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LAST UPDATE | 26 Jan
SINN FÉIN HAS seen its support rise since the general election last year and is tied with Fianna Fáil as the most popular party among voters.
That’s according to the first Business Post/Red C poll of the new year.
The poll saw a random sample of 1,003 adults, aged 18 and over, interviewed online between Friday, 17 January, and Wednesday, 22 January.
Sinn Féin has jumped three points in the poll to 22% when compared to November’s general election result, meaning Mary Lou McDonald’s party is tied with Fianna Fáil.
Sinn Féin’s bounce comes as McDonald is set to announce the parties Front Bench on Tuesday, with a number of changes to portfolios likely.
In an interview with the Sunday Times last year, McDonald said there would be a “significant” reshuffle on the cards, with even high-profile names like Pearse Doherty (Finance) and Eoin Ó Broin (Housing) potentially being moved to different briefs.
“Nobody is in a position indefinitely,” McDonald said at the time.
Of course that would be crazy, and I’m going to look at everything, every option will be entertained and then I’m going to place people in positions where they can perform at their strongest, and where you can get the best kind of collective chemistry and effort among the team.
“But there will be a significant reshuffle and appointments.”
On Thursday, Fianna Fáil leader Micheál Martin was elected as Taoiseach by members of the Dáil following a chaotic 24 hours in Irish politics.
The row on Wednesday erupted following a plan to allow Independent TDs, who participated in government formation negotiations, but who have not been given junior ministerial positions, to get speaking time that is allocated to the opposition.
The row rumbled on today, with both the Government and Opposition parties taking aim at the “unprecedented” events.
Meanwhile, support for Simon Harris’s Fine Gael has dropped by one point to 20%.
Elsewhere, the Social Democrats see their support rise by two points to 7%, while support for Labour dropped by two points to 3%.
Aontú’s support is unchanged on 4%, and Independent Ireland has seen a slight dip of one point, down to 3%.
The Green Party emerged from the election with only one TD, party leader Roderic O’Gorman – support for the party is unchanged at 3% when compared to the general election results.
Support for People Before Profit – Solidarity is also down one point, to 2% while support for independents is unchanged at 13%.
With reporting from Cormac Fitzgerald
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FG have left taxpaying people less than the bare minimum. It’s shocking that they have the support they have given what they’ve done to people over the last 15 years.
@Jack: And now for the Boring Forecast for the next five years, SF will have a New Group of TD’s behind their Front Desk (Bench ?) Guaranteed same old but somewhat wiser complainers.
It will be some Climate Change with Verona taking the Wind and the Rain
@Jack: it’s shocking that sinn fein have the support they have given what their IRA friends have done to people.
The poll is pretty pointless , arguing over a percentage or two when the margin for error or probably + /- 3% anyway. Nothing matters until the next election anyway .
@Ciaran: And the I am alright Jack crowd vote in FFFG again
@Dave C: that how democracy works, the majority of people must be alright….dave.
@Ciaran: The only poll that matters is polling day. We had our chance but didn’t take it yet again. Couple of different clowns but same circus for the next few years.
@Ciaran: correct. Too late for buyers remorse. With four plus years to the next general election, opinion polls are irrelevant.
@Ciaran: which will be in 6 months
@Ciaran: For the next 4 and a half years, the Shinners will be saying they’ll be a general election in six months, and in the end, they will be right.
@Dave C: Would you prefer an alternative method to democracy for electing our government?
If the electorate don’t have confidence in SF to lead a government they are not elected to do so. Of course, the fact that no other parties want to work with SF os a massive hindrance to.
@Sun Rise: The electorate gave more seats to SF than FG. One would assume then more people have more confidence in SF then ? No party has anywhere near an overall majority.. so your point is.. well pointless. What party’s do with their seats and the make up of any goverment is out of the electorates hands after that… I dare say a lot of FFG voters didn’t vote for Michael Lowry or the Healy Raes to be haggling in their own vested interests in the programme for government.. but hey that’s democracy for ya.
@brian o’leary: Ireland is just a phantom democracy. No viable alternatives to the 2 main parties. Until that changes then we live in an elected dictirship.
@Ciaran: Stop with your sense Ciaran ,no place for it here .
@Dave C: Democracy….
@Dave C: not necessarily. I’m sure I’m not the only one who reluctantly gave them a vote in order to keep right wingers, who’d happily drag us back 50 years, and thugs like the Monk, out
Ml lowry joins the greats Haughey Aherne Flynn Burke to benefit from shady deals in 2011 meehole said he should resign from the dail on foot of Moriarty report
@Tony McGrath: it’s an absolute disgrace Tony how they phuckers that are the Irish electorate have ignored all evidence of corruption and wrong doing is alive and well. I’ve said it here before several times and I’ll say it again, we are an idiotic race whom seem to ignore evidence as long as “someone is getting a few bob out of it”! Unintelligent phuckers
@den: Interesting point, Den. Michael Martin has succeeded in persuading some that FF has left stroke politics behind – as a result, he has gotten away with a lot from the compliant media!
Now that he has given serious power to the nakedly corrupt Lowry, will people finally see through it!
@Harry Paisley: Troll Alert
@Tony McGrath: move on son look at all those who benefited from the Northern Bank
@Tony McGrath: think you have the year wrong
@den: we are a corrupt nation. The corruption isn’t only in the political class but it threads through all of us.
It’s so depressing that we’re stuck with this uninspiring bunch for the foreseeable future, the same big government, high spending centre left stodge! Say what you like about Trump but he’s hit the ground ready to shake things up and ruffle feathers, take on a few sacred cows! How we could do with that here!
@Jonn: What do you mean? Mary Lou is extremely inspiring. Every day I’m inspired by Mary Lou.
@Jonn: I’ll file that under the “say what you like about Hitler” comments.. let’s ethnically cleanse a country.. here’s some 2000lb bombs to finish the job off and let’s build the most tremendous waterside properties and golf courses and make my bank account great again. You shouldn’t be looking to the absolute skum of the earth as an example of how to shake things up in our country. You’re more than welcome to go live under his new regime.. personally, and for all their faults( of which they’re are many) , I’d take our lot every day of the week and twice on Sunday.
@Jonn: same thing as he did last time sign a bunch of stuff that 95% of which won’t be followed up on
@Brian:
Ok,Brian, go take something for your TDS and have a sit down with a nice cup of cocoa, you’ll feel better!
@qffaffaf affrafrfraf:
Oh Mary Boo inspires me too..to switch channels whenever she comes on the radio!
@Jonn: “Say what you like about Trump”…
Ok…
He’s an adjudicated sex offender…
He’s a convicted felon x 34 times…
He riled up a Mob to storm the capital on January 6th to prevent the peaceful transfer of power…
He stole classified documents and refused to return them despite being requested to do so many times…
He interfered in his first election by paying off a porn star to keep the voting public in the dark about his sexual encounter with the porn star just after his wife gave birth to his newborn baby…
He suggested people could inject Bleach to cure covid…
He knew how dangerous covid was but played down how bad it was…
He started the big lie about Obama, claiming that Obama wasn’t born in the United States…
And much much more but I’m out of characters…
SAD.
@Brian:
Also,not sure where you’ve been for the last 4 years Brian but it’s the Biden regime that aided and abetted Netanyahu, just thought I’d mention it. How’s your cocoa?
@KTH:
And guess what, most of the electorate couldn’t have cared less about those corporate media talking points, they still prefer him to the alternative, which probably says more about the alternative than it does about Trump!
@Jonn: I’ve been condemning Bidens and nearly every other US administrations ” foreign policy ” for decades buddy. Just because I haven’t relayed this to you personally before now.. don’t get your little knickers in a twist. Care to address your hero Trumps ” clean out the whole thing ” comments ? And the supply of 2000lb bombs by the so called ” President of Peace ” Or you just gonna waffle on like a parrot for the day ?
@Brian:
Trump ended the conflict the minute he warned Hamas he was going to let the Israelis have free reign to ‘unleash hell’ if they didn’t do a deal and release hostages before he took office! It worked, they did a deal and the bombing stopped. What happens now is anyone’s guess but at least there’s peace and a breathing space. It’s more than Biden and Blinken did in a year of empty platitudes!
@Jonn: What’s happens now isn’t anyone’s guess .. because your great leader has said he wants ” to clear out the whole thing ” a comment you yet again have conveniently ignored.. Reply to it. This is not guess work.. his own son in law spoke of the ” very valuable waterside property ” last year and said ” from Israel’s perspective I would do my best to move the people out and then clean it up,” This was a guy charged with finding a ” peace solution ” under his last administration. You’re even more naive and ignorant that I thought if you think the conflict has ended .. a very tentative ceasefire is in place.. not that Israel are adhering to it. And threatening to bomb the siht out of a country if they dont do a deal isn’t the definition of peace. It’s actually the opposite.
@Jonn: jebus id rather this lot than that Mary who and shouty Mac shout face Doherty a government under Sinn Fein would be gloomy
@Brian:
Am I going to solve the Israel/Palestine conflict in a Journal comment? Sadly no, but the grim fact is it’s over,Israel has won, they have the whip hand, they hold all the cards and guess what, they couldn’t care less what pro Palestine activists in Europe and the US think. And before you say it,I’m no supporter of Israel,far from it, but you have to deal with the world as it is,not as you want it to be!
@KTH: You’d swallow a brick if the MSM told you it provided health benefits
@Jonn: I’m not asking you to solve it John.. Your opening salvo was ” say what you like about Trump”. I said he’s just advocated the ethnic cleansing of Palestine.. something the far right extemist like Ben Givr and Smotrich in the Israeli government have being advocating for decades.. and asked you to address it . You’ve still failed to. You ask us to look at him and all the feather ruffling he’s doing.. as if he is something our leaders should aspire to be. He’s a despicable human being. When he tanks the Irish economy as proposed.. I’ll check back in with you and see how your feathers are then.
@Brian:
Memo to Brian..Trump is the President of the US, not of Ireland! We have our own government, sadly, which is more than capable of tanking our economy..again..without any outside help. They’re already well on the way by doubling government spending in the last decade and putting all their eggs in the ‘corporate tax’ basket! When the excrement does hit the fan don’t go blaming Trump, the real blame will lie closer to home!
@Brian: You are a very, very sad individual.
@Jonn: You’re well able to address anything other than his ” clean out the whole thing ” comment .. why is that John.. ? You’ve waffled on for a while now and constantly ignored his advocacy of ethnically cleansing a country.. You seem fine with that.. only a bit of feather ruffling sure isn’t it displacing a couple of million people. Like I said I’ll file your comments under the ” say what you like about hiltler” section . Fk me it’s a sad world when a pesrson can’t bring themselves to condemn someone advocating ethnic cleansing. You lads have it so hard for him.
@Jonn: as opposed to the opposition uninspiring bunch??!!
@qffaffaf affrafrfraf: You need to Change your interest if Mary Lou is inspiration
@Brian:
What’s your fixation with Trump? Israel has owned every US administration going back decades, US politicians are in the pocket of AIPAC for years, funnelling tens of billions in laundered money to Israel! Why you think it’s a problem created by Trump seems to me to be a symptom of your TDS! Tell me I’m wrong!
@Brian: your comments on this thread have been refreshing. It feels like you are nearly speaking and articulating my mind better than I can.
@Jonn: you still haven’t addressed his point on your refusal to condemn him for suggesting ethnic cleansing. I am sure Hitler had supporters who were the same. How the world comes full circle. 80 odd years ago it was against the Jewish people. Now it’s at the behest of some of the Jewish people. I am going to say some because there are many very decent Jewish people in the world that would not support what trump suggests to do. But the irony all the same I am sure is not lost on many.
@Jonn: agree with Israel or not, it doesn’t hide the fact that Islam does not want co-existance and peace.
Hamas love death it makes them martyrs. It’s insane that any civilised western European could make excuses for them
@Jonn: america have been aiding and abetting israel since before either of them were president, Genius.
@offside again: You’re 100 % deluded or in denial if you think that the Ultra Right religious fanatics in government in Israel like Ben Givr, Smotrich want to co exist in peace. They have literally spelt out their desire to ethnically cleanse Palestine. They’re as bad as the poisonous murderous band on the other side. This is what happens when extremes on both sides take control. What’s insane is that you happily take your place in this ever polarising world .. espouse the ever growing hateful rethoric of them v us.. whilst completely ignorant of facts and history. You do know that main players in the current Israel government advocated and led the calls for the assination of PM Rabin who signed a peace deal with the Oslo Accord. EDUCATE YOURSELF! WAKE TF UP .
@Eoin Jackson: Thanks Eoin, We asked ‘how could that happen’ for decades after you know who.. the answer is unfolding right in front of us. There’s a great play play by Eugène Ionesco called Rhinoceros that articulates exactly what went/is going on in the human psyche at times like this.
@Jonn: centre left? Ffg are centre right education is free in this country yet you refused to make use of it
@qffaffaf affrafrfraf: she wouldn’t inspire a good s hit
@offside again: I don’t see anyone here defending Hamas but to set the record straight, it was formed in 1987. During the previous 40 years, between 1947-87, over 50,000 civilians were killed by Israeli occupation forces. Hamas wouldn’t exist if it wasn’t for the Israeli campaign of brutality and murder against the Palestinian people
A bit too late now that we have FFG and the criminals in government
@barry lyons: you’re wrong, Shinners arent in Govt (thankfully)
@Harry Paisley: f off
@Harry Paisley: your one sad wit nit
Just goes to show that politics is all about show and no substance.
As long the people love us then do what you want. The age of nation building is over, so begins the age of why bother.
Remember Fine Gael were on 27% a couple of weeks before the election, oh sorry, I though it was about Sinn Féin’s poll rating falling, despite winning more seats in all elections.
@Brian D’Arcy: Sinn Fein IRA will gain Power only as Gerry says we ain’t gone away
FFG should do the right thing and merge, for the sake of the country. At least they wouldn’t split the vote other options could grow.
@Allo Allo: why? They are two distinct democratic parties. You could say same about Labour and SocDems or the rag tag collection of lefties.
@Johnny Wilson: Thd are not, they are one and the same, ending Civil War politics? That ended lkng a time when they united at a council level and they were in government together with the supply abd confidence agreement, with, who was it again. Oh yeah, independents. You’re only fooling yourself to believe that they are in any way, like the establishmebt media attempts to tell people.
@Allo Allo: And why would they do that ,
Why does the journal always leave comments open when it’s a Sinn Fein story it Really brings out the trolls under all their different profiles but everyone knows who they are
@Joe Sweeny: empty vessels make the most noise…
@Joe Sweeny: the real question would be why are the journal making this into a SF article when it’s a poll that involves all parties? FG’s drop gets one line. It doesn’t even mention if FF have risen or fallen. Journal, like all Dublin-based national outlets use language associated with ‘controversy’ whenever SF are mentioned.
Pointless poll
@Furious George – The Wasp: But a lovely photo of the darling of the media.
@Harry Paisley: It’s an average photo but have you seen the photo they picked to use of Trump. ?
And all the posts on here and every other article stating we live in a democracy – do we f**k!
In other news, it’s raining outside.
Blah blah blah.
It just proves how things have changed and how desperate ff and fg are to hold on to power. They now have to become one. That was unimaginable once upon a time. Still with the percentage of people who vote for either ff or fg, even with each party’s votes decreasing, it would take something unimaginable to remove them now. The way they shun sf makes me wonder is this really democracy?
Utterly pointless poll, they haven’t even started yet, and when they do Mary loos pontificating and Pearces shouting will remind us of the bullet we just dodged.
@Hotirish: “bullet we dodged” . . No pun intended .
See you in 5 years
@Dick Cleere: FG trying to Out Left the Left to become more popular is damaging and needs to stop now. A FF government unshackled to FG would just allow builders do what they want to do. BUILD HOUSES. The liquid Left media tried to make encouraging building a crime.
@thomas molloy: Owning a business is a crime according to some on the left . People like R Boyd Barrett and Paul Murphy are left of left . They just jump on board whatever the nearest “crises” is without solutions
@Michael Fehily: Yup charlatans of the highest degree, fffg are criminally corrupt but the radical left would be genocidal.
she has to go.
Too little too late Mary Lou
So SF have 23% of nothing, hopefully that’ll continue.
Fair play the journal never fails to be positive on Mary Lou – Election over 5 years in opposition and looking forward to making sure another 5 will follow
Bit late now to be trying for the lead
SF will race ahead again in the polls untill the next election untill the media say other wise
What’s the point of a poll haven’t we a government in place now polls are f…..g pointless at this moment in time
Sad that so many Irish allow their greed and laziness to overlook the SFIRA sex crimes
People we see what they really are hoodwink merchants. Trollops, the parties are united.
What a waste of money Election over move on. Our media fools are trying to tell us aggression anger and shouting and roaring are the tools necessary for proper political opposition. Our media have long lost the ability to accurately those vote in elections they spend too much time listening to Belfast
@Tim Brennan: Ha ha, talk about tragic, son. What a waste of who’s money? not yours anyway. Even go witness the ambivalance of the Fianna Gael supports is worth it alone. Couldn’t be from, Fianna Gael don’t run candidates there.
@Brian D’Arcy: Cheerio Losers
@Harry Paisley: Tosóidh stailc ocrais amárach!!!!!!!!!
They are all as bad as each other to be perfectly honest. The big news is that the number of houses being built has decreased by 7% since last year and all of the major parties have terrible solutions on how to solve it. Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil want more leftist regulations on what sort of housing can be built and more stringent rent control which shrinks both the supply of apartments/houses and increases rental costs because there is no competition to lower prices. They also want to expand the current terrible zoning laws. Sinn Fein want to do away with private property and go even further than FG/FF by nationalising construction and declaring it a “public good” despite the fact that this will just drive even more landlords from the market because there is no profit incentive to remain.
@William Jennings: get rid of private property, and get rid of landlords, which is it????? Its a shame so many people like you refused to make use of the free education system in this country
@he didnt take the 120k because he already got it split over 3 years: You idiot, read what I wrote again. Sinn Fein wants to declare housing a “public good” with the aim of nationalising all new construction. The end of private property rights go hand in hand with the deliberate policy of driving landlords out of the market by preventing them from freely charging appropriate rates for their current property and blocking them from expanding their fundamental right to buy new property. Stop embarrassing yourself and pipe down. It’s pretty clear that the only uneducated person is you.
Fair play the journal editor yet again doing her bit for the Belfast ruled party
Load of waffle the poll that counts made sure Sinn Fein would not be in Government this is a useless exercise so stop with the s hite
Please not another FIVE YEARS OF SF know all’s beating down on reform and progress of the Country. Further if SF are coming up with a new Front Bench make sure it’s not a Desk that the last bunch sat behind.
There should be no polls. With one eye on the poll gallery our great elected ones will just shout louder.
***k off
@Ben F: now Ben keep it civil, keep it legal.
have your say