Mary Lou McDonald most popular choice for taoiseach, Irish Times poll finds
Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald is now the most popular choice to be the next taoiseach, the latest Irish Times/Ipsos opinion poll has found.
When voters were asked who they would prefer to see as taoiseach after the next election, almost a third (32 per cent) opted for Ms McDonald. The Fianna Fáil leader Micheál Martin and Fine Gael leader Leo Varadkar were both the choice of 18 per cent each, while 20 per cent of respondents chose none of the three main party leaders.
The poll also finds that just over a quarter of voters (27 per cent) favour a continuation of the present Fianna Fáil-Fine Gael-Green Coalition after the next election, but more than four in 10 voters want to see Sinn Féin as part of the next government.
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The Big Read
Sinn Féin will have to compromise if McDonald is to make history: If yesterday’s findings of the latest Irish Times/Ipsos opinion poll confirmed that Sinn Féin is maintaining a strong lead in the polls, then today’s data shows that while large numbers of voters have reservations about the party being in power, greater numbers want to see them leading the next government, writes Political Editor Pat Leahy.
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Full coverage of the latest Irish Times/Ipsos opinion poll
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Letters to the Editor
Sir, – Michael McDowell is entirely correct that Dublin City Council bears a significant responsibility for the dereliction and appalling urban design that, to speak frankly, make Dublin an often ugly and unattractive city compared to its European counterparts (Opinion & Analysis, September 27).
It is embarrassing to explain to friends who have moved here that, despite living in one of the most expensive places on the planet, they should not expect action on dereliction and undeveloped sites. This is as true in the suburbs as the centre; with the exception of some postcodes, most of us live in a sprawling mess of housing estates that lack the amenities commonplace elsewhere.
However, discontent with how the council approaches design, architecture, and planning is nothing new; generations of Dubliners have battled with elected and unelected officials hostile to the idea that Dublin should have buildings, plazas, and streetscapes as beautiful as other cities. Therefore, while the call for urgent and significant change in how our capital is run and developed is laudable, the idea that such change will occur any time soon is fanciful.
As with our woeful public transport, our politicians and public service can seem defeated by complex problems and so opt instead for rhetoric and reports over meaningful action. – Yours, etc, ANDREW QUINN,
Clongriffin, Dublin 13.
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Review of the day
- RTE’s Today lies between Prime Time and Teletubbies: The days are dark and stormy and the world is frightening and confusing. Thankfully, Today is back on RTÉ One, overseen by soothing Kerry folk figure Dáithí Ó Sé and his platinum-haired, twinkly-eyed television “wife” Sinead Kennedy. They’re here to tell us everything is fine. Frankly that could be another name for this show: Everything is Fine. Doctors could prescribe this to overstimulated teens or pets, writes Patrick Freyne.
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