Opinion poll shows Sinn Fein support slipping again - TD has said the party needs to “examine” why

Kathleen Funchion said it is important for the party to ensure it is communicating its message correctly on core issues.

A survey for the Irish Times shows that Sinn Fein’s support has fallen by six points, to 28% since last September.

The party’s support has fallen in the last five opinion polls, and from a high of 36% in 2022.

Recent polls also show an increase in public concern over immigration issues, with one poll showing that the majority of people want tighter immigration rules in Ireland.

Sinn Fein appears to be losing out over its immigration policy, particularly with younger voters who are moving towards parties such as Labour and Social Democrats.

Speaking on RTE’s ‘The Week In Politics’ programme, Ms Funchion, a TD for Carlow and Kilkenny, said: “I think the polls for us recently, obviously we do have to look at that. I think we need to be honest about that and we need to examine exactly why there has been a slippage.

“Obviously, we are still in a strong enough position in terms of, let’s say, the 2020 general election. We are slightly ahead of that, however, I do think it’s really important for us to ensure that we are communicating our message correctly, particularly when it comes to housing, healthcare.”

Speaking on the same show, Minister for Justice Helen McEntee defended the government’s handling of immigration issues, particularly its decision to tighten its policies.

Last month, Ms McEntee announced new measures to add Algeria and Botswana to its list of safe countries, and to cut benefits for new arrivals from Ukraine.

“The reason that I’ve introduced the accelerated process is because we have seen that the vast majority of people coming from those countries have been refused but they have been refused because they’re coming for economic reasons,” Ms McEntee said.

“We know that we have people using the international protection system, that is genuinely there for people who are fleeing war, fleeing persecution, for economic means.”