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Taoiseach Leo Varadkar and Minister Shane Ross at an event earlier this month - not when they heard the good news about the poll. Sam Boal/RollingNews.ie
popularity
Government ends year on a high with satisfaction rate boost
The latest poll puts Leo Varadkar’s own approval rating at 56%.
THE GOVERNMENT HAS been given an early Christmas present as the latest popularity poll puts its satisfaction rate at 51%.
This time last year, the Fine Gael-led minority government had a satisfaction rating of just 34%.
Leo Varadkar has become a more popular Taoiseach than Enda Kenny, with an approval rate of 56% – up four points since the last poll.
Fine Gael’s popularity remains static at 34%, while Fianna Fáil has dropped five points to 26%. However the party’s leader Micheál Martin is not far behind the Taoiseach with an approval rating of 55%.
Sinn Féin is up three points at 17% and Labour is slowly climbing back up the popularity ladder, up two points to 5%.
The Independent Alliance and Social Democrats both saw a 1% bump at 4% and 2%, respectively, while Solidarity/PBP and the Green Party each remain at 2%.
The poll was conducted the week the EU and UK agreed phase one of Brexit negotiations, which included assurances on a soft Irish border.
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