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Courts, legal system score well in trust survey

The courts and the legal system enjoy relatively high levels of trust from the public compared with other public bodies, according to a survey carried out by the Central Statistics Office (CSO).

The Trust Survey asked questions on inter-personal and institutional trust, while respondents were also asked to rate their satisfaction levels with specific public services.

The CSO asked respondents to rate their trust levels – on a scale of 0-10 points – in most people, the gardaí, the Government, their local authority, political parties, the courts and legal system, the civil service, and the news media.

Gardaí top list

A score of 0 to 4 indicated that people ‘don’t trust’ the institution, with 5 signalling a ‘neutral’ stance, and 6 to10 indicating that people broadly trusted the institution.

The highest average scores were for trust in most people, and trust in the gardaí – both at 6.7. The courts and the legal system were not far behind, with a score of 6.5.

The lowest average scores were for trust in political parties (3.8), and trust in the news media (4.8).

There was score of 5.1 for trust in the Government, 4.9 for people’s trust in their local authority, and 6.2 for trust in the civil service.

Court decisions

The percentage of male respondents who trusted the gardaí (72%) was the same as the percentage who trusted the courts and legal system. For female respondents, however, there was a gap, with 79% trusting the gardaí, but 64% trusting the courts and legal system.

More than 70% of respondents who voted for a Government party in the last general election trusted the courts and legal system, compared with just over 60% of those who voted for an opposition party.

Almost 60% of those surveyed believed that it was likely that a court would make a decision that could negatively impact on the Government’s image, free from political influence.

This was almost double the rate that believed that such a decision was unlikely, though this figure rose to 40% among those who voted for an opposition party at the last election.