TrackerLast Updated: 4 Oct 2026

Irish Public Opinion & Sentiment

Direction of the country, most important issues, trust in institutions, and EU sentiment — Irish Times/Ipsos B&A, Eurobarometer, CSO

Wrong Direction
55%
vs 35% right direction (Oct 2025)
Govt Satisfaction
31%
Oct 2025 — Irish Times/Ipsos B&A
Top Concern
Housing
65% name it a top issue

Direction of the country

Wrong directionRight directionSatisfied with govt
Source: Irish Times/Ipsos B&A

Only two fieldwork dates for this exact question have been independently verified, so the line spans real polls only rather than an interpolated monthly series. Between Feb 2024 and Oct 2025, the share saying Ireland is heading in the wrong direction rose from 54% to 55% while government satisfaction fell from 35% to 31%. Source: Irish Times/Ipsos B&A.

What Irish people say matters most

"Most important issues facing Ireland" — a single Eurobarometer survey, so the Ireland and EU27-average bars below are directly comparable (unlike stitching together different pollsters' differently-worded issue questions).

Source: Standard Eurobarometer, fieldwork 9 Oct–3 Nov 2025 (European Commission)

Housing is named a top issue by 65% of people in Ireland — the highest share of any EU27 country, and almost 5× the EU27 average of 13%.

Trust in institutions

CSO Trust Survey 2025 — a single household survey, so every figure below is directly comparable.

Source: CSO Trust Survey 2025

Trust is highest in the Gardaí, armed forces, and courts, and lowest in national government and the Oireachtas — both down roughly 3 points since 2023. Source: CSO.

Ireland & the EU

Two genuinely different Eurobarometer questions — kept separate rather than blended into one "EU sentiment" number.

EU membership is "a good thing"
86%
Highest of any EU27 country
European Parliament Eurobarometer, fieldwork Nov 2025, published Feb 2026
Positive image of the EU
63%
2nd highest in the EU27, after Portugal (69%)
European Commission Standard Eurobarometer, fieldwork 9 Oct–3 Nov 2025
Data sourced from CSO, DHLGH, HSE, NTPF, RTB, CRU, SEAI, An Garda Síochána, Central Bank of Ireland, ECB & Eurostat. Figures may include provisional 2025 estimates.

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