The sharp drop in support for the Green Party in the latest opinion poll is 'very concerning', TD Neasa Hourigan has said.
A new Irish Times / Ipsos MRBI poll has shown a small 2% drop in support for Fine Gael, and gains for Sinn Féin (up 4%) and Fianna Fáil (up 3%).
However, the Green Party has seen a significant decline - down eight points to just 4%.
🚨 POLL from @IrishTimes
Sat 3rd Oct - Tues 5th
1,200 adults
MoE +\- 2.8%
Big drop for the Greens
FG 35 (-2)
FF 17 (+3)
SF 29 (+4)
GP 4 (-8)
Lab 4 (+2)
Soc Dem 2 (-)
Sol/PBP 1 (+1)
Independents 8 (+1)— Seán Defoe (@SeanDefoe) October 7, 2020
The poll also showed declines in approval ratings for party leaders Micheál Martin (down seven points to 39%), Leo Varadkar (down 10 points to 65%), Eamon Ryan (down 13 to 27%) and Mary Lou McDonald (down three to 46%).
Speaking on Newstalk Breakfast, Deputy Hourigan - Green Party health spokesperson and Dublin Central TD - said she's been digging into the numbers and is 'very concerned' about the decline in support for her party among several key groups.
She said: "We're falling amongst women, which really concerns me.
"A poll is just a poll, but I don't ignore polls.
"I think trends are meaningful, and we should be having conversations about how we're doing in Government and are we doing well."
The poll arrived after the Fine Gael / Fianna Fáil / Green Party coalition marked its first 100 days in Government earlier this week.
