THE LATEST POLL on the same sex marriage referendum has shown there is still strong support for the ‘Yes’ side, though it has experienced a bit of a dip.
The Red C/Sunday Business Post poll asked participants for their voting preference in next month’s referendum, with 68% saying they intend to vote ‘Yes’, 22% saying they will vote ‘No’ and 10% indicating they are undecided.
Despite the fact that the poll still shows strong support for the ‘Yes’ side, it will be a blow to the campaign as it is an 8% drop from the last poll in February in which 76% of participants were in support of same sex marriage. Equally, it will be seen as a small victory for the ‘No’ campaign which has really ramped up in recent weeks as it gained 3% in this poll.
When the poll looks at likely voters, 72% would vote ‘Yes’, while 20% would vote ‘No’.
The poll shows 78% of people believe same sex marriage is a matter of fairness and equality, 67% disagreed that it’s inappropriate for children to be raised by gay couples. The poll found one in four ‘Yes’ voters still have some kind of reservation.
Men are more likely to vote ‘No’ in the referendum, with 31% saying they are against same sex marriage compared to 26% of women. Voters over the age of 65 are also more likely to vote ‘No’.
The poll also includes a breakdown of voting intentions based on party support and shows Fianna Fáil supporters are most likely, at 40%, to vote against introducing same sex marriage in Ireland, followed by Fine Gael supporters (27%) and Sinn Féin supporters (26%).
Munster voters are (a little) more likely to favour the ‘No’ side that the rest of the country.
When asked about their attitudes to same sex marriage, 46% said they believe gay and lesbian couples have full legal protection through civil partnerships and there is no need to go further and “completely change the definition of marriage”.
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