FAILURE BY EU leaders to respond quickly and effectively to a worsening fiscal and economic situation has disillusioned Irish voters and only one in our is now satisfied with the way affairs are being managed, according to the latest Irish Times/IpsosMRBI opinion poll. More than half of those questioned are dissatisfied and Dublin people are most critical of the absence of creative leadership in Europe.
In spite of such an indictment, however, support for Ireland’s continuing membership of the European Union remains strong. Nearly two-thirds of voters believe it is in Ireland’s best interest to stay within the EU and support rises to 81 per cent among farmers, reflecting a strong agricultural sector. However, opposition to membership has increased since last July, to stand at 25 per cent.
Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil supporters are most positive about the benefits but Sinn Féin followers take a sharply different view, with 41 per cent wishing to leave the EU and only 13 per cent satisfied with how matters have been handled. This level of disenchantment with the quality of EU leadership and EU membership is a serious development, particularly as it may become necessary to improve fiscal harmonisation in the near future by amending existing treaties and conducting a referendum. In the past, two EU referendums were defeated.
A dislocation between the electorate and Europe was evident when 20 per cent of respondents had no opinion on the quality of EU leadership. This figure fell to 5 per cent when they were asked about the Government’s performance. Satisfaction with the Government was also 11 points higher, at 36 per cent.
This engagement with domestic leadership was also evident in a three-to-one split between those who believed the Government will improve the economic situation and those who feel it will make matters worse. Nearly 40 per cent declared its efforts would have no impact. The unemployed and those most affected by the economic downturn, including single people and those in the 18-34 year age group, were most pessimistic. Of the political parties, Sinn Féin supporters were the most negative.
A disturbing finding in the survey was an apparent loss of public confidence arising from the banking/building sector collapse and the subsequent EU-IMF bailout.
Two referendums, due to be held in tandem with the presidential election, show no sign of creating difficulties for the Government. Permission to reduce the pay of judges continues to attract overwhelming support, as does the Government’s proposal that Oireachtas committees should be allowed to inquire into matters of public importance and make findings against individuals. The proposal on judges’ pay is likely to remain uncontroversial, although opposition to the second referendum proposal could gain momentum between now and polling day.