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SUPPORT HAS RISEN for Sinn Féin since the general election campaign kicked off, with Fianna Fáil also rising slightly and Fine Gael dropping slightly, according to a new opinion poll.
The new Sunday Times/Opinions poll shows the main three parties grouped closely together while support for Independents/Others remains high.
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The full breakdown of the parties is:
Fine Gael 23 (-1, since Oct)
Independents/Others 21 (-1)
Fianna Fáil 20 (+1)
Sinn Féin 18 (+2)
Social Democrats 6 (+1)
Labour 4 (-1)
Green Party 4 (nc)
PBP-Solidarity 2 (-1)
Aontú 2 (nc)
While still far below the huge support Sinn Féin received in recent years, the party will be happy that it clawed back some percentage in the the first week of the campaign. The changes to the parties are all within the margin of error, but the slight drop will still be sounding alarm bells for Fine Gael.
This weekend, many commentators have been highlighting a slow, muted first week to the election, with few stand out moments, though that is likely to change as polling day draws near.
Fine Gael and Labour are due to publish their manifestos later today, while prospective TDs will continue on the campaign trail.
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@Jacintha Dumbrell: Why are you having hissy fits on here about facebook posts that “trigger” you? I’d say something if the wildfires were happening here in Ireland, but they’re not. Happening the other side of the world. Get a grip clown.
@Marvin Dollery: Absolute state of this. The standard of conversation in the comments section has become significantly worse since your account appeared.
@Jason Memail: he’s outraged at everything and takes this comment section way too seriously, which I suppose you do if you live in social media bubbles all day.
@Jacintha Dumbrell: You think Facebook experts are bad now, wait til the crappy guardrails come off in a few weeks! But don’t worry, Zuck is doing it to save the world. With a bit of software. And 50% of it is minion memes.
@Jason Memail: So because you dislike what I have to say, you think my account should be removed? Isn’t that the very principle ye leftists proclaim to defend? Seems ye have gone full circle. Nice attempt at “white knighting”. Dumbrell is far from a damzel in distress.
Current global temperatures are warmest in c. 125,000 years, CO2 levels are highest in c. 15 million years and they continue to rise rapidly.
And here’s a study showing forest fires (intensity) are the worst in 10,000 years:
Kelly, R., Chipman, M.L., Higuera, P.E., Stefanova, I., Brubaker, L.B. and Hu, F.S., 2013. Recent burning of boreal forests exceeds fire regime limits of the past 10,000 years. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 110(32), pp.13055-13060.
@Marvin Dollery: master of deduction yet again. Jason never mentioned that your account should be removed and how do you know he is a “leftist”. He only makes the (IMO correct) observation that the standard of your comments is deplorable.
@Jacintha Dumbrell: Don’t read Facebook, read science based fact. Here’s a fact. In the area burning today there is vegetation which drops seeds in pods that can only open when exposed to…fire. Yes, climate change can alter local conditions which can make wildfires more likely, but in this particular instance damage is man-made only in the sense that man chose to build homes in areas where fires are not only likely but are essential to the lifecycle of local flora. High time the planning authorities took some responsibility for what’s occurring rather than point the finger at people who have the audacity to own a car or want to heat their homes.
@Ronan Mc: In fairness, libel action against defamation or slander should be taken by the courts. Not by some meta subsidiary. Everyone active on platforms should know how to properly sue someone. Including the journal comment section which is a goldmine.
After the last fires Trump recommended that fire breaks between areas need to be implanted but got no support by the ever negative media, maybe he can get things moving when he gets back.
@thomas molloy: except he never said that at all. He never mentioned “fire breaks”. He did talk about how the forestry service looked after the wilderness there and used the example of Finland “raking their forests” to prevent forest fires. Much to the amusement of Finns who do not rake their forests. Do you honestly think that Trump knows what a fire break is or how they work? As it happens fire breaks would not have done anything to prevent these current fires all of which started in brush in residential areas. The wind is driving them and embers from early fires are travelling through their via wind and causing fires elsewhere. They are crossing the many roads and highways in the hills. Not a lot could be done to prevent these fires sadly
@thomas molloy: impossible. Embers can travel several kilometres airborne. Fires can also start spontaneously in 0-10% humidity. Trump knows as much about managing forests as he does about every other topic. Virtually nil. May the Divils spawnings drag him to Hades and burn the Cheryl Cole off of him.
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