THE LATEST SATISFACTION ratings in the government and Taoiseach show the popularity of both at its lowest level since Leo Varadkar took the top job in June 2017. 

From a high of 60% in January 2018, satisfaction with Varadkar is now at 36% according to an Irish Times/Ipsos MRBI poll published today. This figure for May is 7 points lower than the Taoiseach’s satisfaction rating in March. 

Satisfaction with the government meanwhile is on a similar trajectory, also falling 7 points to 31% since March.

The poll conducted this week used a sample of 1,500 eligible voters, and also surveyed the popularity of the political parties by asking people how they’d vote in a general election.

When excluding undecideds, there was good news for Fianna Fáil as it rose two points to 26%. Fine Gael is still in the lead, but its competitors have closed the gap, as the party in government dropped a point to 29%. 

Sinn Féin also experienced a drop in support, down five to 16% according to the poll.

Labour was up one to 7%, while independents and others were up three points to 22%. 

Undecided voters were at 23%. 

The pollsters also asked voters if they’ll vote to back both changes to the Constitution proposed in the upcoming divorce referendum. 77% of people said they would vote yes to changing the provisions on divorce in Ireland, which would see the government legislating to reduce the time needed to spend apart before a couple can be divorced. 

There is a margin of error of +/- 2.5% in the poll.