Sinn Fein inches further ahead of other parties in opinion poll

Sinn Fein has further increased its support, according to a new opinion poll.

The survey, carried out by Ireland Thinks for the Sunday Independent, indicates that support for Sinn Fein is at 34%, up three percentage points on the July poll.

It indicates the party has made some gains since June when it was on 32%, and March when it had gained support of 29%.

Sinn Fein leader Mary Lou McDonald has not been speaking publicly since she announced at the end of June she would be taking a “number of weeks” off to recover from surgery.

The August poll indicates that Fine Gael remains on 19%; Fianna Fail is on 18%, down one percentage point; and the Green Party is on 5%, up two percentage points.

The Social Democrats are at 5%, down one point; Labour is at 4%, up two points; Solidarity-People Before Profit is on 3%, down one point; and Aontu is on 2%, down one point.

In the wake of increased focus on the Minister for Justice Helen McEntee over Garda recruitment numbers and safety issues in Dublin city, half of voters polled indicated they were not satisfied with her performance.

The poll was carried out on August 4-5 among 1,272 adults, and has a margin of error of 2.8%.

The 2020 general election saw Sinn Fein’s popularity surge across all age groups, leading to it gaining 24.5% of first-preference votes and 37 seats, up from 22 seats in the previous general election.

This compares to 20.9% and 35 seats for Fine Gael, 22.2% and 38 seats for Fianna Fail and 7.1% and 12 seats for the Green Party.

According to a poll of polls for Irish parties carried out by Politico, Sinn Fein is on an average support of 32% based on the past two years, while Fianna Fail is on 21%, Fine Gael is on 19% and the Green Party is on 4%.

Taoiseach Leo Varadkar has recently denied that there are any plans for an early general election.

Local and European elections are to be held in May or June next year, while a general election must be called by spring 2025.

Mr Varadkar has said he intends to lead his party into the next general election and hopes to form a government afterwards – and has categorically ruled out a coalition with Sinn Fein.