Half of voters give new Government less than a year

Almost half of voters believe that the new Government will survive for less than a year, according to a poll conducted since Enda Kenny was returned as Taoiseach.

With only a week since the Government was formed, almost half of those polled also said Mr Kenny should step down now as Taoiseach and Fine Gael leader. Just one in four believes the Mayo TD should stay in charge for the full term of government.

The poll findings come just a week after Mr Kenny was finally voted in as Taoiseach and after he managed to get the support of a number of Independents for his Fine Gael-minority government.

The Paddy Power Red C Poll also shows that around one third of respondents think Leo Varadkar, the social protection minister, is favourite to succeed Mr Kenny; while a quarter are backing the new housing minister, Simon Coveney, to take over the leadership.

While support for Mr Coveney is higher among older voters, the poll found, it is stronger for Mr Varadkar in younger respondents as well as in Dublin.

The findings of the poll though will not give any parties or candidates hoping for another general election any comfort. The poll suggests that, if there was another election, voters would be unlikely to decide differently to how they did on February 26.

The poll, conducted this week, found that Fine Gael (27%) retains a small lead over Fianna Fáil (25%), while Sinn Féin saw a small rise by 2% to 16%. Labour is at 5% — a 2% drop since the election.

The slow pace of government formation, if anything, appears to have affected support for Independents the most. The Red C findings show that Independents are now down four points to 9% while the Independent Alliance is down one percentage point since the election to 3%.

However, the AAA-PBP, Greens, and Social Democrats saw modest increases in support since the election, with the parties now securing 6%, 4%, and 4% respectively. Support for Renua has fallen from 2% to 1%.

Fianna Fáil leader Micheál Martin came out on top as the favourite leader, followed by Mr Kenny, Sinn Féin president Gerry Adams, and Independent Alliance leader Shane Ross.

The new poll, conducted among 1,000 voters, found that 52% of respondents had no confidence in the Government since its formation. Confidence is lowest amongst the 25 to 54-year-old age group.

The poll also found that almost half of all voters (45%) do not believe the Government will last more than a year, with almost a third (31%) of Fine Gael voters feeling that this will be the case.

A significant proportion of voters (61%) believe that Irish Water should now be abolished, while more than two thirds (71%) also believe that those who have paid their water charges to date should be refunded.

Only around a third of voters (34%) feel that those who haven’t paid should be pursued through the courts for payment.

Surprisingly, well over half of voters (59%) suggest that they would pay water charges in the future if they were re-introduced.