SINN FÉIN IS again the most popular party in the country, according to a new opinion poll, which also showed public displeasure with the government’s deal with Michael Lowry’s Regional Independents.

The Irish Times/Ipsos B&A opinion poll has also recorded a sharp drop in support for Fine Gael since the previous poll taken before the last general election, with the party dropping to 16% support. This is the lowest level of support Fine Gael has had in this series of polls for over 30 years.

The state of the parties (+/- since last poll)

• Sinn Féin – 26% (+6)
• Fianna Fáil – 22% (+1)
• Fine Gael – 16% (-3)
• SocDems – 7% (+1)
• Labour – 5% (+1)
• Greens – 3% (-1)
• PBP-Sol – 3%  (-)
• Aontú – 1% (-2)
• Inds/Other – 17% (-)

The growth in support for Sinn Féin means the party has returned to the position it held during the previous Dáil before it declined in the 18 months ahead of last year’s general election.

In the November 2024 election, Fianna Fáil won the most first preference votes ahead of Fine Gael in second and Sinn Féin in third. 

The new polling also gauges the public’s mood on the makeup of the current government, which sees the two main parties buttressed in government by the support of a number of independents who group together as part of the Regional Independent group.

The Regional Independent group was led in government formation talks by Michael Lowry TD and the deal struck to form that government has been the source of strident criticism by the opposition in the first three months of the government.

Asked in the poll whether people were satisfied that Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael formed a coalition with the Regional Independent group, just 28% said they were satisfied compared to 54% who would have ‘preferred a different group or party’ and 18% who had no opinion.

Asked directly if Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael were right to make an agreement with Michael Lowry, 15% said they were right compared to 64% who said they were wrong and 21% who had no opinion.

In 2011, the Moriarty Tribunal found that Lowry had an “insidious and pervasive influence” on the bidding process for the second mobile phone licence in Ireland when he was a minister in the 1990s.

The licence was granted to the Denis O’Brien-owned Esat Telecom in 1995. The tribunal found that O’Brien made or facilitated payments of hundreds of thousands of sterling to Lowry. Lowry and O’Brien have both rejected the findings.