Support for same-sex marriage has fallen by 20 per cent since February, a new poll in The Irish Times shows.The poll showed that 53 per cent of Irish voters support changing the Constitution to allow same-sex couples to marry, a huge drop since a poll in February by Red C showed that 73 per cent of voters favoured same-sex marriage.
In the latest poll, women were significantly more in favour of the change than men, and younger voters were the most enthusiastic.
Voters over 55 are solidly opposed to the proposed change, according to The Irish Times.
The poll also asked voters about a number of other issues to be considered by the Government's Constitutional Convention, set to meet for the first time next month.
The most popular proposal going before the convention is the one to give Irish citizens living abroad the right to vote in presidential elections.
The response here was 68 per cent yes and 17 per cent no.
On the question of whether the reference to the woman’s life within the home should be removed from the Constitution the most striking finding was the number of people with no opinion.
The poll, which was conducted to coincide with the 50th anniversary of Ipsos MRBI, also finds that 42 per cent of people back a measure where referenda would be called if a petition received 10,000 signatures.
Thirty-two per cent say No to the idea while 26 per cent say they don’t know.
The proposal to lower the voting age to 17 does not have public approval, according to the survey.
The poll was conducted among a representative sample of 1,000 voters aged 18 and over, in face-to-face interviews at 100 locations in all 43 constituencies.
The margin of error is plus or minus 3 per cent.