Ireland: Where the News is Still Trusted, and Other Unfathomable Mysteries
Digital News Report Ireland 2025
Alright, gather 'round, you poor, benighted souls, and let's talk about the news. We Irish love our news. Specifically, news in Ireland, because apparently, Ireland is operating on a different planet than the rest of the world. While the civilised world—or what's left of it—is tuning out, scrolling past the latest manufactured outrage and generally treating the news with a lot of scepticism. Ireland is the best boy in the class when it comes to interest in the news.
According to the latest Digital News Report Ireland 2025 released today by Ireland’s media regulator, a whopping 56% of the population actually gives a damn about what's happening in the world. 56%! This is up from last year, mind you, and significantly higher than the UK (39%), the US (51%), or even the European average (45%).
50% of respondents “agreed” or “strongly agreed” that they trust the news most of the time. In a world where “trust” and “news” are usually found in separate paragraphs, if not separate dictionaries. Compare that to the UK (35%), the US (30%), or even the rest of Europe (39%).
Who do we trust in the media?
RTÉ News (72%), local radio news (72%), and local newspapers (71%). Local newspapers! The kind that still print stories about Mrs. O'Malley's prize-winning rhubarb and the annual parish bake sale. Dr. Eileen Culloty, an Assistant Professor in the DCU School of Communications, says this is because local media have “deep roots in Irish life.” Well, sure, if by “deep roots” you mean they haven't yet been completely bulldozed by the digital apocalypse. But here’s the catch: Trust doesn’t pay the bills. Local news is beloved, but it’s running on fumes. The government tossed €5.7 million at the problem, which is like buying a round for the whole country—nice gesture, but it won’t get us drunk on current affairs.
Now, you'd think all this trust would translate into, you know, actual money. And, unsurprisingly, it does not. 20% are now paying for news. Up from 7% in 2015. Nobody pays for anything they can get for free. The Irish Independent and The Irish Times have a market share of 36% and 33% of those paying, respectively. Good for them. May their presses never run out of ink, or their servers never crash. The lesson? If you want Irish people to pay for something, put “Irish” in the name. (I should know, I got really lucky with this domain.)
As for how we consume this trusted news, it's a bit of a mixed bag. Television and “online media (excluding social media and blogs)” are tied at 58%. So some folk are still watching the telly, bless their hearts, and going to news websites, like it's the 2008 crash. Social media is a source for 47%, which is respectable, but they're not quite as addicted to the digital sewage pipe as the rest of the world. And radio? Still strong at 36% overall, with 11% calling it their primary source, compared to just 3% in the US. Podcasts? 12% listen weekly—higher than the UK (7%). (This is the only statistic that I think seems way off.) I don’t know anyone who doesn’t listen to a podcast. I’ve two dogs and even they listen to podcasts when walking me. Ireland’s news scene is healthier than most, but it’s not immune to the global plague of disinformation, platform chaos, and the looming AI apocalypse.
Now, let's talk about the future, which, like most futures right now, looks vaguely unsettling. Artificial Intelligence in the news. Yes, you heard that right. We're letting robots lie to us now. 19% of us are comfortable with news “mainly” produced by AI with some human “oversight.” And the under-35s are almost twice as comfortable as the over-35s. Of course they are. They've never known a world without screens, so why not let the screens do the thinking for them? We older folks, bless our cynical hearts, still prefer our media with the human touch.
68% of us are concerned about our ability to distinguish between what is real and what is fake online. This isn't a contradiction; it's a beautiful, nuanced, utterly Irish worldview. We trust our local newspapers and our local radio, because those are our people. which is fair, given that the internet is basically a pub fight with no bouncers.
So, what have we learned from this report into the peculiar media habits of the Irish public? Local news is loved but broke. AI is creeping in—whether we like it or not. Disinformation is rampant—because lies travel faster than truth (and don’t pay for subscriptions).
The way forward? Keep local news alive—before it’s just social media rumours and angry WhatsApp groups. Charge for quality—because free news is usually worth what you pay for it. Don’t let robots take over—yet.
Local news? It’s the last functioning relic of a civilisation that still cares. While the rest of the world scrolls itself into a dopamine coma, chasing viral lies and influencer exorcisms. These days, trust in traditional media isn’t just scarce; it’s a counterrevolutionary concept. Support the local truth-tellers. Because a world without trusted news isn’t just misinformed—it’s defenceless.
You can read the full Coimisiún na Meán report HERE (PDF)