Trust Survey December 2021

Respondents were asked to rate their interpersonal and institutional trust levels on a 0-10-point scale from ‘0 Not at all’ to ‘10 Completely’. The mean score for each trust level indicator was calculated by adding individual scores and dividing the total by the number of individuals.

The highest mean respondents’ trust scores were for trust in most people and trust in the Gardaí, both at 6.7. The lowest mean trust score was for trust in political parties at 3.8. See Table 2.1 and view Table TRA01 in PxStat.

In line with the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development’s (OECD’s) recommended groupings, responses were grouped as Don’t trust (0-4), Neutral (5), or Trust (6-10). More than half (54%) of respondents Don’t trust (0-4) political parties, whereas one in four (25%) respondents Trust (6-10) political parties. Just over one in three (34%) respondents Don’t trust (0-4) the national government, whereas half (51%) Trust (6-10) the national government.  More than four in 10 (42%) respondents Trust (6-10) the news media, five percentage points higher that the percentage (37%) that Don’t trust (0-4) the news media.

Overall, 75% of respondents Trust (6-10) the Gardaí and a similar percentage (78%) Trust (6-10) most people.  See Figure 2.1 and view Table TRA02 in PxStat.

Trust in most people

Less than 1% of respondents rated their trust in most people as 0 Not at all (0.8%) and a similar percentage rated their trust as 10 Completely (0.9%). Most respondents (57.6%) rated their trust in most people as either seven or eight on the 0-10-point trust scale.  See Table 2.2 and view Table TRA01 in PxStat.

Trust levels in most people increased with respondents’ age. Almost one in 10 (9%) respondents aged 18-44 Don’t trust (0-4) most people, more than double the rate (4%) for respondents aged 65 and over. More than seven in 10 (71%) respondents aged 18-44 Trust (6-10) most people. For respondents aged 65 and over this rate is 84%. See Figure 2.2 and view Table TRA03 in PxStat.

Respondents with a third level degree were more likely to trust most people when compared with respondents without a third level degree. More than eight in 10 (83%) respondents with a third level degree Trust (6-10) most people compared with six in 10 (61%) respondents without a third level degree. See Figure 2.3 and view Table TRA05 in PxStat.

Respondents' level of comfort with asking a neighbour to keep a set of keys to their home

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. Answer options to this question were Very comfortable, Fairly comfortable, Fairly uncomfortable and Very uncomfortable.

Overall, older respondents were more likely to say they would be Very comfortable with almost three in four (74%) respondents aged 65 and over giving this response compared with 44% of respondents aged 18-44 (30 percentage points lower).

Respondents living in rural areas were also more likely to say that they would be Very comfortable with asking a neighbour to keep a set of keys when compared to respondents living in urban areas. Two in three (67%) respondents living in rural areas would be Very comfortable asking a neighbour to keep a set of keys compared with more than half (52%) of respondents living in towns. See Table 2.3 and view Tables TRA11, and TRA15 in PxStat.  

Expectation that lost wallet containing €100 would be returned by finder

Nine in 10 (90%) respondents believe that a lost wallet or purse containing €100 and their identity details (if lost in the respondent’s local area) would be returned if it was found by a Garda. If it was found by a neighbour, 96% of respondents would expect the return of the wallet or purse and if found by the stranger, 36% would expect its return. See Figure 2.4 and view Table TRA17 in PxStat.

Younger respondents (those aged 18-44) were more likely to report that they would not expect the return of their lost wallet or purse. More than two in three (68%) respondents in this age group would not expect the return of the lost wallet or purse if it was found by a stranger and 17% would not expect its return if it was found by a Garda. The comparable rates for respondents aged 65 and over were 60% and 5% respectively. See Figure 2.5 and view Table TRA18 in PxStat.  

Overall, 13.4% of respondents said they have 0 Not at all trust in political parties. The comparable rates for trust in national government and local authorities were 8.4% and 5.6% respectively. See Figure 2.6 and view Table TRA01 in PxStat.

Older respondents had higher trust levels in the national government, their local authority and political parties. For example, two in three (66%) respondents aged 65 and over Trust (6-10) the national government compared to more than one in three (35%) of those aged 18-44. View Table TRA03 in PxStat.

When compared with respondents who voted in the last general election for a party currently in government, respondents who voted for an opposition party had lower mean scores for trust in the national government (3.7 compared with 5.9), trust in their local authority (4.0 compared with 5.5) and trust in political parties (2.9 compared with 4.3). See Figure 2.7 and view Table TRA08 in PxStat.

Respondents were more likely to rate their trust score in the Gardaí as 10 Completely (5.2% of respondents) than 0 Not at all (1.4% of respondents). This was also the case for trust in the courts and legal system with 6.4% of respondents having a 10 Completely trust score and 2.3% with a 0 Not at all score. See Figure 2.8 and view Table TRA01 in PxStat .

As already stated, analysis by age shows that younger respondents were more likely to have lower trust levels in most people, in the national government, in their local authority and in political parties when compared to older respondents. More than one in five (22%) respondents aged 18-44 Don’t trust (0-4) the Gardaí compared with 7% of those aged 65 and over. More than one in four (26%) of this age group Don’t trust (0-4) the courts and legal system compared with 13% of those aged 65 and over. View Table TRA03 in PXStat.

Respondents with a third level degree were more likely to Trust (6-10) the courts and legal system when compared with those without a third level degree, (71% compared with 58%). View Table TRA05 in PXStat.

The percentage of male respondents who Trust (6-10) the Gardaí is the same as the percentage who Trust (6-10) the courts and legal system (both at 72%). Female respondents were more likely to Trust (6-10) the Gardaí (79%) than Trust (6-10) the courts and legal system (64%). See Figure 2.9 and view Table TRA02 in PxStat .

Respondents who voted in the last general election for a party currently in government were more likely to Trust (6-10) the Gardaí and the courts and legal system when compared with respondents who voted for an opposition party. More than eight in 10 (83%) respondents who voted for a government party Trust (6-10) the Gardaí compared with six in 10 (62%) respondents who voted for an opposition party. More than seven in 10 (73%) respondents who voted for a government party Trust (6-10) the courts and legal system compared with six in 10 (61%) of those who voted for an opposition party. See Figure 2.10 and view Table TRA08 in PxStat.

The mean score for respondents’ trust in the civil service was 6.2, which was lower than the mean trust scores in most people, in the Gardaí and in the courts and legal system (6.7, 6.7 and 6.5 respectively) but higher than the mean trust scores in political parties, the news media, in their local authority, and the national government (3.8, 4.8, 4.9 and 5.1 respectively). Less than one in 50 (1.7%) respondents had a 0 Not at all trust score in the civil service, while 3.6% had a trust score of 10 Completely. See Table 2.4 and view Table TRA01 in PxStat .

Respondents who voted for a government party had a higher mean score for trust in the civil service (6.6 compared with 5.6 for those that voted for an opposition party). View Table TRA08 in PxStat.

Analysis by self-defined activity status, shows that 22% of working respondents Don’t trust (0-4) the civil service. This is 10 percentage points higher than the rate for retired respondents (12%). One in seven (14%) respondents with Other activity status (e.g. student, unemployed, unable to work because of health problems) Don’t trust (0-4) the civil service. See Figure 2.11 and view Table TRA04 in PxStat.

The mean trust score for trust in news media was 4.8 which was the second lowest mean trust score after trust in political parties at 3.8. View Table TRA01 in PxStat.

Overall, 7.6% of respondents had a 0 Not at all score for their trust in the news media and 0.6% had a 10 completely trust score. Just over four in 10 (42%) respondents Trust (6-10) the news media. Younger respondents, those without a third level degree and respondents who voted in the last general election for a party not currently in government had lower trust scores in the news media. For example, half (50%) of respondents who voted for a party not in government Don’t trust (0-4) the news media compared with three in 10 (31%) respondents who voted for a government party.  See Table 2.5 and view Tables TRA03, TRA05 and TRA08 in PxStat.

Respondents were asked ‘From which of the following sources do you get information about politics and current affairs at least once per week?’

Answer option to this question were

• TV
• Radio
• Newspaper/magazines (including online)
• Online social media
• Other online sources
• Family/friends
• Place of work or study
• None of the above

Respondents could indicate multiple sources and trust scores were analysed by whether or not they use online social media as an information source. For respondents who use social media as an information source the mean trust level in news media was 4.6, for respondents who do not use social media the mean trust score was 5.0.

Four in 10 respondents (41%) who use social media as an information source Don’t trust (0-4) the news media. The comparable rate for respondents who do not use social media is 35%. See Figure 2.12.

For further analysis see Tables TRA01-TRA23 in PxStat

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