Third-level graduates have less respect for the rule of law, displaying a greater tolerance for tax evasion, speeding and purchasing stolen goods, according to a new opinion poll.
Lansdowne Market Research interviewed 1,200 people aged 15 and over during April 13th-25th for the social-policy think-tank TASC.
Questioned about their attitudes to the rule of law, the number who believed that evading tax and dropping litter could be excused in some cases are almost identical at 67 per cent and 69 per cent respectively.
But the toleration for law-breaking is higher in nearly all categories among third-level graduates, compared to those with a second-level or primary education.
Thirty-nine per cent of those educated at third level have some toleration for tax evasion, compared with 27 per cent of those with only a primary education and 28 per cent with second level.
Thirty-seven per cent of those educated to third level are ambivalent about speeding, compared with 19 per cent of those educated to primary level and 21 per cent of second-level graduates.
The same gap was displayed when those polled were asked about their attitudes towards drink-driving. Just 17 per cent of those with the most basic education were ambivalent, compared with 25 per cent of third-level graduates, while second-level graduates were the least tolerant with just 12 per cent ambivalent on the question.
"With just one exception (falsely claiming benefits), those with third-level education were significantly more ambivalent towards the law than those with primary or second-level education only," said Paula Clancy, Ian Hughes and Teresa Brannick in an analysis of the findings.
Twenty-seven per cent of third-level graduates are ambivalent about buying stolen goods, compared with 18 per cent of second-level graduates and 23 per cent of those educated to primary level.
A quarter of the highest educated show "something less than outright disapproval" about making a false insurance claim, as against just 13 per cent of second-level graduates and 16 per cent of those who received only a primary education.
Satisfaction with democracy in the Republic has increased by 6 per cent to 70 per cent since the last survey five years ago.
"Attitudes towards democracy in Ireland thus continue to be more positive than is the case in most other countries," the poll report says. Nearly 40 per cent favour "a strongly egalitarian concept of democracy", while just 5 per cent believe free-market economic rules should dominate.
"This provides evidence of strong public support for a more just society over the primacy of the free market alone. Women are somewhat more likely to emphasise the need for a more equal society than men, while younger people are substantially more likely to emphasise the need for a more equal society than older people," the report says.
