Sinn Féin’s support declined by four points from 18 to 14 per cent between July and October, according to the latest Red C opinion poll published today.

In the first opinion poll since the recent Budget, support for Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil’s dipped by one percentage point since September.

The Red C poll was published in today’s Sunday Business Post.

When asked who voters would give their first preference to in an election, 29 per cent said Fine Gael, 25 per cent said Fianna Fáil, 14 per cent said they would vote for Sinn Féin and 12 per cent said Independent candidates.

The poll was conducted last week between Monday 16th October and Friday 20th October. The opinion poll saw slight changes in support among the smaller opposition parties.

Labour gained one percentage point to 6 per cent, the Independent Alliance’s support increased from 2 to 4 per cent, and Solidarity-People Before Profit remained on 4 per cent.

The Green Party moved from 2 per cent to 4, and support for the Social Democrats dropped from 4 to 2 per cent.

On the basis of these poll results none of the smaller parties have managed to break clear of the pack on the crowded Opposition benches and make ground on their 2016 General Election results, based on the polling data since the election.

Support for Renua was at zero, after its support fell by 1 per cent. Support for Independent candidates is up to 12 per cent, from a low of 8 per cent in July over the summer.

Sinn Féin

The latest poll shows support for Sinn Féin has steadily dropped from 18 per cent in July this year, to 16 per cent in September, and 14 per cent this month.

Similarly the Irish Times/Ipsos MRBI poll from 5th October reflects the recent dip in support for the party, with support for Sinn Féin dropping from 21 per cent in March to 19 per cent in the early October opinion poll.

Since becoming Taoiseach this June Leo Varadkar and Fine Gael have taken a more adversarial approach to Sinn Féin, frequently singling the party out for criticism during Dáil debates.

Apart from the dip for Sinn Féin, the recent Red C opinion poll highlights very little change in the fortunes of the other large parties, with Fine Gael holding a consistent 4 point advantage in support over Fianna Fáil.

Recently Fianna Fáil have targeted Taoiseach Leo Varadkar’s decision to set up a Strategic Communications Unit, which will cost €5 million, and have criticised it as a political “spin” unit.

The most recent Irish Times/Ipsos MRBI poll from 5th October also reflected the lack of any major gains or losses for the two main political parties since the start of the new Dáil term this autumn. Fine Gael were the most popular party on 31 per cent (+1), followed by Fianna Fáil on 29 per cent (+2), and Sinn Féin on 19 per cent (-1).

Results of the October 22nd Red C poll:

FG 29% (-1)

FF 25% (-1)

SF 14% (-2)

Inds 12% (+2)

Lab 6% (+1)

SocDems 2% (-2)

Sol-PBP 4% (no change)

Greens 4% (+2)

Ind All 4% (+2)