New poll finds almost half of rural Ireland wants Micheál Martin to step down

Almost half of people living in rural Ireland would like to see Taoiseach Micheál Martin step down in 2027.

48% said Martin should stand down in January, while only 19% of people believe that justice minister Jim O'Callaghan, would be a better leader for Fianna Fáil and the country. Jim O'Callaghan was previously said to be the natural successor to Martin but his popularity has since waned.

14% of people said social protection minister Dara Calleary would be a better leader.

The poll carried out by Ipsos, does note that Martin as Fianna Fáil leader retains significant backing from within his own ranks with 61% of party members of the belief that he should stay on until after the next election.

This compares to 32% of those polled who also plan on voting in the next election.

When the figures are broken down by age, support for Micheál Martin staying as leader of Fianna Fáil is lower among under 34-year-olds and increases with age to 44% among over 65-year-olds. 

Those living in Connacht/Ulster say Mr Martin should stand down as leader in January 2027 and the two pipped successors for the job are basically tied with Jim O’Callaghan on 31% and Dara Calleary on 30%.

The poll also found that if there was a general election tomorrow, 15% of respondents would vote for Fine Gael and 14% for Fianna Fáil, reflecting a similar pattern to how adults voted in the last election.

Fine Gael has a significant lead when results are broken down to look at farmers in isolation. One in four of this group said they would be most inclined to support Fine Gael in a general election.

When it comes to individual performances, Taoiseach Micheál Martin, has a satisfaction score of 4.39 out of 10, followed by Tánaiste Simon Harris on 4.24. Holly Cairns of the Social Democrats is on 4.12, followed by Sinn Féin's Mary Lou McDonald on 3.87; Labour leader Ivana Bacik on 3.69 and Roderic O'Gorman of the Greens on 3.33.