The most recent Ipsos Snapshot poll illustrates that the issues of immigration and housing continue to command the majority of voters’ attention towards the Government. In response to the query regarding what the Government’s recent actions or statements have come to their notice, 21 per cent of participants pointed out immigration, whereas 19 per cent raised concerns about housing.
From the start of the current year, these matters have led the monthly poll aimed at analysing the Government’s public perception. In each poll of this year, these issues have secured the top two spots. This month witnessed a five-point increase in immigration from 16 per cent, recorded in July, while housing saw a slight decline of one point.
Except for in Dublin, where 25 per cent of individuals raised housing as their primary issue and 20 per cent mentioned immigration, housing maintained the top position among all matters raised. Immigration was predominantly cited as an issue by older voters, male voters, and the working class.
Both issues induce a negative outlook towards the Government’s performance among over three-quarters of the voters. The aim of the inquiry is not to ascertain which issue is deemed most crucial; instead, it focuses on determining what the voters have noticed about the Government’s actions and their corresponding positive or negative perception.
Evidently, voters primarily notice the issues of housing and immigration, while other subjects scarcely garner attention. A mere 5 per cent quoted “social policies”, and only 4 per cent brought up the healthcare system or HSE. By comparison, the cost of living/inflation, budget/spending, education, crime/gardai were pointed out by just 3 per cent, while climate change/sustainability, taxes, employment, democracy/political process and the Palestine-Israel conflict were only mentioned by 2 per cent.
Snapshot is our routine attention poll designed to evaluate which Government messages are resonating. It poses a question to the respondents, asking “What recent actions or statements by the Government have led you to believe whether the country is moving in the correct or incorrect direction?”
The responses obtained are subsequently grouped and categorised based on the issue, and the corresponding positive or negative perception of the Government.
On a monthly basis, a query is presented to 1,000 individuals. The gathered information comes from Omnipoll, a telephone omnibus survey by Ipsos, which conducts bi-weekly interviews with a new, national sample of 1,000 adults over the age of 15.
The sample utilises RDD (random digit dialling), embracing both mobile and landline telephone numbers. During the stage of analysis, the data is adjusted proportionately to accurately represent the population’s known profile based on the most recent estimates from the Central Statistics Office.
Any results shown here exclude responses from individuals who expressed uncertainty, indifference, or no opinion to the question.
The most recent round of the Snapshot survey was carried out between the 1st and 14th of August.