SINN FÉIN HAS risen in popularity while Fine Gael has slipped, according to a new poll from the Sunday Independent and Ireland Thinks. 

Fianna Fáil remains the most popular party on 24%. Sinn Féin are on 22%, Fine Gael on 20% and Independents enjoy 9% support. 

The Social Democrats are on 8%, Aontú and Labour are both on 4%, the Green Party is on 3% and Solidarity/People Before Profit are on 2%. 

Sinn Féin’s support has gone up 3% since the last poll. Fine Gael, meanwhile, have dropped 2 points.  

The polling has also shown that housing has become an even more pressing issue for the public and that Taoiseach Micheál Martin is the most popular party leader with an approval rating of 49%. 

Social Democrats leader Holly Cairns is behind him on 46%, down one point. Tánaiste Simon Harris’s rating remains unchanged at 45%.

Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald’s personal rating has climbed three percentage points to 38% while Labour leader Ivana Bacik has dropped one point down to 36%.

The polling shows that almost two thirds of respondents said housing is one of the country’s two biggest priorities, rising from 51% in the previous poll to 59% this time. 

At the same time, healthcare slipped down as a priority for respondents, going down 3 points to 27%. 

27% of respondents also said the cost of living was their priority, a drop of 4% since January. 

The majority of respondents (69%) said the government is more concerned with people living in big cities than those living in rural areas. That comes in the wake of Storm Éowyn, which inflicted widespread damage and utility disruptions across the country, particularly in remote areas. 

Two thirds of respondents said the government did not perform as it should have in dealing with the fallout from the storm.

Finally, the majority of respondents (69%) said politicians are out of touch with the interests of ordinary people. 25% said they aren’t out of touch, while 6% were unsure.