Government.”
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