Edelman

The Irish findings of the 2012 Edelman Trust Barometer, a global survey of trust in institutions across 25 countries and 30,000 people, have shown that overall trust in government in Ireland has risen by 15 percentage points to 35%. This compares to a global average of 43%, down 9% on the previous year and the largest global fall for trust in government in 12 years. The research also shows that when looking at trust in key institutions (government, business, media and NGOs) Ireland, along with a majority of Eurozone countries is more distrusting than trusting.

The full presentation is available to view at the bottom of this page.

Key Findings of the 2012 Edelman Trust Barometer:

• Overall levels of trust in Ireland improved very marginally over the past 12 months, rising 2 percentage points to 41%. Ireland is no longer the least trusting country globally. Germany, Spain, Japan and Russia now have less trust than Ireland. Russia at 32% is the least trusting country in the survey

Government

• Overall trust in Government in Ireland increased 15 points to 35%
• Seven in ten Irish people don’t trust Government leaders to tell them the truth
• Countries downgraded by Standard & Poor’s are more likely to think that things are going in the wrong direction. In line with other European countries a high proportion of people in Ireland (65%) think that their country is on the wrong track
• There is a significant gap between public expectations and perceived delivery by government in Ireland.
• 12% believe that government is effectively managing the economy
• 10% believe that government is listening to citizen’s needs and feedback
• 14% believe Government is delivering national training programmes which will deliver jobs
• Only 3% believe Government should provide money to business when it experiences a financial crisis

Business

• Trust in business in Ireland fell by three points from 46% last year to 43 percent this year, in-line with a global decline of 3 points from 56% to 53%
• The energy industry experienced a sharp decline in trust, dropping from fourth to eighth most trusted while the brewing and spirits industry rose from eighth position to fourth overall
• Only 9% of the general public in Ireland trust banks, a rise of 3% but still the lowest global trust level in any industry
• CEO credibility in Ireland increased 1% to 33% but still lags the global average of 38%
• Despite the lack of Trust in government in Ireland, there is still an expectation that it should regulate business with 64% believing that it doesn’t regulate business enough. Paradoxically, the credibility of government regulators stands at 25%
• When assessing the role of government in business protecting consumers from irresponsible business practices, building infrastructure and regulation are seen as the most important areas.

 
Media

• Trust in media dropped 3 percentage points to 35% despite a global trend that showed an overall increase in trust in media (49% in 2011 to 52% in 2012)
• Traditional news sources (newspapers, TV, radio), as well as online search engines, are the most trusted sources of information
• Content-sharing sites and social networking sites are the least trusted sources of information
• The majority of people in Ireland (64%) need to hear something between 3 and 5 times before they will believe it

NGOs

• Globally, trust in NGOs dropped three percentage points to 58% this year, however they still remain the most trusted institution
• This trend is reflected in Ireland with 53% of respondents trusting NGOs, making NGOs also the most trusted institution in Ireland

Trust in Ireland is at a critical inflection point. Citizens seek leadership, clarity and solutions and don’t believe any institution is delivering on these expectations. The clear message for government is that it is perceived not to be getting its message through or listening. The big message for business is to generate trust by moving beyond a purely operational focus to engage with society and deliver solutions which benefit all stakeholders.

The 2012 findings show that trust in authority figures continues to shift as citizenship rises. Academics or experts are still seen as the most credible spokespeople but ordinary individuals or “a person like yourself” has risen from fifth place last year to second place this year. This can be viewed as part of a more long-term movement from traditional institutions and ‘established hierarchies’ toward a democratisation of trust.

The full findings of the 2011 Edelman Trust Barometer report are available to view below and can be downloaded from Slideshare. For further information please contact us on 353-1-6789333 or by email.