Support for Fianna Fail has declined further with next year's General Election less than 12 months away, a new poll revealed today.
It is believed the statutory rape crisis, intense debate on the legacy of former taoiseach Charles Haughey in the aftermath of his funeral, and backbench unrest in Fianna Fail has affected its rankings.
The latest Red C/ Sunday Business Postpoll which was taken among 1,000 people last week has shown support for Fianna Fail has dropped one point to 34 per cent.
This is the fourth time the party's ratings have declined in the last five tracking polls.
Fine Gael's support remained unchanged at 26 per cent, as did the Progressive Democrats. Labour dropped two to 12 per cent, Sinn Fein gained one with nine, and the Green Party was up one at seven.
The poll showed people were almost equally divided on the legacy of Mr Haughey's contributions to Ireland.
Around 43 per cent said they believed his good actions outweighed the bad, while 41 per cent felt the opposite.