A majority of voters do not believe Brian Lenihan's claim that the worst is over for the economy but they strongly back his decision to remain in office as he battles with cancer, according to the latest Irish Times /Ipsos, MRBI poll.
Asked if they accept the Minister for Finance’s view that the worst is over or if they believe that the worst is yet to come, 61 per cent of voters said the worst is yet to come while 31 per cent believe it is over and 8 per cent have no opinion.
In party terms, only Fianna Fáil voters believe the worst is over with the supporters of all other parties saying it is yet to come. Younger voters are more inclined to the view that the worst is over while the over-65s are the most pessimistic.
Asked if Mr Lenihan is right to remain in office as he battles with cancer, 70 per cent of voters say he is, while 23 per cent say he is not and just 7 per cent have no opinion.
The strongest support for Mr Lenihan remaining in office comes from Fianna Fáil voters with 82 per cent supporting his decision to stay on. There is also strong support for his decision among supporters of other parties with 71 per cent of Fine Gael voters and 66 per cent of Labour voters supporting him while the figure drops to 55 per cent among Sinn Féin voters.
Middle-class voters are more strongly supportive of the Minister’s decision than working-class voters and older people more inclined to back his continuation in office than younger people but support for his decision is strong in all categories.
The poll was taken on Monday and Tuesday of this week among a representative sample of 1,000 voters aged 18 and over in face-to-face interviews at 100 sampling points in all 43 constituencies. The margin of error is plus or minus 3 per cent.
Regarding the budget, a clear majority of voters do not believe that the €4 billion package of spending cuts announced in it was fair.
Asked if they thought the package was broadly fair or unfair 65 per cent said it was unfair and 32 per cent said it was fair.
Fianna Fáil voters are equally divided on the issue but supporters of all of the other parties are inclined to the view that it was unfair. Sinn Féin voters are the most hostile with Fine Gael voters least hostile although a clear majority of them believe it was unfair. In age terms the over-65s are most inclined to believe the budget was fair, probably reflecting the fact that pensions were exempt from the cutbacks. In regional terms voters in Dublin are the most hostile.
When asked if the Government should put more emphasis on spending cuts or increasing taxes to further reduce the deficit in next year’s budget, there was a substantial majority for spending cuts.
A total of 55 per cent say the emphasis should be on spending cuts with 28 per cent opting for tax increases and 17 per cent having no opinion.
There are some striking differences between the supporters of different parties on the issue. Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael voters share almost identical views on the issue with 62 per cent of Fianna Fáil supporters and 60 per cent of Fine Gael voters backing further spending cuts.
Among Labour supporters the number supporting spending cuts drops to 52 per cent, among Sinn Féin voters the figure is 53 per cent and among Green Party voters it drops to 36 per cent.
The only party whose supporters back tax increases rather than spending cuts is the Greens.
On the issue of the banking inquiry, an overwhelming 91 per cent of voters said they wanted to see an inquiry into the crisis. Most of the polling was done before the Government announced the form of the inquiry but the strength of the public mood on the issue is clear from the result. There is massive support for an inquiry into the banking crisis across supporters of all political parties, across all regions, all age groups and social classes.
