SLIGHTLY MORE THAN half of people think Ireland is “going in the right direction”, according to a new poll from Red C.

The poll asked 1,000 people, and 52% said they thought things were going in the right direction, 38% said things are going in the wrong direction and 11% said they didn’t know. 

Red C also asked people who they’d think would do a better job as Taoiseach – Micheál Martin and Leo Varadkar.

42% of people opted for Varadkar, 28% for Martin and 20% said neither.

This result was mirrored in the level of support in the main parties in an opinion poll last week, with 32% support for Fine Gael and 22% for Fianna Fáil.

The poll was carried out between 17 and 24 January, prior to the recent strike by nurses and midwives.

In recent weeks, the government has faced criticism for its handling of the strike, as well as the escalating costs of the new children’s hospital in Dublin.