Adams says SF has target of three seats

Sinn Féin President, Mr Adams, said today he hoped Sinn Féin would win at least three seats in forthcoming General Election.

The most recent Irish Times/MRBI poll estimated that the party's core support is now running at 6 per cent nationally.

Its core vote stands at 8 per cent in Dublin, where the party is said to be hopeful about councillor Mr Sean Crowe's chances in Dublin South West and Mr Aengus Ó Snodaigh's in South Central.

"The thing that surveys tend to disregard is the fact that nobody has yet cast a vote," Mr Adams said.

Sinn Féin would be the "story of the hustings", Mr Adams said.

"I think that we have set ourselves a target of three seats. We may get more. I would be very disappointed if we get less and I think we could lose seats by (just) handfuls (of votes)," he said.

Additional reporting by PA