Support for Sinn Féin hits record high in new poll

Sinn Féin has continued to build on its February election success, recording the highest rating in the party’s Red C poll.

The poll showed Mary Lou McDonald’s party holding 30%, while Fine Gael continues to lead at 33%, down from 37% after weeks of social media campaigns against Sinn Féin.

However, the Sinn Féin leader says “no one will be carried away” by the poll result.

“There is a lot of work to do,” he said. “But it does underscore the reality that the people want change and this government will not.

“Covid-19 has impacted people’s lives in ways none of us could have imagined, but this has not diminished the appetite for a more just society. In fact, it has reaffirmed it.

“The pandemic has exposed dividing lines and highlighted the great inequalities and vulnerabilities faced by many.

“Sinn Féin will continue to give voice to those people.”

Meanwhile, Fianna Fáil’s TDs are concerned about an early election next year after a poll of just 12% in the Business Post / Red C poll. There are also fears of a perceived “loss of identity” in the coalition.

Despite the leaders’ message to dismiss the polls, numerous TDs of Fianna Fáil at various stages of their political careers have told the Irish Examiner they are worried.

A TD said that there is “a real concern about next year’s elections, we have an unstable tripartite government, anything could happen. People are worried about the existence of Fianna Fáil after the next elections.”

“If we perform as we have at the polls, we will only get 14 seats or so, no manager from Fianna Fáil would be elected in Dublin,” the manager said.

Polls have been a constant concern for some within Fianna Fáil, and despite recent controversies in the government stemming from Fine Gael, it appears that Micheál Martin’s short tenure as Taoiseach has garnered no further support in his favor.

Housing Minister Darragh O’Brien rejected the idea that his party is being “squeezed.”

“I never gave much importance to the polls, whether we go up or down within them, and I think there is a long history of underestimation of Fianna Fáil in the polls,” he said in RTÉ.