A massive 81 per cent oppose the Government pay rise, writes Stephen Collins, Political Editor.
If proof were needed that the Government's decision to accept substantial pay awards for itself last October was a serious blunder, the proof has emerged in the findings of the latest Irish Times TNS/mrbi opinion poll.
At the time the Taoiseach and his Ministers appeared bemused by the response and rejected the charge that they were out of touch with public opinion.
Well now they know. The poll shows that a whopping 81 per cent of people believe they were wrong to accept pay awards of 12-16 per cent.
While supporters of the three Government parties were marginally more inclined to accept the approach of their leaders to the awards, a substantial majority of Fianna Fáil, Progressive Democrat and Green Party voters thought the Cabinet decision to accept the awards was wrong.
Fine Gael and Sinn Féin voters may not agree on very much but the supporters of both parties were almost identical in their level of hostility to the pay increases, while Labour Party supporters were a little less outraged.
The Government may seek solace in the response to a follow-up question asking if voters approved of its later decision to defer the award for 12 months.
A substantial 66 per cent of people felt it was the right decision to defer the implementation of the award, however that does not mean they approved of it in the first place.
When the response is analysed by party support it emerges that Fine Gael, Labour and Sinn Féin voters are most inclined to oppose the deferring of the award, the implication being that many of them believe it should never be paid.
What the responses to both questions indicate is that the Government could run into another storm when the pay rise actually kicks in, particularly if the economic climate continues to deteriorate and the majority of workers are forced to accept low national pay round increases.
It could be this growing disconnect between the substantial pay increases awarded to Ministers, senior civil servants, judges and the top rung of semi-state employees that has prompted such a negative reaction in the poll to the benchmarking body awards.
When asked what they thought of the decision of the benchmarking body to recommend no increases for most grades in the public service and small increases in a small number of grades the public reaction was very negative.
A majority of more than two to one opposed the decision with 59 per cent of people saying the body was wrong to make such a low award and 25 per cent saying it was right.
Given that the public sector accounts for just one-third of the workforce, and the fact that it has done far better than most workers in the private sector over the past decade, the evident support for its claims among the general public will come as a surprise to the Government.
With a number of powerful public service groups, particularly the nurses, lining up to fight the body's decision to award no pay increase over and above the national round, the Government will have difficulty getting public opinion on its side to resist union demands.
The problem the Taoiseach and his Ministers face is that by accepting such lavish pay increases for themselves, they have forfeited the moral authority to lecture public servants in vital services on far lower incomes about the need for pay restraint.
The poll also shows that a majority of voters are in broad sympathy with aggrieved public servants.
This could become a huge problem for the Government in the difficult year ahead, particularly as the first phase of increases for the Taoiseach and his Ministers is due during September.