Fine Gael and Labour last night both insisted that the latest opinion polls showing continuing strong support for Fianna Fáil do not hamper their chances of winning power in the general election next year.
Yesterday's Irish Times/TNS mrbi opinion poll showed support for Fine Gael has risen by one percentage point to 27 percentage points, though support for Labour remains unchanged at 11 percentage points.
However, the leader of Fine Gael, Enda Kenny, said the latest findings were "good news" for the party, as backing for Fine Gael in the last three polls has been steady "in the high 20s".
"It is game on over the next six months in the run-up to the next election. The poll is good news for Fine Gael," said Mr Kenny, who spent yesterday on a constituency tour in Kerry.
Last night, a Fine Gael spokesman pointed out that the support figure for Fianna Fáil and the Progressive Democrats, at 40 percentage points and three percentage points, put their combined total three points down on their 2002 result.
"Meanwhile, support for Fine Gael and Labour is up five percentage points. That is a swing of eight percentage points," the spokesman told The Irish Times last night.
Questioned about the latest results, the Labour Party said there was "no significance" in the figures, since they were "consistent with the pattern over the last two months".
"They show that there has been a resurgence in support for Fianna Fáil. Why that has happened I don't think anybody knows. It is not entirely clear," the spokesman said.
However, a possible alternative Rainbow government, involving Fine Gael, Labour and the Greens, is only one percentage point behind Fianna Fáil and the Progressive Democrats.
"Clearly, we have a job of work to do over the next months. Public opinion was in a different place six months ago, and it can swing again. We will have to reassert the viability of the alternative government," the spokesman said.
Privately, Labour TDs believe there is plenty of time in the new year for political fortunes to change.