A NEW poll has placed Sinn Féin at its highest level of support in the Republic in two years.
The poll by Red C and the Sunday Business Post puts support for Sinn Féin at 18 percent - a rise of five points. The surge follows the party's recent motion of no confidence in the Republic's health minister Simon Harris over the rising cost of the National Children's Hospital project.
The motion - put forward after government estimates of the cost of the new hospital spiralled to €1.7 billion - was defeated in the Dáil, but ensured a rise in Sinn Féin support at the expense of Fine Gael, which saw its support drop by one per cent to 31. Fianna Fáil, meanwhile, has seen a rise in support by two points to 24 per cent.
The Independent Alliance group, which has four TDs as part of the Fine Gael-led minority government, fell by three points to two percent, while independent TDs rose by one point to 15 per cent.
The telephone poll, which gauged the opinion of 1,000 people, put the Labour Party at five per cent - a fall of one point, while the Social Democrats remain unchanged at two per cent.
The Green Party fell by one point to two per cent, while the Solidarity–People Before Profit alliance group also fell.
The Dail's newest political party, Aontú, which is led by Meath West TD Peadar Tóibín, is showing support of less than one per cent, along with Renua, which was founded in 2015.
