The most interesting finding was that 65% of those polled indicated they would vote in favour of a united Ireland if a referendum was held tomorrow.
SOME interesting findings were revealed by the exit poll conducted by RTÉ and TG4 across the country after people had cast their votes in the local and European elections. Most immediate interest on release of the poll results centred on how people had voted in the local and European elections and the divorce referendum, but there were other pertinent questions asked too.
Almost 90% of voters feel that the government needs to prioritise climate change more – borne out by electoral gains made by the Green Party. While 59% of voters believe the country is heading in the right direction, only 42% trust this government to manage the economy and public spending well.
Other messages that the government should note carefully are that 89% believe there should be more policies to resolve the gap between rich and poor, and 76% of voters said they are ‘tired of listening to so-called experts or elites who do not speak for them.’ 82% of those polled agreed that local issues such as homelessness are much more important than European issues and the same percentage of voters said that Ireland should remain a neutral country.
While 52% of voters are worried that people are ‘coming into Ireland illegally, staying here and freeloading off the State,’ 70% agree that, on the whole, immigration has benefited Irish society.
But, the most interesting finding was that 65% of those polled indicated they would vote in favour of a united Ireland if a referendum was held tomorrow; 19% would vote against the proposal, while 15% said they did not know or refused to answer the question, which is an emotive one. So has the time really come for a border poll?
