The annual Digital News Report for Ireland 2025 shows that at 56%, more than half the adult population in Ireland, is "extremely" or "very interested" in news.
The figure for Irish people is higher than for the UK (39%), the US (51%) and above the European average (45%).
The figure is included in the 11th edition of the annual report published in Galway by Coimisiún na Meán.
Up three points from last year, the figure represents the highest level of interest in news since 2022, but down from a peak of 70% in 2021, during the Covid-19 pandemic.
When asked about trusted sources of news, RTÉ News (72%), local radio news (72%) and local newspapers (71%) emerge as the most trusted brands.
Meanwhile, 70% of Irish respondents described The Irish Times as trustworthy, with the same percentage for BBC News; 68% for the Irish Independent and 66% for Newstalk, Today FM and Sky News.
When asked for their thoughts about online news, 68% of Irish respondents said they are concerned about what is real and what is fake online.
We need your consent to load this rte-player contentWe use rte-player to manage extra content that can set cookies on your device and collect data about your activity. Please review their details and accept them to load the content.Manage Preferences
All age groups showed concern about fake information online, with the highest rate (72%) among those aged 65+ and the lowest rate (62%) among those aged 18-24.
The report also reveals that one in five Irish people are now paying for their news.
Digital news subscription figures in Ireland now stand at 20%, which is a three-point increase from this time last year.
When asked which digital news service they subscribed to, 36% of people said they paid for the Irish Independent and 33% paid for The Irish Times' service.
Read the reports in full: Main report | Ireland report
Rónán Ó Domhnaill, Media Development Commissioner at Coimisiún na Meán, said that it recognises that An Coimisiún's ambition for developing the media landscape requires "ongoing and sustainable levels of funding for media outlets to support high-quality journalism, and news that people can trust".
When asked if Irish audiences trust the news "most of the time", 50% of respondents in Ireland 'agreed' or 'strongly agreed', compared to 35% in the UK, 30% in the US, and 39% for merged data from Europe.
In response to the questions "which platforms you have used in the last week as a source of news", the results reveal that 58% of Irish respondents said television, with the same percentage (58%) citing online media (excluding social media and blogs).
Meanwhile, 47% said they have used social media as a source of news in the last week, with 36% saying radio, 22% saying printed newspapers, 12% saying podcasts, and 5% citing AI chatbots.
In 2025, 11% of Irish respondents said they use radio as their primary source of news, which is significantly higher compared to the UK (8%), and when asked about the use of radio as a source of any news consumed, this figure increases to 36%.
Figures for podcast listenership are growing as 12% listened to podcasts as a source of news in the last week, higher than in the UK (7%) and the European average (9%) but lower than the US (15%).
Audiences' attitudes to the use of AI for news are changing. Last year, those 'very' and ‘somewhat’ comfortable with news mainly produced by AI with some human oversight were 15%.
This has increased to 19% this year, with under-35s almost twice as comfortable as over-35s when considering the same measure.
Read more:
Poll finds public turning to AI bots for news updates
US consumers turning to Rogan over traditional news sources - report
Commenting on the report, Dr Eileen Culloty, Deputy Director of the DCU Institute for Future Media, Democracy and Society (FuJo) who worked on the survey, said: ‘’Local media enjoy strong public trust, But trust alone doesn’t pay salaries or sustain newsrooms.
"The big challenge is to convert trust into viable careers in local journalism so that local media can continue informing communities."
Earlier this year, Coimisiún na Meán awarded €5.7m through new journalism schemes, funded by the Department of Arts, Culture, Communications, Media and Sport and which covered local democracy and courts reporting. These schemes have facilitated over 100 new or enhanced journalism roles in Ireland to date.
The annual Digital News Report by the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism at the University of Oxford is the largest ongoing comparative study of news consumption in the world.
