Sinn Fein is still by far the most popular political party in the State with well over double the support of Fianna Fail, a new poll has revealed.
The survey also found that neither Fine Gael or Fianna Fail got much of a Budget bounce with their popularity largely unchanged while Mary Lou McDonald’s party’s support has reached a record high.
Even more telling is the revelation that Sinn Féin now commands the support of more than half of those who do not own their own home.
The latest Sunday Independent - Ireland Thinks poll reveals that Sinn Féin’s support stands at 37%, increasing their lead by one point.
Fine Gael are the second most popular at 21%, with no change compared to the previous poll.
Fianna Fáil, which held its Ard Fheis at the weekend, are in third place on 17%, with a one point increase. Coalition partners, the Green Party have seen a two point increase to 4%.
Smaller opposition parties have not seen much change, with People Before Profit – Solidarity dropping one point to 4% while the Social Democrats are now on 3%.
Labour and Aontú are stuck on 3%, while support for Independents has dropped by three points to 8%.
What will be most worrying for the Government parties is that the poll was conducted following last Tuesday’s giveaway Budget and showed no significant bounce in support.
Despite electricity credits, double child benefit and tax changes, when asked to what extent the Budget would make a difference to their ability to cope, 44% of respondents said some difference, 6% said a big difference, but 46% said no difference at all.
The survey found that just under half of those asked (49%) think they will be financially the same after the Budget, while 27% believe they will be better off and 24% feel they will be worse off.
By far the most popular Budget measure was the Government’s three €200 energy credits (37%) followed by an income tax band adjustment (16%).
The poll also indicates that housing is also a major concern for the electorate with 55% - up three points - saying it should be the Government’s number one priority.
It also emerged that 51% of those who do not own their own home showed support for Sinn Féin.
The Sunday Independent poll also found there is mounting opposition to the Government’s proposal to apply a concrete levy to pay for the mica redress scheme.
Industry experts estimate this will add around €4,000 to the cost of a new home leading to 59% of respondents disagreeing with the initiative, 27% agreeing while 14% were unsure.
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