A poll of GP election preferences conducted by medical directory website GPBuddy.ie has found more than one-quarter of GPs intend to vote for Fine Gael.
The poll, which was undertaken after the announcement of a new GP deal between the IMO and Department of Health, ran on the website from 26-30 April.
Votes from 195 GPs were logged and the results revealed that 25.6 per cent of GPs will support Fine Gael as the country prepares to vote in the local and European elections later this month.
Around 22.6 per cent of GPs voiced support for Fianna Fáil, which props-up the current Government, while 18.5 per cent indicated they would back the Green Party.
Labour received 7.7 per cent, Independents 8.7 per cent, Aontú 4.6 per cent, Sinn Féin 0.5 per cent and the Social Democrats 0.5 per cent. Some 8.2 per cent of GPs indicated support for “other” parties.
Although Fine Gael was the most popular party according to the poll, many doctors voiced dissatisfaction with the Government at the recent IMO AGM in Killarney, including on issues such as new-entrant consultant pay and healthcare capacity.
A similar poll conducted ahead of the 2016 General Election, in which 161 GPs voted, highlighted that almost 30 per cent supported Fine Gael and 31 per cent supported Fianna Fáil.
Sinn Féin support was higher at 3.7 per cent while 8 per cent of GPs planned to vote for Labour and more than 27 per cent voiced support for “other parties/independents”.
Local and European elections are on Friday 24 May, when citizens will also be asked to vote in a referendum on divorce.
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