ANALYSIS:Supporters of Coalition partners are deeply split on the controversial €2bn savings package
A SIGNIFICANT proportion of voters believe that the €2 billion savings package announced by the Government last week was too tough, according to the Irish Times /TNS mrbi poll.
Asked about the measure, 38 per cent described it as too tough, 31 per cent said it was about right in the circumstances and 20 per cent said it was not tough enough. Working class C1 and DE voters were much more inclined to describe the measure as too tough with the best off AB category more inclined to say it was not tough enough.
In party terms Fianna Fáil voters were most supportive with 46 per cent saying it was about right, 20 per cent not tough enough and 27 per cent too tough.
However, Green Party voters took a very different view with 42 per cent saying it was too tough, 26 per cent not tough enough and 22 per cent about right.
Labour voters took a very similar view to Green Party voters while Fine Gael voters were closer to Fianna Fáil in their view of the measure.
A majority of voters thought Taoiseach Brian Cowen was wrong to have proceeded with the deal without the agreement of the social partners with 49 per cent saying he was wrong and 41 per cent thinking he was right.
In party terms only Fianna Fáil supporters thought he was right by a margin of 52 per cent to 42 per cent. Green voters thought he was wrong by 50 per cent to 47 per cent while Labour voters thought he was wrong by a wider margin.
Fine Gael voters were again the most supportive after Fianna Fáil voters with Sinn Féin voters being the most critical.
On the question of the pension levy, 47 per cent thought the Government was wrong to impose it while 41 per cent thought it was right.
Again there was a clear divide on this issue between the supporters of the two Government parties with Fianna Fáil voters in favour by 54 per cent to 37 per cent and Green voters opposed by 54 per cent to 35 per cent. Fine Gael voters were more supportive of the levy than any other party apart from Fianna Fáil, with Labour voters next and Sinn Féin voters the most opposed.
In class terms the strongest support for the Government’s position came from the better off AB voters, a clear majority of whom backed the pensions levy and the decision to proceed without the social partners, with the strongest opposition coming from the poorest DE voters.
Across the age categories the strongest support for the Government came from older voters while there was a marked division between men and women, with female voters much more strongly opposed to the Government’s plans than men.
When asked if the public or private sectors were taking more pain or whether it was being shared equally, the biggest number, 39 per cent, opted for the private sector with 29 per cent saying the public sector and 24 per cent saying the pain was being shared equally.
Women were much more inclined than men to believe the public sector was taking more pain while younger voters had similar attitudes.
In terms of social categories the better off AB voters were far more inclined to take the view that the private sector was suffering the most with a majority of two to one having that opinion. At the other end of the social scale DE voters were equally divided on the issue.
When asked about tax, 57 per cent said that taxes should not be increased to deal with the economic crisis while 35 per cent said they should. Women were significantly more strongly opposed to tax increases than men with a margin of two to one against among female voters.
In class terms the best off AB voters favoured tax increases by 56 per cent to 38 per cent but all other social categories were strongly against with the poorest DE voters being opposed by 64 per cent to 24 per cent.
In party terms Labour and Fine Gael voters were most strongly in favour of tax increases. Fianna Fáil and Green voters were less inclined to support higher taxes and Sinn Féin voters were the most strongly opposed of all.
Asked which taxes they would favour if the Government decided on an increase, property tax came in first place with 29 per cent, followed by increased income tax 22 per cent, and a carbon tax 15 per cent.
Strongest support for a property tax came from the poorest DE voters while the best off AB voters were most strongly in favour of increased income tax.
In party terms support for a property tax was strongest about Labour voters and weakest among Fianna Fáil voters. Unsurprisingly, by far the strongest backing for a carbon levy came from Green voters.
On the question of nationalising Anglo Irish Bank there was strong opposition to the move with poorer DE voters much more opposed to it than the better off AB social category. In party terms Fianna Fáil voters were almost equally divided on the issue and the strongest opposition to the Government’s decision came from Labour and Sinn Féin voters.
