Over half of people in Ireland disagree with people protesting outside refugee centres, according to the latest polls. 

The Sunday Independent/Ireland Thinks poll found 59% disagree with recent protests outside accommodation housing or planned to house asylum seekers. 

Some 31% agree with the protests, while 10% remain unsure. 

Men over the age of 65 are most likely to disagree with protests at 70%, followed by women over 65 at 67%. 

Men aged between 18 and 34 were most supportive of protests, with 38% agreeing – followed by men aged between 35 and 64 at 36%. 

Some 56% of people thought the Gardaí should have been more “put together” at the protests, according to the polls. 

Scenes near the former Crown Paints building after a fire was started in the building on Friday night after an earlier peaceful public meeting and march to the Coolock Garda Station, 20/07/2024 Image: Rolling News

Among party supporters, the majority of Aontú supporters (62%) agree with the protests. 

Within Sinn Féin, 38% of people agree with the protests – compared with Fianna Fáil voters (23%) and Fine Gael voters (12%). 

Green Party supporters are most likely to disagree with the protests at 96%, followed by Social Democrats (93%), People Before Profit (91%) and Labour (78%). 

Polling also found that 48% of people think those protesting refugee centres are predominantly concerned locals, while 47% believe they are mostly “far-right agitators”. 

A further 72% of people believed asylum seekers and refugees should be housed in more affluent areas of Ireland, compared to just 7% who disagreed. 

The poll also found that 46% of people think the media is “biased in favour of refugees” and against local people’s concerns. 

Poll support for parties

Support for Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil remains unchanged at 24% and 20% respectively. 

Sinn Féin’s support rose by one point to 19% - maintaining its huge decrease in support in recent months. 

Some 18% of people said they would vote first preference for Independent candidates. 

Social Democrats polled at 5%, compared to 4% for both the Green Party, Labour and Aontú. 

Taoiseach Simon Harris remains the most popular leader in the country at 48% - a 33% increase from February 2024 when Leo Varadkar was leading Fine Gael. 

Sinn Féin’s Mary Lou McDonald has seen a 27% drop in support within the same timeframe to 20%, while support for Micheál Martin is at 17%.