Voters are sharply divided on the Government's decision to impose a levy on public sector workers with 47 per cent saying it was wrong and 41 per cent agreeing it was right, according to the latest Irish Times/TNS mrbi poll.
There is a similar split in opinion on whether the Taoiseach was right or wrong to proceed without the agreement of the social partners, with 41 per cent saying he was right and 49 per cent wrong.
A majority of voters also believe that the Government should have closed Anglo Irish Bank rather than nationalised it. Fianna Fáil voters are almost evenly divided on the issue but supporters of all other parties are strongly believe the bank should have been closed down.
When asked if the public or private sectors were taking more pain, or whether it was being shared equally, 39 per cent opted for the private sector, 29 per cent said the public sector and 24 per cent said the pain was being shared equally.
The poll was conducted last Monday and Tuesday among a representative sample of 1,000 voters in face-to-face interviews at 100 sampling points in all 43 constituencies. The margin of error is 3 per cent.