The Amarach Research poll on attitudes to the Catholic Church in Ireland, commissioned by The Iona Institute following publication of the Cloyne Report contains some interesting figures as regards the views of the supporters of our various political parties.

Overall, what emerges is that Fianna Fáil supporters tend to be the most sympathetic to the Church, Fine Gael supporters are next, and then the further left on the political spectrum a voter is, the less sympathetic they tend to be, so Labour supporters are next followed by Sinn Fein and then ‘independents’ who frequently vote for candidates like Richard Boyd Barrett or John Halligan, formerly of the Workers’ Party.

According to the poll, on average, just 24pc of the Irish public express a favourable view of the Church at present, but this rises to 49pc among Fianna Fail voters and to 32pc among Fine Gael supporters.

This does not mean such people are anti-Church. Many Mass-goers view their Church unfavourably at present.

So to find out who is genuinely anti-Church as distinct from viewing the Church unfavourably at present, rather than permanently, respondents were asked to agree or disagree with a number of statements, including if they would be happy to see the Catholic Church disappear from Ireland completely.

Twenty-two percent of voters said they would be happy to see the Church disappear altogether. This peaked at 34pc among independent voters and dipped to just 10pc among Fianna Fail voters. Among Fine Gael voters, 20pc said they would be happy if the Church disappeared.

Overall, 51pc of  voters disagreed with this sentiment, rising to 70pc among FF voters, 62pc among FG voters, and dropping to 40pc among independents.

Again, 46pc of people surveyed agreed with the statement that, despite the scandals, Church teachings “are still of benefit to Irish society”.

But this rose to 73pc among Fianna Fáil supporters, and 58pc among Fine Gael supporters. Forty-four percent of Labour voters agreed with the statement.

Asked whether they agreed with the statement that the Government is excessively hostile towards the Church, 20pc of respondents overall did, rising to 37pc among FF voters and 28pc among FG voters.

The poll is interesting as it shows that Fianna Fáil voters are still strongly pro-Church, which should be food for thought for Michéal Martin, as he seeks to rebuild his party. Successful parties add voters, but they also take steps to ensure they hold on to the voters they already have.

Meanwhile, Taoiseach Enda Kenny would be wise to take note of the fact that a significant amount of his own support comes from people who remain firmly convinced of the positive role played by the Catholic Church in this country. He should be careful not to be seen to take them for granted.