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OVER 94% OF homes surveyed by a recent study are beyond the reach of people dependent on state housing benefits.
According to the most recent Simon Community snapshot study, only 6% of properties are available within Rent Supplement (RS) and Housing Assistance Payment (HAP) levels.
That’s a 2% decrease from the charity’s last snapshot study in August.
According to the charity, there were 561 properties with no income limits available to rent across the eleven locations it surveyed.
However, just 34 properties were available within Rent Supplement/HAP limits.
The study was undertaken over three consecutive days between 14 and 16 August.
HAP is a form of rental benefit payment to assist lower-income households.
Under the scheme, introduced in 2014, a tenant’s main rent is paid directly to a landlord, with the tenant paying a differential rent to their local council. The tenants must cover their own deposit. No rent is paid by the council in advance of them entering the home.
Speaking today, Niamh Randall, National Spokesperson for the Simon Communities, said that the government’s reliance on social housing provision through the private rental sector is “problematic because the supply simply is not there”.
Many people in emergency accommodation are there because they have already lost their rented home and it is nearly impossible for them to move on from emergency accommodation and homeless services because there is nowhere for them to go.
‘Increasingly inaccessible’
Ahead of next week’s budget, the Simon Communities have called for the government to increase RS/HAP limits and for the limit to be increased in rent pressure zones as “the majority of rents in these areas will increase by at least 4% per annum.
In the absence of access to social housing as required or being able to afford to buy a home, the private rental market is the only option for many people and it is increasingly inaccessible to them.
In its pre-budget submission, the charity has called on the government to rethink its current approach to tackling the housing and homelessness crisis.
Randall says that there “are at least 9,500 people who remain trapped in emergency accommodation because there are no homes for them to go to.
It is essential to limit the time spent in emergency accommodation as people are being traumatised by their experiences and the longer they are trapped in homelessness, the greater the impact on their overall health and well-being.
The charity’s most recent study, released today, found that there were no properties available within RS/HAP in six out of the eleven study areas.
No properties were available across all four categories in Portlaoise.
There was one property available across all categories in five study areas; Athlone, Galway City Centre, North Kildare, Limerick City Centre and Waterford City Centre.
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Isn’t it funny how selective the Journal is only opening and driving comments on certain ‘news’ items. Its the old story of, if you want to know who controls the narrative, just look at who you can’t criticize, or in the journals case comment about.
@Tony Doran: From page one of the SF playbook, we are doing poorly so find a way to change the narrative and blame FFG.
@Tony Doran: no need to be so melodramatic- you’re free to comment here about all political parties
@SYaxJ2Ts: Did U type that with a straight face?
@damien leen: yes I did, and the comments in this thread prove my point
@SYaxJ2Ts: you seem to have convinced yourself & nobody else.
@damien leen: well the comments here refer to all parties, some in favour, some not. There is no narrative controlling.
@SYaxJ2Ts: are you dense they close the comments on any article to do with Martin or varadkar, Von Der loyn or biden
@Liam o Connor: no I’m not dense, far from it in fact
@SYaxJ2Ts: Some people will look at any picture, e.g. the stories one can or can’t comment on on this site, and see exactly what they want to see: in this case, a sinister attempt to ‘control the narrative’ (by whom?). Yet the same people will bellyache on every subject under the sun on this same site.
@Brendan O’Brien: indeed. Oh the irony
@SYaxJ2Ts: There was an article here yesterday – actually a quiz – on political insults.
The comments weren’t even open on that.
A pity, as I’d imagine The Journal readership could have added several.
Here’s one, attributed to Winston Spencer Churchill, at a party with one Lady Nancy Astor, who said to him
“Winston, if you were my husband, I’d poison your tea.”
To which Churchill replied
“Nancy, if I were your husband, I’d drink it.”
One of the essential features of a democracy is the ability of the people to discuss those matters of importance to them, openly and freely.
Any restriction on that is to the detriment of democracy.
In my opinion, all news outlets should be required to provide discussion fora.
@ItWasLikeThatWhenIGotHere: maybe comments would be open on more articles if there wasn’t so many trolls with multiple accounts spoiling it for everyone else.
@Tony Doran: I noticed that immediately
@SYaxJ2Ts: Trolls can be handled by the ordinary commentator, or The Journal itself.
That is no reason to restrict comment.
@ItWasLikeThatWhenIGotHere: the journal seems to find it difficult to control them – accounts are shut down, but then reappear under a different name. And it’s a pain in the arse for everyone
@SYaxJ2Ts: It is not beyond the capabilities of mankind to verify accounts.
That would go a long way to preventing bot farms and trolls.
@ItWasLikeThatWhenIGotHere: yea you’d think all right
@SYaxJ2Ts: I have required to verify my id over the Internet.
It can be done.
I presume The Journal doesn’t care enough.
But that was just one suggestion; I’m sure there are many ways to moderate content (another might be to have some of The Journal community act as volunteer moderators).
There certainly seems to be an inconsistency in the way comments are open, or closed, which might be due to who on The Journal is working that shift.
@ItWasLikeThatWhenIGotHere: I’d imagine a valid email address is all you need to open an account. It’s very easy to get that. An army of moderators could be the answer, but would cost unless as you say, it’s volunteers
@SYaxJ2Ts: A valid email address, a scan of an ID (Irish DL or passport, …), scan of a recent utility bill showing address…
There are really not that many that comment here.
@ItWasLikeThatWhenIGotHere: I doubt I’d bother having an account if I needed to show ID and proof of address.
@SYaxJ2Ts: Bare faced lies there Kevin, something a lot of your ilk are very good at.
@SYaxJ2Ts: sticks and stones….I’m sure you’re one who wants to suppress freedom of speech!
@SYaxJ2Ts: how do you know this? Do you work for the Journal or an NGO who deals with them?
@EMcD: bare faced lies? What are you on about?
@SYaxJ2Ts: actually the censorship over many issues has stepped up a lot on the journal and denying it just makes you sound foolish. most coverage of Dublin’s mass stabbing was closed for comment until they reopened it and they won’t like what people had to say about parish pump elected Mcentee
@Sean oSuilleabhain: I’m not saying they don’t close comments. I’m saying it’s not a narrative controlling conspiracy
@Sean oSuilleabhain: and not is it cendorship.
@SYaxJ2Ts: *nor is it
@SYaxJ2Ts: of course it is censorship. open forum = your say isn’t restricted closed = it is
@Sean oSuilleabhain: it’s a privately owned site. Closing comments has nothing to do with censorship
@SYaxJ2Ts: Ah back tracking & name calling all at once…this is where your argument crumbles
@SYaxJ2Ts: why ..afraid there’s some far reaching conspiracy goin’ on,
@Tony Doran: I agree, only some posts are open to comment these days. The Journal has become very boring for me because of this. I used to enjoy it mainly for the comments section which could be hilarious at times. I only sometimes view the post’s nowadays.
@damien leen: back tracking and name calling? Please explain
@SYaxJ2Ts: looks like no one really agrees with you
The defamation cases against journalists not helping
@Willie Marty: you mean the GROUNDLESS defamation cases.
@SFmeansShyte4free: yes I Do.
@Liz Dunning: seriously/ another one with a hard to believe straight face. FGFF lost the election and lied to me, you, THE PEOPLE on camera only to scurry back into government with a minority of the votes combined and install another bunch of ministers who act in complete contempt of the public’s wishes. yes.
@Sean oSuilleabhain: lost the election?? Does that imply something won the election? Who? Oh, by the way, to form a government, there needs to be a majority, it’s call democracy. Take a break from love island and look it up.
@Andy Dillon: fg ff got around 44% combined, therefore whoever marginally won, they did not and in fact lost the election. I dont watch love island, my sister died by suicide and many of its contestants, its Irish presenter, the production engage in behaviour thats driven young people to suicide in uk including two past contestants
People are not dense enough to vote for SF lol
@Rex Tynan:
Why don’t you keep telling us that again from everyone of your accounts?
@KTH: he must spend a lot of time creating new profiles just to spout nonsense.
@John P Quinn:
And talking and replying to yourself is the first sign of insanity.
lol
BTW… You forgot to say how awesome the other one of you is, too.
lol
@John P Quinn: SF are awesome, crawl back under your blue shirt, free state fascist stone. Lol
@brian o’leary: karma is awesome BTW…
@brian o’leary: Fine Gael are awesome
@Rex Tynan: Largest political party in the Six Counties…Second largest in the 26 Counties by one uncontested seat…Bit hypocritical of you stating the electorate are dense.
@Rex Tynan: SF are more awesome, and I wasn’t talking to you, I was talking to John….Lol
@Donal Desmond: you are talking rubbish as usual lol
@Rex Tynan: Again that was a sweeping reply from your good self. Please explain which part of my comment was wrong.? I know I am dealing with a Blueshirt/ FF troll, but it’s your make it up as you go along comments that keeps me interested. A bit like Blueshirt/FF/ Green make it up as you go along policy. Apologies if my comment is a bit to long for you to read.
@Rex Tynan: Rex Tynan and John p quinn are the same person. He is ruining the comments section.
@Donal Desmond: I didn’t bother reading that rubbish lol
@Rex Tynan: I think you’re probably correct
@Rex Tynan: We know you are a bigot.
@Rex Tynan: Perhaps if you do not read other people’s point of view…Well it only enhances your ignorance. That would include all your fake profile.
@Donal Desmond: Name calling – a Trump characteristic. There are a lot of similarities between SF and Trump’s Republican Party which doesn’t augur well for Ireland if SF does end up in government. Adams’s and McDonald’s double speak on the St Patrick’s Day jolly to the US is pathetic.
@Rex Tynan: lol
@Vincent Alexander: Did call the troll a name. If he/ She has not the conviction of of comments posted and uses numerous false profiles.. Well that says enough. Big difference between Sinn Fein and the Facist Republican party in the U.S.
@Donal Desmond: he is not wrong . They are only the largest party in NI because unionists spread their votes. SF only got 29 percent of first preference votes in the last election . Looks like they have know put themselves in a awkward position . If they go to the white house for St pstricks thry are going to upset alot of their supporters that are pro Palestinian.
@Donal Desmond: When you refer to a party by the name “ blueshirt “ who are you referring to. I would consider it name calling.
The only difference between the two parties is Trump does the name calling and in SF’s case it is the supporters that do the name calling.
@Vincent Alexander: google blue shirts, the ORIGINAL name for FG who were closely aligned with a certain Franco in Spain. Imagine thinking called someone by a name they gave themselves is now name calling. If I call you Vincent is that also name calling?
@Vincent Alexander: should also point out they were a fascists like Franco who was a Spanish dictator since history ain’t your thing. Suppose calling him franco is name calling to you #history101
@Martin Mongan: Google it again. Blueshift was never the official name of Fine Gael. Just like Trump and SF rewriting history to their own narrative.
@Vincent Alexander: the blue shirts merged in FG. Fact. The only one trying to rewrite history here is you
@Martin Mongan: There was never a party or an organisation that called itself “ Blueshirts “. It was a nickname given to a group defending themselves against undemocratic thugs.
I’ll vote for SF when Mary lou explains where the 500k to do up the house came from. Champagne socialist lol.
@gregory pym:
I’m pretty sure she said her and her husband have a mortgage?
@gregory pym: Do you hold all party leaders to that standard or do you just parrot tabloid BS? lol
@Art Vandelay: don’t read tabloids but you obviously do since you reference them.
@gregory pym: Don’t hold your breath for an answer from her on that one. Imagine though if she were asking the same question of a FF/FG minister……
@chris gaffney: indeed
@gregory pym: meanwhile youll vote for fine gael with Leo at the helm forgiving of, or responsible for so much skullduggery and hasn’t explained how he could afford to have his two homes including the apartment being rented out in his constituency?
Sinn Fein burnt their bridges with their voters, the working class. Their stance on refugees is backfiring on them.
All these Red C polls and I don’t think I’ve ever participated in them. Goes to show, they don’t poll the people, just who they want to poll – very tainted.
Not saying who’d I’d vote for. But can’t keep this 2-ring circus going forever.
@Rafa C: I have, several times.
@Rafa C: it’s important to understand that if you haven’t directly witnessed a thing, or that thing hasn’t happened to you, then that thing isn’t real.
Unless of course you want it to be real. Then it is.
Solid logic.
@Ciaran Foster: Well if you only poll people not in favour of something you’ll always get the poll result you want.
@Rafa C: I used to think this as well until one day I got a phone call from them. Only a small section on politics in the survey and mostly about marketing products. Although they only select a small section of people for their polls, they are generally quite accurate.
@Rafa C: personally I think 99% of politicians are solely on the game of getting voted in again and everything else is secondary.
A friend of mine recently made a point that’s 100% true though SF have never been in power so, housing/health crisis over the years, bank bailouts, temp USC etc which have severely hit the Irish public have all been FF and FG. The worst SF could do is prove to be as untrustworthy as the others if they ever get in control.
@Rafa C:
I’ve answered their polls many times.
Very easy to join the Red C community..
They’re always looking for new people
@Geraldine O’Riordan: If it is very easy to join the Red C community, then that leaves it open to abuse by vested groups.
A political party could get its members to join, and therefore skew the results of any poll.
@Rafa C: I frequently participate in red c polls, you just sign up to them and you are sent email links to all of their surveys
@Rafa C: i vote, although you get screened out a fair bit on even surveys purporting to elections depending on if you select a particular party that’s just quotas. So i could go on and select ‘SF’ over another and be screened out,
@Rafa C: the phone networks were down in the northwest last week after the storms, these would be SF strong holds.
@Liz Dunning: Northern Ireland, another country with its own set of problems but let’s put that to one side. Sinn Fein having never been elected into power never had the ability to have the Irish people bail out the banks, put tax on children’s schools shoes, implement (not) Temp USC etc. but you go ahead and compare that to the same as enacting some nonsense locally, as has every party and independent being the good FFG propagandist you are comparing some local council policy to having the whole country bankrupt and under the IMF
@Rafa C: it’s a poll. Just because you’re not in it doesn’t mean it didn’t happen.
Are you one of the same type of people that claims that since they can’t see the curvature of the horizon from their bedroom window then the world must be flat?
I was going to vote SF for change, but their stand on importing people has changed my mind. They seem to have adopted the globalist mindset of late.
SF popular with working class…..lazy people on the dole lol
@Rex Tynan: just read the two parts of your post again slowly ……..
@Rex Tynan: lots of loafing.
@Rex Tynan: such a dimwitted , toxic , lazy , nonsense comment
@Rex Tynan: A full sentence from you well done… PS you again forgot the full stop. Delighted the book with the pictures is helpful to you.
@Rex Tynan: to be fair, not all are on the dole. You’ve got to include the welfare scroungers as well.
@Dec 83: no need, we all know what he means, working class are largely dole merchants, an oxymoron…. maybe, but you are being deliberately obtuse
@Donal Desmond: because he forgot a full stop??? You’re pathetic
@Donal Desmond: you need to grow up and deal with reality, SF will never be in government in the South
Delighted for SF.
Worth remembering that this poll predates them confirming their Washington jolly – their supporters are busy devouring the party and eachother on twitter.
@honey badger: Silly comment. Do you think we should only vote for parties whose policies we agree 100% on?
@honey badger: ah the war mongering badger that thinks putin is bad but israel are good, giving us election advice……like bertie ahern running the central bank
@Anthony Curran: Modern democracy has been beautifully steered towards down-voting, (voting against something rather than for) it’s a wonderful predicament for the political class it means they don’t need to do anything.
@Anthony Curran: And therein lies one of the major flaw in representative democracy.
That leaves us voting for what we hope is the least worst party.
Those we elect do think they are there to fulfill our wishes, but to carry out their policies, even if we don’t agree with them.
The party that caps international protection numbers will shoot up in polls.
(not economic migration for vital work visas)
@Sickof thisshit: The only way to cap international protection numbers is to close all airports and ferry services, which isn’t feasible. Once they arrive they can claim international protection. What we can do is move all applicants to secured tented cities set up on out army barracks until their applications are processed and, once a decision is made they are either allowed to stay and then fend for themselves or are deported immediately. We could also change the rules around housing supports, social welfare etc. in that it’s only available to citizens of this country.
How does labour party ‘maintain’ its 4% ???? Like they represent no-one or nothing
@Ken Mc Carthy: Margin of error?
What is the margin of error in this poll?
3%?
If so, Labour and The Greens could be as low as 1%, and PBP even lower.
Or as high as 7%, which hardly seems likely.
@ItWasLikeThatWhenIGotHere: that’s what I put it down to—–tteres no way 1 in 25 people polled voted labour
@Ken Mc Carthy: Labour got 4.38% of the vote in the last general election.
@Brendan O’Brien: And many of their supporters would have died off since.
@Brendan O’Brien: I got 5 numbers in the lotto 2017
Sinn Fein needs to stop with all of these court cases against journalists and media organisations.its back firing on them..
@morgan crowe: since Mary Lou came back it’s been all downhill…. professional moaner and people sick of it and all the no confidence motions. Plus SF supporters are anti immigrant but the party is not.
@SFmeansShyte4free: is she a professional moaner? I was led to believe she was leader of the opposition and of course unfortunately for those who just see it as ‘negativity,’ fg ff are constantly involved in such anti Ireland and unreasonable behaviour so she sort of stays combative. I think your comment is rich considering I’ve never seen in basically any other EU member the amount of lecturing, pessimism and excuse making FG are allowed to participate in and call it a workday
Wouldn’t put any pass on this article, lies and false figures to try make sinn fein look bad,if this was an article about Leo and mehole and the lads the comments would be closed,
@dylanj.murphy@yahoo.com: I’ll be voting SF for the first time. This article only strengthens my resolve to do so. It’s not out of any great affection for SF, rather complete disgust at the status quo.
@Fidgenti: poor you…you think SF will be any better? All politicians the same..if SF get in power watch them stuff their cronies in ad advisors and on to semi state boards etc etc
@SFmeansShyte4free: If all politicians are the same, then you might as well vote for Sinn Fein.
@ItWasLikeThatWhenIGotHere: I prefer the ones that don’t welcome Garda killers to their Ard Fheis
@SFmeansShyte4free: Are there a lot of killers in the Garda?
I know there are some…
@ItWasLikeThatWhenIGotHere: that comment says a lot about you
Immigration will be the major issue around the election. No party has come to challenge the fact that we are full.
Closing the borders will apply to you too should you ever want to live and work outside of Ireland.
Those same rules will apply to you too.
@9QRixo8H: no, and it shouldn’t. Im not allowed head over to Denmark and start calling myself Danish and tear up identity documents. why are we inviting people over from safe countries while a string of homeless Irish have perished in the winter cold on our streets? fg ff need to respect our veto thats in the very Lisbon treaty WE REVOTED ON
@Sean oSuilleabhain: That’s just how it works, Sean. Closing the borders is a two-way street. Look at the UK.
You think you can say to other countries that our borders are closed but you all have to take in the Irish if they want to emigrate? Don’t be daft. It’s a 2way street. You can’t have it every way. The world is not like that.
@9QRixo8H: disingenuous ‘argument’. absolutely essential to argue for the right migration and not a form of migration there is now where people up and flee and move to the west because of a multitude of wars and proxy wars.
If you lose Dublin, you lose the election
@Rex Tynan: having a busy morning or did one of the kids get your phone?
The next election is going to be a blood bad, because no party is getting a majority now. People are angry over a range of issues and these politicians and their mates and supporters are too tone deaf and deluded to understand and care…..but they will when they go knockimg on the doors for votes and get an earful
Surprised to not see more people turning to Social Democrats. Although 6% is strong showing, I’m sure there are plenty of people who would like an alternative to FG and FF but don’t want to vote SF. What puts people off SDs? Too far left? Holly Cairns? Just not on the radar?
@Radical Centrist: I’m politically homeless and the one thing that stops me from voting SD is that they will go with FFG/G in some way and nothing changes.
@Dave S: I was thinking of voting for them too but not so sure either.
@Radical Centrist: For me they do nothing unfortunately. They had a couple of strong individuals starting off, but the rest of their candidates are poor in the main. The leadership of Holly would turn me away further. I really can’t fathom how voters in West Cork could vote for someone with the accent and attitude of someone parachuted directly from D4. Absolute clone of Ivana which isn’t a good thing for the country in my book.
@Longlin: The Social Democrats are the one small party that have not sold out their electorate.
Yet.
As such, they would be my preference to be in a coalition with SF (assuming SF ‘wins’ the next election) to keep them honest.
We know that neither The Greens nor Labour are up to that task.
@Dave S: What makes you think they won’t form coalition with SF? They may well be the kingmakers.
@brian madden: what makes you not so sure? What puts you off?
@Longlin: she played the underdog and the female cards brilliantly. Michael Collins breezed through on first count. But many women, liberal and younger voters wouldn’t dream of voting Collins. Holly picked up that portion of the electorate. There was also no credible SF candidate in the constituency.
I see another Sinn Fein TD objecting to 82 homes in his constituency. People need to wake up and smell the coffee with these SF nimbys.
@Tim Quigley: Sinn fein should be appeasing developers and vulture funds, like the establishment do. Its a one way ticket to election success, even if you lose the election, like FG FF did in 2020
All these polls are not to be believed. Voting day will be the day the true poll will reflect the wishes of the people, not just from a few phone calls from red sea.
@Dave Barrett: I don’t like the opinion poll, bawling my eyes out lol
@Rex Tynan: You make a show of yourself here every day. It’s very entertaining, but also a little sad.
@Anthony Curran: l am awesome
@Anthony Curran: intriguing, how does one make a show of one’s self when one is anonymous?
@Dave Barrett: Well Sean Crowe Sf TD objecting to 82 family homes being built in his constituency is indicative of the many faces of SF
Sinn fein supporter over 20 years, until this year..the moment I seen her wear a WEF badge, she’s losing thousands of voters.. leaders of 1916 surely turning in their graves…
@G W: Is that true about her wearing a WEF badge?
No TD who is a member or appointed member (Leo V) or shows support for the WEF should be allowed sit in the Dail. The Irish people did not elect Klaus Schwab nor want to be ruled by him & his Billionaire cronies.
@SV3tN8M4: they’ve been in the dail for years – leo, pascal, Simon Coveney
A very good point raised, they will have to change their stance on immigration. But if they do what do they stand for and what else are they willing to move completely from to get in to gov.
I’m not sure that’s an ideal party to vote for when they could potentially shift dramatically.
The other issue is they are going to have to start explaining economic policy ect. Which will be an issue as it’s easy to be anti gov
Whatever happened to that ‘ould’ Northern Bank robbery money, now if it had been invested wisely then………
@tony mc g: Despite all the resources of both the British and Irish state, they have never been able to tie that robbery to either Sinn Fein or the IRA.
All their court cases failed.
@tony mc g: invested in property in the south maybe
@ItWasLikeThatWhenIGotHere: That sterling that ended up in the bin bags in Cork and in the stuffed Daz boxes actually fell from the sky, the fact that it ended up in the hands of supporters of SF/Provo’s was our coincidence.
@ItWasLikeThatWhenIGotHere: aSF/IRA gave the largest property portfolio in the state
@ItWasLikeThatWhenIGotHere: Maybe aliens took it?
SF the party of Islam
Calling for the heads of the Justice Minister and the Garda Commissioner was an enormous mistake. SF sharing the vacuum in which the Government lives. Dump your advisors and listen to grassroots.
And so Sinn Fein reach the point that they were always going to come to at almost the worst possible time. Much of their voter base is anti immigration but they hadnt realised that SF policy is mostly the opposite. That conflict was always going to rear its head at some point. But then SF have changed views on Europe, corporate tax rates, the special criminal court all when they knew electorally it would be toxic for them so we’ll see if they do the same here. Still the main card they have to play is housing.
Since she said she could ally with FF, FG or the Green. Or maybe people need someone NOT linked with the old narrative, and focus on the real problems, like Pearse does.
More refugees and immigrants in the country the better for this government they become Irish citizens after a while hence more votes for this government to stay in power.who are they trying to kid .
Easy to be a hurler on the ditch and criticise those on the pitch. Time to tog out soon for SF and show their real skills or be shown up for what they really are.
@Declan Gibney: It seems that you have made up your mind even before they get into power. A strange stance Declan?
@Declan Gibney: option B
@David Corrigan: voting in general elections is very important and i don’t make my decisions on the day so, yes, I’ve made my mind up.
@Declan Gibney: Hilarious comment
Wont matter the blue shirts are already buying the next election and same people will fall for it again
SF favourite song? Cop Killer by Body Count lol
@Rex Tynan: he was only a blue shirt puppet….lol
@Rex Tynan: Jesus lad do ya ever get bored logging into so many different accounts
@Rex Tynan: really up to date reference Rex. Good man.
If they formed a Govt. Then the next Dáil would sit in a grotty pub in Belfast.
Slap on the wrist from the real powers for O Broin & Mary Lou over advocating Yes vote & going to White House. Now swing voters are dumping SF because of stance on voting Yes in Referendum & their immigration open borders stance, same as what we have already in Govt. Real story is the silent majority who are ready to explode, having nobody in Dail Eirinn to represent them. FF will jump into bed with SF after the next election. We will be stuck with M Martin, Donnelly, O Brien, Collins, Troy, Rabbitte, Cowen, Mc Grath, Votegate trio for another 5 years. This is the electorates last throw of the dice & when it fails(will fail over immigration) the country will descend into civil war once again. This country will eventually collapse as working people are being failed by politics.
Any party that is in favour of letting everybody into the country and putting its citizens in danger are traitors to the people of this island, that means SF FF FG G the lot of them in the next elections local and general plus the referendums coming up this government are in for a rude awaking , the Irish are waiting for there chance and this government are delusion
Or your headline could read SF still the most popular party polled amongst the Irish voters
Everything you work towards they will take in the end.
Comments open on the shinners we know now who the journal are with
SF completely misjudged their voter base. Starting from when they supported the new Hate Speech Bill. Then we discovered O’Broin doesn’t know what a woman is. They’re preaching about immigration, telling people not to protest, and backing a YesYes vote in the referendum. Their assimilation into FFGG is almost complete. They are no longer the opposition. The only thing they speak against the govt about is the situation in Gaza which, while obviously horrific, is not a local issue. But I’m glad they showed themselves for what they are now, rather than after everyone has voted them into govt. I don’t actually think they want to be in government.
@Smelly Head: Agree totally, all the main issues of the day that you have listed, for ordinary working people & SF are no different than those in Govt, thereby no longer an option for voters. Nobody representing ordinary working taxpayers anymore, only option left is to take to the streets like the French farmers.
No big fan of Sinn Fein or any of the Political Parties within this country,but it’s interesting that there’s no mention of the finding that 69% of the people poled have stated that we have lost control of immigration.
What’s further interesting is the fact that Helen McEntee announces a crackdown on Border Control the same day.
Once again The Journal is playing a blinder.
@martin lawlor: The crackdown is just a smokescreen, people coming from safe countries are coached by NGO’s as to what to say, so they are persecuted for some said reason that can’t be proven & we n their case. The appeals process is farcical, look it up online. Look at the difficulty they had deporting a certain terrorist, despite his record. Also the whole Deportation issue that Leo mentions, I think it’s single figures in total that were actually deported in 2022, again available online from the Dept.
Opinion polls mean absolutely nothing. At the end of the day, it’s the election that matters.
@AnthonyK: you weren’t saying that when SF were riding high in the polls.
People are catching on to their populist approach. The petty defamation cases have not been a good look, Mary-Lou has been very low-key over the last few months and their inability to take a proper ideological stance on immigration and the Hamas/Israeli conflict has deeply affected their poll ratings. Also, economy is doing well and country is at full employment so they’re finding it difficult to take proper potshots at the coalition. The housing crisis remains but it’s a massive problem that’s impossible to get a handle on as it’s so complex, even SF themselves know they won’t be able to fix it so what’s the point of voting them in?
As a supporter, its definitely immigration. The/ some of the drop will have to do with Mary lou trying to appear more centrist since the November attack, i reckon Pearse is much more up to the task of leading right now. why dont FG get a similar wave of articles or comment when they’ve (FINALLY) dropped little enough to at least see the Irish do have a pulse? why does the Journal of all forums appear to think Leo is leading well when he’s a shocking embarrassment ?
@Sean oSuilleabhain: Nothing to stop you commenting on Fine Gael.
@Vincent Alexander: correct (on THIS article)
Our system of governance is flawed and outdated, regardless who gets elected next time we are doomed to rince wash repeat. May have worked for the overlords over the centuries but not now. What’s the answer? Don’t know but somehow having accountable professional qualified nonelected people running the place would be a start, not civil servants 2.0
Sinn Fein has developed a right wing voter base, because it is and has long been, a populist party, not a left wing party.
They surveyed one thousand people in this poll so I’m sure the 0.00001% of the population gave them a really good feel for what percentage will really vote for Sinn Fein.
@Thomas Reddy: the polls are quite accurate predicting election results.
@SFmeansShyte4free: Actually they aren’t. You don’t remember the last election???
@SFmeansShyte4free: They’re not really.
All they can do, assuming they are reasonably accurate, is capture 1srt preference voting intentions.
They do no capture transfers, where a lot (most?) of seats are won and lost in the Irish electoral system.
@ItWasLikeThatWhenIGotHere: a lot of seats are won by way of guilt, ignorance and the parish pump. here we try and call it transfers, but as we see with Lowry in Tipp, its hardly democracy.
I have always voted FG, but to be honest I would like to see a change of pace. Sinn Fein, I think, deserve a crack of the wipe. Only problem is, I really don’t like my two local SF councillors. I have only ever needed to contact a TD once in my life, TD Eoin OBriens(SF) response was, sorry that’s the situation we are in, vote for me for change. Didn’t hear back from councillor Mark Ward(SF). My local FG TD Emer Higgins was back to me within 24hr saying she would look into it and issue got dealt with a week later.
So I am in an unusual circumstance, would like to see SF do well but I will stick with who can assist my family when I need them locally.
The Chickens Are coming home to Roust At last
Sinn fein are silly, if any party ran on reducing immigration and basically was not woke they woukd get 50% of the vote.
@Near Left: indeed. Go woke, go broke
When is the next general election happening
Maybe people are getting wise to the fact that they are merely Tweedle Dum seeking to replace Tweedle Dee
When we think back to all the additional taxes and levies imposed on us by the ‘greens since the last election hopefully we can eliminate them this time round !
Poll shows both realistic government options IMO (the current and SFFF) on about 42%?
@brian o’leary: Difficult pick for FF. Would take about 10 seconds!!
@chris gaffney: yes but a slight swing away from the current government and they won’t have the numbers?
@brian o’leary: Yes I agree but sf will run into stormy eaters once the electioneering starts. They don’t like hard questions!
The headlines should read irelands most popular party
@SFmeansShyteforfree: I was. I don’t vote. SF, FG, FF, LAB and others are all different shades of snot green. Regardless who gets in, nothing will really change.
Please don’t conflate working class with those living on dole. It inaccurate and frankly insulting to those who work and pay taxes. Most working class people now can merge with middle class. When these classifications were theorised there wasn’t the same dependence or availability of welfare. I’d prefer to say working people or those on welfare
Would Fianna Fail go in with them? On the doorsteps, they emphatically say yes
@Rex Tynan: Fianna Fail would jump into bed with Idi Amin, Trump, Putin, whoever you thought could be the lowest denominator, anything for power. Micheal Martin told a blatant lie before the last election about who he wouldn’t sit in Govt with. They would sell their soul for the three pieces of silver, motto is ; self first, party second, EU, UN, Ukraine, Refugees all next, last in their line is the Irish ejits working & paying tax.
The people are finally copping on to their endless negative bs.
FFG have far more of an open border policy so disagree there!
They have now put themselves into an awkward position . They have to choose either to go the White House on St Patrick’s day or upset a lot of their supporters that are pro Palestinian .
When you call out and condemn israels controlled Palestenian genocide you pay a heavy price
theyre all the same. useless.
Going to the Whitehouse for Paddy’s day is a no vote from me!!
Interesting that on the basis of one poll, the Journal declares that support for SF is dwindling. Sounds like client journalism.
The biggest issue for all political parties is immigration…You only have to look at the current Government … it is going to cost them dearly the next election
It’s already too late …
Great news.
the establishment is highly corrupt. keeping it as it is will continue our banjaxed healthcare and infrastructure and we will suffer, as those who came before us did.
Chief Shill Corrigan is lost for words. All he could chip in with was having a go at somebody who indicated that they would not vote for SF. He must ha e had his wings clipped at a party meeting of shills when SF received the results of this poll. Is his position of head of SF shills under threat?
have your say