Simon Harris has suffered a dip in his personal approval ratings and now trails Taoisaech Micheál Martin by 9pc, according to a Sunday Independent/ Ireland Thinks poll carried out this week.
Tanaiste Simon Harris has faced calls for his resignation and 36,000 people have signed a petition set up following the death of 9-year-old Harvey Morrison Sherratt.
The boy’s parents Gillian Sherratt and Stehpen Morrisson have criticised the Tanaiste for failing to meet with them before his death in July to discuss issues around access to surgery for children suffering from scoliosis.
Harris had promised back in 2017, when he was Minister for Health, that no child would wait longer than four months for a scoliosis procedure by the end of that year.
In the poll Harris’s approval rating is now 36pc, down four points from our last poll.
Taoiseach Micheál Martin has a 44pc approval rating, down 1pc. Mr Martin has the highest approval rating of all party leaders, nine points ahead of both Mr Harris and Holly Cairns, the Social Democrats leader.
Ms Cairns has been on maternity leave since the birth of her daughter before the general election last November but is due to return to lead her party this month. The Social Democrats leader has a 36pc approval rating, down 3 points.
Mary Lou McDonald’s approval rating as Sinn Fein’s leader shows no change at 35pc. Ivanna Bacik, who has faced some internal criticism in Labour for backing independent Catherine Connolly’s Presidential campaign, has dropped three points to 32pc.
The overall approval rating for the government is 33pc, with no change since the last poll. Of those polled, 58pc disapprove, a 1pc increase, while those who don’t know is 9pc, down 1 point.
Overall, the three main parties are all polling within 2 points of each other.
Fianna Faill is the most popular party with 22pc of people saying they would vote for the party if a general election was called tomorrow, up 2pc since the last poll.
Fine Gael is up 1pc to 21pc while Sinn Fein is on 20pc with no change.
Social Democrats are on 7pc, down 1 point, while Labour, Independent Ireland and Aontu are all on 4pc.
PBP Solidarity have polled 3pc with the Greens on 2pc, up 1pc. Independents have polled 13pc, down 1pc.
Housing remains the most important issue for voters who were asked to pick the two most important priorities for the country to deal with.
Of those polled, 50pc said housing should be one of the biggest priorities for the country, ahead of the cost of living problems on 35pc, down 4pc.
Immigration was a priority for 22pc of people, the same as during the last poll with healthcare in fourth place with 20pc, up four points.
Those who say Israel and the Gaza war should be a priority is down four points to 11pc. Concern about the rise of the far right is up four points to 10pc.
The economy, poverty and inequality and crime and drugs all polled at 8pc.
The tariffs war and Trump’s administration both polled at 4pc each.
Just 2pc of people said a united Ireland should be a priority.
Details of people’s intentions in the presidential election will be published in the Sunday Independent.
Credit to : Irish Independent