FF remains most popular party

Fianna Fáil has consolidated recent gains by maintaining its position as the best-supported party in the State, according to the latest Irish Times/Ipsos MRBI poll.

The poll also shows support for the Coalition parties has slipped over the past four months, while backing for Sinn Féin is up and Gerry Adams is now the most popular party leader.

The survey, taken on Monday and Tuesday of this week, shows that Fianna Fáil has held on to exactly the same share of the vote it obtained in February when it managed to recover first place in an Irish Times poll for the first time in five years. Fine Gael and Labour have both dropped a point since February but satisfaction with the Government is up three points.

Interviews
When people were asked who they would vote for if an election were held tomorrow, party support – when undecided voters are excluded – was: Fine Gael, 24 per cent (down one point); Labour, 9 per cent (down one); Fianna Fáil, 26 per cent (no change); Sinn Féin, 21 per cent (up three); Green Party, 2 per cent (up one); and Independents/Others, 18 per cent (down two).

The survey was undertaken among a representative sample of 1,000 voters aged 18 and over in face-to-face interviews at 100 sampling points in all constituencies.

The margin of error is plus or minus 3 per cent.

Fianna Fáil is strongest among lower middle-class and working-class voters and it remains the most popular party among the over-65s. In regional terms, it is strongest in Connacht-Ulster and weakest in Dublin, but its support in the capital is up since the last poll.

Support for Sinn Féin is up over 20 per cent again after a drop in the last poll while satisfaction with party leader Gerry Adams is up six points to 33 per cent, making him the most popular party leader.