Government parties see support rise in latest opinion poll

The three Government parties have seen a rebound in support since the summer with voters taking a more positive view of the Coalition, according to the latest opinion poll.

The Irish Times/Ipsos poll shows support for all three Government parties has risen, with Fine Gael seeing a four-point increase since the last poll in July, while Fianna Fáil and the Green Party see a marginal increase of one point.

Support for the Opposition has dropped, with Sinn Féin and Labour losing a point each and Independents/others falling away by four points, driven by a sharp four-point fall for Independents.

Despite the marginal fall in support, Sinn Féin remains by far the most popular party, 13 points ahead of Fine Gael and 14 ahead of Fianna Fáil.

The results show that the public mood towards the Coalition has softened since the summer, despite the continuing cost-of-living crisis, suggesting that the multibillion-euro expenditure in the budget has begun to take effect.

The satisfaction ratings for the three Coalition leaders and for the Government as a whole have also jumped noticeably since the summer.

Satisfaction with the Government has increased by nine points, to 40 per cent, since July, while Taoiseach Micheál Martin has seen his personal rating jump by five points to 45.

Tánaiste Leo Varadkar is up by eight points to 44 per cent and Green Party leader Eamon Ryan is up by five to 20 per cent. Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald sees her approval rating increase slightly by two points to 45 per cent.

The poll was conducted among 1,200 adults at 120 sampling points across all constituencies between October 23rd-25th. Respondents were interviewed at their own homes. The accuracy is estimated at plus or minus 2.8 per cent.