Poll: Cost of living now country’s top political concern
THE cost of living is voters’ biggest concern as politicians face two electoral tests this year – and possibly a general election too, an exclusive poll for the Irish Daily Mail shows.
Rising prices were named by 69% as being among their biggest political concerns, ahead of housing at 51% and health at 48%, in a poll carried out for the Mail by Amárach Research.
Unemployment – at a historic low – was the issue of least concern, named by just 4%, below the war in Ukraine at 8% and the conflict in Gaza at 14%. The cost of living was the biggest issue among 1834-year-olds at 82%, while women (75%) were more concerned by it than men (63%).
Gerard O’Neill, chairman of polling group Amárach, which surveyed 1,100 adults across the country, said yesterday: ‘We saw this evidenced today with the inflation rate picking up versus previous months.
‘These inflation pressures on people’s spending power are still very real and pressing in terms of things like food, groceries and so on, and indeed utility bills, including electricity and energy, because whilst those bills are coming down, it is the winter, so that’s when you’re going to have the biggest bills. So that’s still a big pressure and the challenge with higher inflation is that if your wages and salaries are not growing faster than inflation, then that’s as good as a pay cut in terms of your spending power.’
He continued: ‘I think that’s a worry for the general public, it’s certainly a worry for Government, and if inflation starts to pick up again, as it might given all the difficulties in the Middle East, then we could actually see real disposable income start to fall as it did last year in light of the energy shock. That’s a very real issue for a lot of people.
‘We’re now dealing with the legacy of the energy shock, the wider cost-of-living shock of last year.
‘Whilst the rate of increase in prices has eased in some respects, it’s declined in the case of energy bills; overall inflation is still positive so prices are still going higher.’
Official figures released yesterday show inflation is starting to pick up again.
It was 4.6% for the 12 months to December 2023, up from 3.9% in November, which is well above the European Central
Bank’s 2% target.
The strong level of inflation means interest rates are unlikely to be cut soon, ‘which leads into cost-of-living pressures in terms of housing costs’, Mr O’Neill said.
‘People were hoping that – certainly not economists – interest rates were certain to come down quite quickly this year because of falling inflation,’ he added.
‘But with inflation stubborn as it is, they’re not going to come down; that then adds to that overall cost-of-living crisis that many, many people are experiencing.’
Despite worries about the cost of living, the economy was named by just over a quarter of people (27%) as one of their top three concerns.
And even with major protests about accommodation for refugees, immigration was named as an issue by just 21% of people. It rose to 26% among the 44-54 age group.
Crime was a worry for almost twice as many men as women. Some 30% of men were concerned about it compared to just 17% of women.
Climate change is well down the list of political priorities at just 17%, ahead of poverty and inequality at 16%.