Immigration and climate of lesser concern than housing or living costs, survey finds

Immigration and climate change were not among the most pressing issues facing Irish people, more concerned by consumer prices and access to key services including healthcare. New figures from the Central Statistics Office, published on Wednesday, show housing, the cost of living and the availability of services such as education and healthcare were identified as the top three issues last year. Conversely, immigration and climate change were deemed as less important, though concern around immigration has grown in recent years. The results are contained in a survey of almost 2,200 people carried out between September and November. READ MORETwo-thirds of people surveyed viewed housing and the cost of living as among the top three issues facing the Republic, while a quarter viewed immigration as one of the most pressing issues.Ireland was one of 38 countries that participated in the 2025 round of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development’s (OECD) Trust Survey. Almost two-thirds (64 per cent) of respondents in the Republic identified the availability, quality or affordability of housing as one of the three most important issues facing the country. This was the highest percentage recorded for this issue across the 38 countries surveyed, though down from 71 per cent in 2023.More than eight-in-ten (84 per cent) respondents aged 18 to 29 years considered housing to be a top three issue, compared with 63 per cent of those aged 30 to 49 years, and 59 per cent of those aged 50 and over.Two-thirds of people reported housing as one of the top three issues facing the Republic. Photograph: CSO [ Irish summers likely to feature ‘extreme evaporation’ due to climate change, say scientistsOpens in new window ]Almost two-thirds (64 per cent) of respondents reported inflation and the cost of living to be one of the main issues facing Ireland last year, compared with an average of 52 per cent across all 38 countries.Half of women (52 per cent) and almost four in ten (38 per cent) men reported the availability, quality or affordability of essential services such as education and healthcare as one of the top three issues facing the country, placing it third in importance. Only Iceland (52 per cent) and Finland (49 per cent) ranked that topic higher. Regarding the environment, 25 per cent of Irish respondents reported climate change and other threats to the environment as one of the main issues facing the country, behind Japan at 38 per cent and Denmark at 34 per cent. In Ireland, men (27 per cent) were slightly more likely than women (24 per cent) to consider climate change to be a top three issue. Those aged 18 to 29 years (28 per cent) were also slightly more inclined to consider it a major issue compared with older cohorts. In 2023, 40 per cent of respondents in Ireland considered climate change and other threats to the environment to be a top three issue, 15 percentage points higher than in 2025.Almost a quarter (24 per cent) of respondents in the Republic reported immigration as a top three issue last year, compared with 16 per cent in 2023. The average for all countries surveyed last year was 25 per cent.In the United Kingdom, half (50 per cent) of respondents considered immigration to be a top three issue last year. Almost three in ten (28 per cent) of respondents aged 50 years and over in Ireland considered crime to be a top three issue facing the country, more than double the rate (13 per cent) of those aged 18 to 29.One in five people (22 per cent) identified the spread of misinformation or fake news as a top three issue, up from 15 per cent in 2023. For those aged 18 to 29 years, this issue increased from 9 per cent of respondents in 2023 to 21 per cent last year.This was the third round of the survey, following those in 2021 and 2023. More than 77,000 people took part in the survey across 38 countries, with 2,194 responses gathered in Ireland.[ Nearly half of Irish workers say AI is making them consider new careers, survey findsOpens in new window ]