Cahill controversy has little impact on SF support

The controversy surrounding Mairía Cahill has had some impact on the ability of Sinn Féin to attract support, but a majority of people say it will not affect their voting behaviour, according to the latest Irish Times/Ipsos MRBI poll.

Asked if they are more or less likely to vote for Sinn Féin in the light of the controversy, just 3 per cent said they were more likely to vote for the party, 32 per cent said less likely, 59 per cent said it would make no difference, and 6 per cent had no opinion.

Farmers were the most inclined to say the episode would make them less likely to vote for Sinn Féin, with 45 per cent of them taking this view.

They were followed by the better-off AB and C1 social categories, with the poorest DE category being least influenced by the controversy.

Women were marginally more likely than men to say they were now less likely to vote Sinn Féin, but a majority of them said it would make no difference.

In age terms the Cahill controversy appears to have had the least impact on the younger age groups than the over-35s.

There was a substantial difference between the supporters of Sinn Féin and those of other parties on the Cahill issue.

Fine Gael voters were the most inclined to say they were now less likely to vote Sinn Féin, but Fianna Fáil voters were almost equally strong in that view.

Labour voters came next, with the supporters of Independents and smaller parties more likely to say it would make no difference.

Unsurprisingly ,Sinn Féin voters were the strongest of all in maintaining that the controversy would not make them any less likely to vote for the party, with just 10 per cent of them saying it would change the way they vote.

A bigger proportion, 15 per cent, said they were actually more likely to vote for Sinn Féin as a result of the episode, while 72 per cent said it would make no difference to how they voted in an election.

The Cahill controversy has had more impact on potential Sinn Féin voters than the arrest of Gerry Adams in connection with the abduction and murder of Jean McConville back in May.

When asked in May how that episode would affect their voting behaviour 7 per cent said they were more likely to vote Sinn Féin, 22 per cent said they were less likely to vote for the party, 65 per cent said it would make no difference, and 6 per cent had no opinion.