That’s the clear conclusion to be drawn from the latest Irish Times/Ipsos MRBI opinion poll on the presidential election. It puts the incumbent on a commanding 66 per cent – far ahead of his closest rival, Seán Gallagher, on 12 per cent. Higgins leads comfortably in all parts of the country, among all age groups and all social classes. That can be seen by his refusal to release all details about the Áras’s expenditure during his term until the campaign is over. Barring the unexpected or one of his challengers offering something radically different that would create a real contest, Michael D Higgins is on course for a second term.

Source: The Irish Times October 17, 2018 04:01 UTC