Support for Sinn Fein in Republic of Ireland rises to 36% after NI Assembly election

Mary Lou McDonald’s satisfaction rating as party leader is also up two points to 52%, but her party’s post-Assembly election triumph has almost halved the gap between Sinn Fein and the combined coalition government parties in the Republic from 19 percentage points in April to ten points.

Fianna Fail joins Sinn Fein in its rise in support after the recent election by increasing one point to 24%.

Micheál Martin’s satisfaction rating has also risen two points to 53%, making the Taoiseach the most popular party leader for a third successive month.

By contrast, Fine Gael and the Green Party has dropped points to 19% and 2% respectively.

However, while Fine Gael’s support has fallen five points, Leo Varadkar has seen his personal satisfaction rating rise two points to 44%.

He also rose three points in February when Fine Gael also declined in the polls, falling two points to 20% on that occasion.

Speaking to journalists in Dublin on Saturday, Mary Lou McDonald said she intended to tell Boris Johnson on his visit to Belfast on Monday that his tactics in relation to the Brexit protocol were “shameful and disgraceful” adding that he was using Northern Ireland as a “pawn in a wider game played out with the EU and this is clearly a shameful tactic and approach.”

“Let’s be clear — the protocol is going nowhere. [It] is a necessary outworking of Brexit which the Tory party and the DUP campaigned for. We will not be collateral damage in the Brexit negotiations,” she said.