Credit Unions top the Ireland Reputation Index 2025 study An Post takes second place and Boots Ireland takes third place
An Bord Pleanála & Olympic Federation of Ireland amongst biggest movers
The Reputations Agency has today revealed the winner of the Ireland Reputation Index 2025, the largest and longest running study of reputation in Ireland. The results have been revealed ahead of a breakfast briefing for C-suite executives at The Westbury Hotel, recognising those organisations that are exemplars in reputation management and sharing the key learnings from sixteen years of the Ireland Reputation Index, powered by RepTrak.
The annual Ireland Reputation Index 2025 study is based on the perceptions of over 5,000 members of the public. It measures the level of trust, respect, admiration and esteem the public has for 100 of the largest, most familiar and most important organisations in Ireland, alongside 100 reputation, brand, purpose and ESG indicators. The study took place between the 3rd January and 17th March 2025.
Ranked first, the Credit Unions topped the annual ranking for the third consecutive year with an Excellent reputation score of 82.4 – one of just two organisations to achieve an excellent score this year. The organisation also ranked first in three out of seven key drivers of reputation - Citizenship, Conduct and Workplace as well as taking first place when the public were asked if they would Give them the Benefit of the Doubt in a crisis, Welcome them to their community and Recommend their Company. They were perceived to be the most Down to earth, Fair, Flexible, Genuine, Sincere and Straight forward organisation amongst the 100 studied.
Ranked in second place, An Post also received an Excellent reputation score of 80.8. An Post has been recognised for bringing its purpose to life in acting for the common good, improving the quality of life across every community in Ireland, and for its transformation towards a sustainable business, successfully delivering in a new world of eCommerce and financial services.
Ranked in third place, Boots Ireland received a Strong reputation score of 79.5. The company ranked second place in Meeting customers’ needs, fifth in Demonstrates concern for the health and well-being of its employees and fifth in Offers high quality products & services.
The top 10 most reputable Irish organisations in the Ireland Reputation Index 2025 study
|
Rank |
Organisation |
Reputation Score |
Rank |
Organisation |
Reputation Score |
|
1. |
Credit Unions |
82.35 |
6. |
Bord Bia |
78.62 |
|
2. |
An Post |
80.75 |
7. |
Dunnes Stores |
78.58 |
|
3. |
Boots Ireland |
79.52 |
8. |
Toyota |
78.19 |
|
4. |
Aer Lingus |
78.73 |
9. |
Bon Secours Health System |
78.18 |
|
5. |
Lidl Ireland |
78.65 |
10. |
St Vincent’s Private Hospital |
76.33 |
The average reputation score across 100 organisations improved by 1.3 points this year to a Moderate tier score of 68.7, getting closer to a Strong tier score of 70. For the first time in 16 years the Pillar Banks’ average score matched the average across 100 organisations of 68.7, improving by close to 32 points since the financial crisis in 2011. Of the 16 sectors studied this year, seven sectors improved, eight remained stable while one sector declined.
An Bord Pleanála was the most improved organisation this year, moving up 11.7 points from a Weak tier score of 42.1 in 98th place to a Weak score of 53.8 in 94th place, due to its successful efforts to expedite the approvals process and the hiring of additional staff.
LinkedIn, with a 30th place ranking and strong tier score of 72.8, having been in 35th position in 2024, is substantially ahead of other social media organisations such as Meta which was ranked 100th with a Poor tier score of 44.1 and X (formerly Twitter) which was ranked in 99th place with a Poor tier score of 44.9.
The Olympic Federation of Ireland moved up by ten points from a Moderate tier score of 62.3 points and 85th place to a Strong tier score of 77.2 in 34th position, benefiting from the showcase of the Paris Olympics and their success in nurturing strong Irish athletic talent.
The study showed the emotional advantage to being Irish and demonstrating a commitment to Ireland. This year six of the top ten organisations are Irish – Credit Unions, An Post, Bord Bia, Dunnes Stores, Bon Secours Health System and St Vincent’s Private Hospital - while three internationally owned organisations - Boots, Lidl, and Toyota - have imbedded themselves firmly in the Irish community over many years, gaining market share, trust and reputation and being highly regarded as good corporate citizens. Although now internationally owned, Aer Lingus benefited from its rich heritage as Ireland’s national airline as well as its prioritisation of customer experience.
Reflecting on the study, Niamh Boyle, CEO and Founder of The Reputations Agency stressed the importance of investing in understanding, protecting and building reputation:
“From our 2025 study amongst over 5,000 members of the public we found that the public in Ireland is 15 times more Willing to Buy from an organisation in the Excellent reputation tier, than from an organisation whose reputation falls into the Poor reputation tier.“
“Understanding the reputational impact of changes in the external environment is critical for organisations. From the wars in the Ukraine and Gaza, extreme weather events, the rise of the far right, a more emboldened manosphere in some jurisdictions, and a volatile US Presidency which has rattled the global economy – the world is in flux. Our advice to organisations is to be externally focused, other-oriented and hold firm to their values and sense of purpose while the rest of the world is spinning. While many organisations quickly rolled back on commitments such as DEI, standing by long-held convictions will matter even more now, especially to an organisations’ workforce.”
“We learned during Storm Éowyn that reputation is resilient and protects against headwinds. Organisations in the eye of the storm such as ESB, An Post and Vodafone, improved their reputation scores through the efforts they made to protect customers and communities and to communicate with the public. The interconnectedness of electricity, water and telecommunications taught us the importance of working together to help the most vulnerable in communities. However, communicating what steps are being taken next to ensure that our critical infrastructure becomes more resistant to these exceptional weather conditions will be just as important.”
“Finally, we learned from the exemplars in our study that they have a special DNA – they contribute to society, they display great conduct in the way they run their businesses, they offer the highest quality products valued by their customers and they have strong leadership teams, well organised for success.”
Welcoming their first-place ranking in 2025, David Malone, CEO of the Irish League of Credit Unions commented: "We are so proud to once again be named as Ireland’s most reputable organisation in this year's Ireland Reputation Index, which reflects the ongoing trust in credit unions all over Ireland, as well as the positive response we have received to innovations in the services we provide.
“This ranking matters as it is built on the consistent work of credit unions across Ireland to provide best-in-class financial services. Importantly, it is also a testament to our focus on maintaining an accessible and active presence in communities, while also driving innovation across our digital offering and broader services.”
About the Ireland Reputation Index
The Ireland Reputation Index 2025 study, powered by RepTrak, surveyed a representative sample of over 5,000 informed members of the public aged 18+ throughout the Republic of Ireland between 3rd January and 17th March 2025, measuring their perceptions of 100 of the largest, most familiar, and most important organisations in Ireland, across sixteen sectors. Companies are ranked on a Reputation score from 0-100 and are grouped as Excellent (80+), Strong (70-79), Average (60-69), Weak (40-59) or Poor (Below 40). The public only rate organisations that they are either somewhat or very familiar with.
This is the 16th year of the study, using the same RepTrak methodology each year.
In this study, we rank organisations by their Reputation score, which is the basis of the ranking and measures the strength of the emotional bond between an organisation and the public, based on the results of four statements that test the level of esteem, admiration, trust, and good feeling.
The Ireland Reputation Index carries out a reputation driver analysis to understand what components of reputation are driving reputation and what the public expects from the country’s leading organisations. The most important drivers, in priority order are Conduct, Products & services, Citizenship, Leadership, Workplace, Innovation and Performance.
Ireland Reputation Index 2025 results
|
|
2025 |
||
|
Organisation |
Rank |
Score |
Reputation Tier |
|
Credit Unions (The Credit Union movement) |
1 |
82.4 |
Excellent |
|
An Post |
2 |
80.8 |
Excellent |
|
Boots |
3 |
79.5 |
Strong |
|
Aer Lingus |
4 |
78.7 |
Strong |
|
Lidl |
5 |
78.6 |
Strong |
|
Bord Bia (Irish Food Board) |
6 |
78.6 |
Strong |
|
Dunnes Stores |
7 |
78.6 |
Strong |
|
Toyota |
8 |
78.2 |
Strong |
|
Bon Secours Health System |
9 |
78.2 |
Strong |
|
St Vincent’s Private Hospital |
10 |
76.3 |
Strong |
|
Kerry Group |
11 |
76.2 |
Strong |
|
Blackrock Healthcare Group |
12 |
76.1 |
Strong |
|
IRFU (Irish Rugby Football Union) |
13 |
75.9 |
Strong |
|
Fáilte Ireland |
14 |
75.8 |
Strong |
|
Revolut |
15 |
75.7 |
Strong |
|
Samsung |
16 |
75.6 |
Strong |
|
Enterprise Ireland |
17 |
75.3 |
Strong |
|
Aldi |
18 |
75.1 |
Strong |
|
Marks & Spencer |
19 |
74.9 |
Strong |
|
Tourism Ireland |
20 |
74.8 |
Strong |
|
Mater Private Network |
21 |
74.4 |
Strong |
|
Dublin Airport |
22 |
74.4 |
Strong |
|
McCabes Pharmacy (formerly LloydsPharmacy) |
23 |
74.2 |
Strong |
|
IDA Ireland |
24 |
74.1 |
Strong |
|
Microsoft |
25 |
73.7 |
Strong |
|
Tesco |
26 |
73.5 |
Strong |
|
Volkswagen |
27 |
73.2 |
Strong |
|
SuperValu |
28 |
73.1 |
Strong |
|
Irish Distillers |
29 |
73.1 |
Strong |
|
|
30 |
72.8 |
Strong |
|
Heineken |
31 |
72.5 |
Strong |
|
Gas Networks Ireland |
32 |
72.4 |
Strong |
|
Kellogg's |
33 |
72.4 |
Strong |
|
Olympic Federation of Ireland |
34 |
72.2 |
Strong |
|
Zurich |
35 |
72.1 |
Strong |
|
Coillte |
36 |
72.1 |
Strong |
|
Laya Healthcare |
37 |
71.8 |
Strong |
|
ESB |
38 |
71.3 |
Strong |
|
Spar |
39 |
71.2 |
Strong |
|
Centra |
40 |
71.1 |
Strong |
|
Allianz |
41 |
70.9 |
Strong |
|
Irish Life |
42 |
70.7 |
Strong |
|
BMW |
43 |
70.7 |
Strong |
|
Ford |
44 |
70.6 |
Strong |
|
EY |
45 |
70.5 |
Strong |
|
Brown Thomas |
46 |
70.5 |
Strong |
|
EirGrid |
47 |
70.3 |
Strong |
|
Bord Gáis Energy |
48 |
70.2 |
Strong |
|
|
49 |
70.0 |
Strong |
|
GAA (Gaelic Athletic Association) |
50 |
69.9 |
Average |
|
The Irish Times |
51 |
69.8 |
Average |
|
Iarnród Éireann (Irish Rail) |
52 |
69.7 |
Average |
|
Glanbia |
53 |
69.6 |
Average |
|
AXA |
54 |
69.5 |
Average |
|
Vhi Healthcare |
55 |
69.4 |
Average |
|
An Garda Síochána |
56 |
69.2 |
Average |
|
PwC |
57 |
68.8 |
Average |
|
Diageo |
58 |
68.6 |
Average |
|
Virgin Media |
59 |
68.3 |
Average |
|
Circle K |
60 |
68.3 |
Average |
|
Aviva |
61 |
67.8 |
Average |
|
EBS (Educational Building Society) |
62 |
67.8 |
Average |
|
Bord na Móna |
63 |
67.7 |
Average |
|
KPMG |
64 |
67.6 |
Average |
|
Apple |
65 |
67.6 |
Average |
|
Penneys (Primark) |
66 |
67.4 |
Average |
|
Electric Ireland |
67 |
67.2 |
Average |
|
Bauer Media Group |
68 |
67.0 |
Average |
|
FBD |
69 |
67.0 |
Average |
|
Bank of Ireland |
70 |
66.9 |
Average |
|
daa |
71 |
66.9 |
Average |
|
Grant Thornton |
72 |
66.4 |
Average |
|
PTSB (Permanent tsb) |
73 |
66.3 |
Average |
|
SSE Airtricity |
74 |
66.0 |
Average |
|
Bus Éireann |
75 |
65.9 |
Average |
|
Janssen (a Johnson & Johnson company) |
76 |
65.8 |
Average |
|
Three |
77 |
65.8 |
Average |
|
AIB (Allied Irish Bank) |
78 |
65.6 |
Average |
|
Deloitte |
79 |
65.6 |
Average |
|
Dublin Bus |
80 |
65.6 |
Average |
|
Applegreen |
81 |
65.5 |
Average |
|
Vodafone |
82 |
65.2 |
Average |
|
Energia |
83 |
65.1 |
Average |
|
The Coca-Cola Company |
84 |
65.0 |
Average |
|
Central Bank of Ireland |
85 |
63.7 |
Average |
|
Pfizer |
86 |
62.4 |
Average |
|
Mediahuis (Formerly Independent News & Media) |
87 |
62.2 |
Average |
|
National Lottery |
88 |
61.3 |
Average |
|
Maxol |
89 |
60.7 |
Average |
|
Texaco |
90 |
59.6 |
Weak |
|
eir |
91 |
58.8 |
Weak |
|
Sky Ireland |
92 |
56.5 |
Weak |
|
HSE |
93 |
54.7 |
Weak |
|
An Bord Pleanála |
94 |
53.8 |
Weak |
|
Ryanair |
95 |
52.7 |
Weak |
|
Úisce Éireann (Irish Water) |
96 |
49.4 |
Weak |
|
FAI (Football Association of Ireland) |
97 |
45.5 |
Weak |
|
RTÉ |
98 |
45.4 |
Weak |
|
X (formerly Twitter) |
99 |
44.9 |
Weak |
|
Meta (formerly Facebook) |
100 |
44.1 |
Weak |