Support for Fine Gael has increased since the election campaign began, according to the latest Irish Times/Ipsos MRBI poll, which also shows that Enda Kenny is now the preferred choice for Taoiseach.
The Labour Party has slipped significantly since the start of the campaign and looks like being in a battle with Fianna Fáil for second place when the votes are counted next weekend.
The slide in Fianna Fáil support has been halted and the party is up marginally. The Greens are also up slightly while Sinn Féin has dropped slightly.
When people were asked who they would vote for if there were a general election tomorrow, the figures for party support, when undecided voters are excluded, compared with the last Irish Times poll on February 3rd were: Fianna Fáil, 16 per cent (+1); Fine Gael, 37 per cent (+4); Labour, 19 per cent (-5); Sinn Féin, 11 per cent (-1); Green Party, 2 per cent (+1); and Independents/Others, 15 per cent (no change).
The poll was taken last Thursday and Friday, with a week to go in the campaign, among a representative sample of 1,000 voters aged 18 and over in face-to-face interviews at 100 sampling points in all 43 constituencies. The margin of error is plus or minus 3 per cent.
The core vote for the parties, before undecided voters are excluded, compared with the last poll was: Fianna Fáil, 13 per cent (+1); Fine Gael, 30 per cent (+4); Labour, 16 per cent (-3); Sinn Féin, 9 per cent (no change); Green Party, 1 per cent (no change); Independents/Others, 12 per cent (+1); and undecided voters, 19 per cent (-3)..
In line with Fine Gael's rise, the satisfaction rating of its party leader has continued its upward trend. Mr Kenny is on 37 per cent (+7); Mr Martin is on 29 per cent (+4); Eamon Gilmore is on 40 per cent (-4); John Gormley, 19 per cent (+4); and Gerry Adams, 29 per cent (+2).