Sinn Féin has further increased its support, according to an opinion poll published at the weekend.
The survey carried out by Ireland Thinks, indicates that support for Sinn Féin is at 34 per cent, up 3 per cent on the July poll. It indicates the party has made some gains since June when it was on 32 per cent and March when it had gained support of 29 per cent.
Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald has not been speaking publicly since she announced at the end of June she would be taking a “number of weeks” off to recover from surgery.
Inside Sinn Féin
The poll, conducted for the Sunday Independent, indicates that Fine Gael remains on 19 per cent; Fianna Fáil is on 18 per cent, down 1 per cent and the Green Party is on 5 per cent, up 2 per cent.
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The Social Democrats are at 5 per cent, down one point. Labour is at 4 per cent, up two points while Solidarity-People Before Profit is on 3 per cent, down one point. Aontú is on 2 per cent, down one point.
Following a sharper focus on Minister for Justice Helen McEntee over Garda recruitment numbers and safety issues in Dublin city, half of voters polled indicated they were unsatisfied with her performance.
The poll was carried out on August 4th-5th among 1,272 adults and has a margin of error of 2.8 per cent.
Sinn Féin backing
The 2020 general election was notable in that Sinn Féin’s popularity surged across all age groups, leading to it gaining 24.5 per cent of first-preference votes and 37 seats, up from 22 seats in the previous general election. This compares to 20.9 per cent and 35 seats for Fine Gael, 22.2 per cent and 38 seats for Fianna Fáil and 7.1 per cent and 12 seats for the Green Party.
According to a poll of polls for Irish parties carried out by Politico, Sinn Féin is on average support of 32 per cent based on the past two years, while Fianna Fáil is on 21 per cent, Fine Gael is on 19 per cent and the Green Party is on 4 per cent.
Taoiseach Leo Varadkar recently denied there are any plans for an early general election. Local and European elections are to be held in May or June next year, while a general election must be called by spring 2025.
Mr Varadkar has said he intends to lead his party into the next general election and hopes to form a government afterwards. He has ruled out a coalition with Sinn Féin. — PA