Support for Micheál Martin recovers while Government satisfaction falls in Irish Times/Ipsos poll
Ellen O'Donoghue
Support for Micheál Martin has risen amongst Fianna Fáil voters.
According to the latest Ipsos B&A poll in The Irish Times, the party's voters now back the leader four to one.
The majority of all voters who expressed an opinion, however, say that Martin should step down as leader of his party.
Martin's rating recovery comes after a slump in the wake of Fianna Fáil's disastrous presidential election campaign last year, making him once again the most popular party leader.
Support for Sinn Féin has dropped by about three points, but it is still the most popular party at 24 per cent.
That is followed by Fianna Fáil at 19 per cent (up two) and Fine Gael at 18 per cent (no change).
Among the smaller parties, the Social Democrats are on 7 per cent (up two), Labour is at 4 per cent (down two), the Green Party is at 4 per cent (up one), People Before Profit-Solidarity is on 2 per cent (no change), Aontú is at 3 per cent (no change) and Independent Ireland is on 4 per cent (up two).
But satisfaction with the Government as a whole is down by a point to 30 per cent.
That figure began falling in the second half of 2025 and remains at its lowest point for six years, since just before the 2020 general election, when the Fine Gael-Independent government was in office.
Independents/others are at 16 per cent (down one). The comparisons are with the most recent Irish Times/Ipsos poll last October.
Undecided voters, who are excluded from the above figures, are at 27 per cent, an increase of four points since October.
These most recent findings partially reverse the movements in the previous poll, when both Fianna Fáil and Martin suffered big drops in support, while Sinn Féin saw its support jump.
Fine Gael leader Simon Harris has seen his rating slip by four points to 31 per cent, while Sinn Féin president Mary Lou McDonald has also slipped by four points to 35 per cent.
The poll included a specific question on the future of Martin, according to The Irish Times.
Asked if he should step down or remain as leader of Fianna Fáil, a majority of those who expressed a preference (43 per cent) said he should step down, while 39 per cent said he should remain as leader. People who didn’t know were at 18 per cent.
However, Martin enjoys overwhelming support among Fianna Fáil voters – 79 per cent say he should remain as leader while just 17 per cent want him to step down.
A large majority of Fine Gael voters also back him, while Sinn Féin and Independent voters are strongly opposed to him.
The poll was conducted among a representative sample of adults aged 18 years and upwards across 120 sampling points throughout all constituencies.
The Irish Times/Ipsos B&A series is conducted through face-to-face sampling. Personal in-home interviewing took place between January 30th and February 3rd. There were 1,200 interviews conducted, and the accuracy is estimated at plus or minus 2.8 per cent.
