Sinn Féin lead stretches to 10 points in latest opinion poll 

A summer of discontent impacted satisfaction with the Government, which has slipped from 53% to 46%

Mary Lou McDonald's party commands the support of nearly a third (32%) of prospective voters, up one point and 10 points clear of Fine Gael. Picture: Gareth Chaney/Collins

Sinn Féin has stretched its lead in opinion polling to 10 points.

The latest Irish Times/IPSOS MRBI poll shows that Mary Lou McDonald's party commands the support of nearly a third (32%) of prospective voters, up one point and 10 points clear of Fine Gael, who have dropped five points since the last such poll to 22%. 

Fianna Fáil remains unchanged at 20%, with the Greens and Labour up a point each, to 7% and 4%, respectively. 

Independents and other parties account for 16% of support. 

For the smaller parties, the Social Democrats is up one point to 3%, with People Before Profit and Aontú unchanged on 2% and 1%.

The poll also shows that a summer of discontent impacted satisfaction with the Government, which slips from 53% to 46% in light of the Katherine Zappone controversy which dogged the Government all summer and problems in health and housing. 

Support for Varadkar drops

The poll finds that personal support for Tánaiste Leo Varadkar has also dropped from 56% to 43%, with Taoiseach Micheál down eight points to 41%, Eamon Ryan down one to 25%, and Ms McDonald up one to 43%. 

The Tánaiste was linked to the Zappone affair, having attended her event in the Merrion Hotel prior to her abandoned appointment as UN Special Envoy on Freedom of Expression.

The drop in support for both Fine Gael as a party and for Mr Varadkar as leader will come with some alarm for TDs and senators. 

The party had hit record levels of support in the early days of the pandemic but has found itself with mixed results since entering coalition as Sinn Féin continues to ride a wave of popularity. 

However, party sources insist the numbers are not particularly worrying, noting that any election is still at least three years away if the Government goes the distance.

For the Green Party, it has now reached the level of popular support it won in the 2020 General Election.

The Irish Times poll also asks respondents what they thought of Ireland's corporation tax, which is set to change in line with the OECD tax agreement to 15%. 

It found that 59% of people want the Government to maintain the 12.5% rate which has been a cornerstone of Irish economic policy for two decades. 

A further 26% believe the Government should join the OECD efforts and 15% didn't know or had no opinion.