Support for Taoiseach plummets to 11%
Support levels for Mr Cowen and Fianna Fáil have plummeted in recent months and the latest poll makes for further grim reading for him.
It shows that just 11% of people – or roughly one in 10 – would vote for Mr Cowen to be Taoiseach in a general election.
Labour leader Eamon Gilmore was the most popular choice for Taoiseach, with 39%, up 6%, saying they would vote for him.
Some 23%, down 4%, of people said they would vote for Fine Gael leader Enda Kenny.
The survey of 1,000 adults was carried out last week at the height of the student protests against increasing college fees and the announcement that €6 billion would be cut in the December budget.
The poll was conducted by Red C for the Sun. The 11% support figure for Mr Cowen is down seven points on a similar poll for the newspaper three months ago, and eight on an IPSOS/MRBI poll in September.
A TV3 poll in September, carried out after the Taoiseach’s controversial early-morning radio interview at the Fianna Fáil parliamentary party conference in Galway, also put his support at 11%.
Meanwhile, the survey also revealed 45% of respondents said the recession has had a detrimental effect on their health.
One in five of those polled said they had lost their jobs since the crisis struck in late 2008, increasing to one in three for young people aged 25 to 34.
A further 38% said they knew a close relative or friend who has been forced to emigrate as a direct consequence of the economic crisis. And 8% have endured the break-up of their marriage or relationship as a result of the crisis.
