ANALYSIS: After one year of the Coalition, only a quarter of the sample feels more confident for the future
THE PUBLIC is strongly opposed to some key elements of the Government’s policy according to the latest Irish Times/Ipsos MRBI poll.
The strategy of introducing new taxes like the household charge as an alternative to income-tax increases is rejected by voters by a margin of more than two to one.
There is an even stronger rejection of the Croke Park agreement, with a massive majority in favour of reforming or scrapping the deal that protects public-sector pay and pensions.
Just 25 per cent of voters say they feel more confident about the future of the country after the Coalition’s first year in office, with 34 per cent saying they are less confident and 37 per cent saying about the same.
The survey was undertaken last Monday and Tuesday 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.
Voters were asked if they agreed with the Government’s strategy of opting for measures like the household charge this year and a property tax in the future as an alternative to income-tax increases.
Just 28 per cent said the Government strategy was right, 63 per cent said it was not right and 9 per cent had no opinion.
Fine Gael voters were the strongest backers of the Government’s approach, with the party supporters evenly divided on the issue. However, a majority of Labour voters were against the plan while Sinn Féin voters were overwhelmingly against.
In class terms, the best-off AB voters are most in favour of the Government tax strategy. People who intend to vote Yes in favour of the stability treaty are also strongly in favour of the strategy.
Voters were also asked their views on the Croke Park agreement under which the Government made a commitment not to cut the pay and pensions of public servants in return for improved productivity.
Asked if the agreement should remain in place, be modified or be abolished, just 16 per cent say it should remain in place, 43 per cent want it modified in some way, 22 per cent want it abolished and 19 per cent have no opinion.
In party terms, Labour supporters were most hostile to the Croke Park agreement, with just 13 per cent of them in favour of continuing with the deal as it stands. Fine Gael voters were a little more supportive, although there was still a large majority in favour of change.
Given that Labour Ministers are much more strongly committed to the continuation of the deal than their Fine Gael counterparts, the poll should give them food for thought.
Fianna Fáil voters are much more supportive of the deal than those of any other party, which is hardly surprising given that it was initially agreed when the party was in government.
One aspect of Coalition policy for which there is public support is the commitment not to cut social welfare benefits.
Asked if the Government should stick by its commitment not to cut welfare rates, 69 per cent said they should not be cut, 25 per cent said they should and 6 per cent had no opinion.
In class terms, the strongest support for cutting welfare comes from the best-off AB voters and the strongest opposition to cuts comes from the poorest DE category. However, a majority of voters in every social category is opposed to welfare cuts.
In party terms, Fine Gael supporters are most inclined to favour cuts while Sinn Féin voters are the most strongly opposed.
Only a quarter of voters say they feel more confident about the future of the country after the Coalition’s first year in office, according to this latest Irish Times/Ipsos MRBI poll.
Asked how they felt about the future of the country after the Government’s first year, 25 per cent said they felt more confident, 34 per cent were less confident, 37 per cent said they felt about the same and 4 per cent had no opinion.
There was a marked difference between the views of the different party supporters, with Fine Gael voters easily the most confident about the future one year in.
Labour voters were not nearly as confident as their Fine Gael counterparts, while Sinn Féin supporters were the least confident of all.
People intending to vote Yes in the referendum are much more confident than the average, while those voting No are the least confident.
Voters were also asked if they agreed or disagreed with the statement by Minister for Education Ruairí Quinn that the severity of the financial crisis was not appreciated by some in the education sector.
Opinion was fairly evenly divided, with 36 per cent agreeing with the Minister, 41 per cent expressing disagreement and 23 per cent having no opinion.
A majority of Fine Gael and Labour supporters agreed with Quinn while Sinn Féin and Fianna Fáil supporters disagreed.
