Ipsos (Ireland) Veracity Index 2023 – Who do we trust?

Trust has never been more important in Ireland than at present. But who do the Irish public trust to tell the truth?  

The Ipsos Veracity Index is the longest-running poll on trust in professions in Ireland, first measured in 2005. The 2023 edition, conducted via nationally representative telephone survey, tracked the latest movements in public trust in key professions.  

Selected highlights for this year;

• Healthcare professionals are again the three most trusted professions, with Pharmacists regaining the top spot.
• Trust in Civil Servants (76%, +6 points) and Priests (61%, +5 points) show the biggest increases since last year.
• Engineers (88%) and Teachers (88%) retain their positive trust scores. 
• Improvements seen for Judges (81%) and Charity Chief Executives (51%), both up 3 points.
• Trust in Gardai is stable at 77% after declining in 2022.
• Two in three (67%) of us trust our fellow citizen.
• Declines seen for Journalists (44%, -3 points) and Estate Agents (33%, -4 points).
• Trust scores for Government Ministers (36%) and Politicians (27%) are static but remain low.
• Social Media Influencers (11%) receive the lowest trust score.

Tarik Laher, Director at Ipsos said;

“The Irish public continue to trust our pharmacists, nurses and doctors the most when it comes to telling us the truth, as they once again top the Ipsos Veracity Index.  Overall, we retain our faith in many professions, as well as with each other, though are less trusting of policy-makers such as Government Ministers and Politicians, whose results are stable but remain low overall.

Less than half of the general public trust professions like Journalists, Bankers, Landlords and Estate Agents, while those working in Advertising and Social Media also need to improve their trust levels.”

Full results in graphic format are available below, available for download.

Technical note:
Ipsos interviewed a representative quota-controlled sample of 708 adults aged 16+ by telephone between 11th-25th April 2023.  Data is weighted to match the profile of the population.

Contact:  
Tarik Laher (Director, Ipsos) / [email protected] / 087-2794588