Huge majority of voters says Lawlor should resign from Dail now - poll

An overwhelming majority of the public believes Liam Lawlor should resign his Dáil seat immediately, according to an MRBI/ Irish Timespoll to be published tomorrow.

When the 1,000 voters canvassed were asked if Mr Lawlor should now resign his seat, a massive 85 per cent said his position was untenable and he should resign.

Just seven per cent felt the Dublin West TD, who was released on Wednesday from Mountjoy Prison after serving a week-long sentence for contempt of court, should remain in Leinster House. Eight per cent of respondents said that they didn’t know.

His imprisonment by the High Court for his failure to comply fully with the Flood Tribunal was approved by the majority.

When questioned if they were or were not satisfied with the way the Flood Tribunal and the courts have dealt with Mr Lawlor, 64 per cent answered yes, while 25 per cent said they were not satisfied and 11 per cent didn’t know.

However, the Government comes under serious criticism for its handling of the controversy surrounding the former Fianna Fáil member.

Asked: "Are you or are you not satisfied with the way the Government has responded to the Lawlor case?" 53 per cent of respondents said the Government’s performance was inadequate. A further 34 per cent claimed they were satisfied with the reaction, whilst 13 per cent said they didn’t know.

The poll was conducted among a national quota sample of 1,000 voters at 100 sampling points throughout all constituencies on Monday and Tuesday of this week.