Meanwhile, support for the coalition parties rose by 3 per cent.
Sinn Féin has experienced its largest drop in support for two years, latest polls show.
The poll, which was conducted by Red C on behalf of the Business Post, found that the party had seen a 5 per cent drop in support, with approval ratings falling from 29 per cent to 24 per cent.
POLL/POBALBHREITH — Dáil Éireann
SF: 29% (-5)
FG: 22% (+1)
FF: 16% (+1)
SD: 5% (-1)
LAB: 5% (+1)
GP: 4%
PBP-S: 3%
AON: 2% (+1)
INDs & Others: 13% (+2)+/- vs. 28 Bealtaine/May 2023
Via @REDCResearch
D: 15 Bealtaine/May 2023
S: N/A#Ireland #Poll pic.twitter.com/667HYvPqBG— Ireland Votes (@Ireland_Votes) June 24, 2023
Sinn Féin sees the largest drop in support for two years in the latest polls.
Meanwhile, support for the coalition grew, with the three-party tandem Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael and the Green Party seeing ratings increase from 39 per cent to 42 per cent.
Despite the sharp fall in support, Sinn Féin remain the country’s most popular political party, sitting two percentage points ahead of Leo Varadkar’s Fine Gael.
Fianna Fáil rose by 1 per cent to a 16 per cent approval rating, whilst the Green Party maintained their 4 per cent segment of support.
Ivana Bacik’s Labour rose to 5 per cent, with Aontú rising to 2 per cent. People Before Profit maintained their 3 per cent level of electorate support.
Popularity of Fine Gael politicians.
Also measured within this poll was the popularity of Fine Gael politicians, amidst rumblings of a potential leadership challenge from Minister for Higher Education Simon Harris.
Taoiseach and incumbent party leader Leo Varadkar remained the most popular choice according to the poll, with 52% of Fine Gael supporters saying they want to see him lead the party into the next election.
Mr. Varadkar’s position had been called into some doubt due to the government’s inability to tackle the cost-of-living and housing crises.
Latest @businessposthq poll sees gov parties improve, while support for Sinn Fein drops back, after a bounce in support in May following strong election results in Northern Ireland. pic.twitter.com/NRRxo3qjWx
— RED C Research (@REDCResearch) June 24, 2023
The muted challenger to the Fine Gael throne, Simon Harris, saw support from party voters total 14 per cent, whilst Minister for Public Expenditure Pascal Donohoe recorded support of 12%. Minister for Enterprise Simon Coveney tallied at 9 per cent.
These results leave Mr Varadkar in a strong position, particularly ahead of this Autumn’s budget which will likely see the government parties enjoy a bump in the polls.
The coalition are reportedly set to announce a ‘giveaway’ budget this October, with tax cuts and welfare increases on the cards as they seek to mitigate the cost-of-living issues being endured by the nation.
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