Nurses the most trusted professionals, survey finds
Substantial
increase in trust for Government Ministers, Ipsos MRBI poll shows
Healthcare
professionals are the most trusted workers in the State, with nurses having the
highest levels of trust among the public, according to research from Ipsos
MRBI.
The Veracity
Index 2020 from the polling company found 97 percent of people trusted nurses,
96 percent trusted pharmacists and 95 percent trusted doctors.
Respondents were
for the first time asked their level of trust in the National Public Health
Emergency Team (Nphet), which advises the Government on its Coronavirus
strategy, and 91 percent said they trusted the organisation to tell the truth.
Politicians have
seen a substantial increase in the level of trust they enjoy since the survey
was previously done in December 2018 – up 10 percentage points to 32 percent,
slightly ahead of estate agents on 30 percent.
However, senior
politicians have seen an even greater jump in public confidence levels, with 47
percent expressing trust in Ministers, up 20 points since 2018 and the highest
increase in the survey.
EU leaders are
higher still at 58 percent, up 15 points. Local councillors previously enjoyed
higher levels of trust than Ministers but have now slipped slightly behind to
46 percent, although this still represents an increase of five points since 2018.
Respondents had
more trust in the “ordinary person in the street” than Ministers or
councillors, at 54 percent, but this level of trust has slipped by seven
points.
Gardaí have also
seen a significant boost in the survey of 1,000 Irish adults that was conducted
from May 14th-24th, with 82 percent finding them trustworthy, an increase of
nine points. This puts them just behind weather forecasters who were trusted by
83 percent of those surveyed.
Respondents
expressed a strong belief that television newsreaders were truthful with 77 per
cent saying they trusted them, but far fewer trusted journalists in general
with just 42 percent saying they were trustworthy.
Of the 27
professions selected, teachers, scientists, and judges all made it into the top
ten most trusted.
Advertising
executives were the second least trusted on 17 percent, but respondents’
expectations of social media influencers were the lowest of all with just 8 per
cent trusting them to tell the truth.
Wed, Jun 10, 2020, 12:20
Olivia Kelly Dublin Editor
