Sinn Féin remains more popular than Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil combined, a Red C poll for the Sunday Business Post has found.

If an election was held tomorrow 36% of Irish people would give the party their first preference vote - a figure unchanged since the last month. 

Support for Fine Gael has dipped by 1% to 19%, while support for Fianna Fáil has dropped 1% as well to 14%. 

It is a similar story for their coalition partners, the Greens, whose support has also decreased by 1% to 4%. 

The Social Democrats and People Before Profit/Solidarity are both on 4%. 

While both Labour and Aontú are polling at 3%. 

12% would support independent candidates. 

The Political Editor Michael Brennan of the Business Post credited Sinn Féin’s strong performance with public unhappiness with the Government’s response to the cost of living crisis: 

“I think that [crisis] is definitely a key factor,” he told Newstalk. 

“They are highlighting the struggles people have and how difficult people are finding it to afford things at the moment. 

“And the Government message of ‘Wait until the October budget’ - there’s reasons for that but it is not a very [popular] thing to tell people and Sinn Féin are definitely on the right side of that argument.” 

18/06/2022 Sinn Féin President Mary Lou McDonald with Sinn Féin spokesperson on Enterprise, Trade, Employment and Workers' Rights Louise O'Reilly and protesters with placards during the Cost of Living protests outside the Dáil. Picture by: Leah Farrell/RollingNews.ie

Cost of living

Last week Taoiseach Micheál Martin told On The Record with Gavan Reilly that it would not be sensible to keep announcing measures at intermittent intervals and people would have to wait until the autumn: 

“The Summer Economic Statement will lay out what is available in terms of funds and so on and resources to help alleviate pressures on people and the objective and the aim is to do that comprehensively in the budget itself,” he said. 

“Because we can’t chase it month to month.

“However, anything we do in the budget around cost of living - quite a significant amount of it - will have immediate application.”

Main image: Fianna Fáil leader Micheal Martin shakes hands with Sinn Féin President Mary Lou McDonald as Fine Gael leader Leo Varadkar looks on. Picture by: Niall Carson/PA Wire