THE IRISH TIMES/IPSOS MRBI POLL:A MAJORITY of voters back the proposal by the EU Commission for greater supervision of national budgets, according to the latest Irish Times/Ipsos MRBI poll.
When asked if they would or would not support the proposal 49 per cent of voters said Yes, 36 per cent said No and 15 per cent had no opinion.
There were significant differences among supporters of the different parties with Fine Gael voters strongest in their backing for the EU proposal and Sinn Féin voters most strongly against.
Interestingly, when the issue was raised in the Dáil, Fine Gael leader Enda Kenny and the party deputy leader Richard Bruton both expressed strong opposition to it.
Among Fine Gael voters, 59 per cent back the Commission proposal with 31 per cent against. Fianna Fáil voters are more wary of the proposal with 50 per cent for it and 38 per cent against.
Labour Party supporters are yet more wary with 49 per cent for and 38 per cent against while among Green voters 50 per cent are for and 47 per cent against.
The only party whose voters are clearly against the proposal is Sinn Féin with 40 per cent for and 50 per cent against. Supporters of Independents and smaller parties are equally opposed.
In class terms the response mirrors attitudes to the EU expressed in last year’s Lisbon Treaty referendum.
Support for the Commission proposal is strongest among the best-off AB voters who favour it by a margin of two to one while the most opposition comes from farmers who are against the plan by 49 per cent to 41 per cent and the poorest DE voters who are evenly divided on the issue.
In regional terms the strongest support is in Connacht-Ulster, followed by Dublin, while in age terms the strongest support comes from the 18 to 24 year olds.
Asked if they thought the worst was over for the economy, 31 per cent said it was but 60 per cent said the worst was yet to come. The result is almost identical with the last Irish Times poll in January when 31 per cent said the worst was over and 63 per cent thought it was yet to come.
In party terms, only a majority of Fianna Fáil voters thought the worst was over with 55 per cent believing it was and 41 per cent saying it was yet to come. Green Party voters were the next most hopeful with 51 per cent saying the worst was to come while the figure for Labour voters was 60 per cent, for Fine Gael voters 62 per cent and 82 per cent among Sinn Féin supporters.
Poorer voters were much more inclined to think the worst was yet to come with 67 per cent of DE voters taking this view, 65 per cent of C2 voters, 52 per cent of C1 voters and 51 per cent of the best-off AB voters.
In age terms, the youngest 18 to 24 year olds were the most optimistic with 50 per cent saying the worst was to come, rising to 58 per cent among the 25 to 34 age group, 63 per cent among the 35 to 49s and 68 per cent among those aged between 50 and 64. The over 65s were a bit more optimistic with the figure dropping to 54 per cent.