LAST UPDATE | 24 Nov 2024

SINN FÉIN LEADER Mary Lou McDonald said that her party is being received well on the doors as a new poll by the Sunday Independent/Ireland Thinks today placed support for Sinn Féin alongside that of the two biggest parties, Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael.

The poll, which was done this week before Simon Harris’s tense encounter with a carer for which he received significant backlash, showed support for Fine Gael has fallen in the last three weeks.

It should be noted that the margin of error for the poll, which surveyed 1,420 voters, is plus or minus 2.3%.

In the final days of the election campaign, support for Fine Gael is at 22%, down four percentage points on the same poll from the beginning of the month.

Fianna Fáil is unchanged at 20%, and Sinn Féin has risen two percentage points to join them.

Speaking to reporters today about the poll results, McDonald said: ““I think the weather reflects our mood. You know, this might be a winter election, but we have sunshine today.

“I know talking to people, particularly over the last week, this sense of purpose now, this sense of energy, has come back very, very strongly.

“For us, this is very reminiscent of the last general election, where, when people had the space, cleared the space to assess what to do next, that appetite for change grew and grew, and I think that’s what’s going to happen,” McDonald said, adding that she believes that support is even ahead of the polling numbers.

Elsewhere in the poll, the Green Party, Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael’s coalition colleague, dropped one point to just 3%.

The amount of people surveyed who said they’d vote Independent, which includes Independent Ireland, is up three points to 19%.

There is a rise of two points in support for Aontú, bringing the party to 5%.

The Social Democrats dropped one point to 5%, while the Labour Party is unchanged at 4%. People Before Profit-Solidarity are unchanged on 2%.

The margin of error in this poll, which surveyed 1,420 voters, is plus or minus 2.3%.

Includes reporting by Emma Hickey