Poll shows Doherty in Donegal lead

Sinn Féin’s Donegal South West candidate Pearse Doherty looks set to win a seat in next week’s byelection, according to the latest poll data.

An opinion conducted by RedC Research on behalf of bookmaker Paddy Power shows the Sinn Féin senator is set to take 40 per cent of first preference votes.

Fianna Fáil candidate Senator Brian Ó Domhnaill is on target to take 19 per cent, followed by Fine Gael’s Barry O’Neill on 15 per cent and Labour Party candidate Frank McBrearty on 14 cent.

According to the data Frank McBrearty will overtake Barry O'Neill once transfers have taken place.

The data shows Fianna Fáil's support has fallen in terms of a potential general election showing, with a 1st preference share of just 19 per cent, down 32 per cent since the 2007 election.

Fine Gael will be disappointed with a marginal increase in support of only 2 per cent up to 25 per cent, compared with 23 per cent in the 2007 General Election.

The Labour Party shows a large increase in support with 18 per cent of voters saying they would vote for the party in the event of an election taking place tomorrow. This represents an increase of 15 per cent of the total share of votes - up from 3 per cent in the 2007 election.

The bookmaker has shortened the odds on Doherty taking the seat from 1/5 to 1/11.

Five hundred and ten people over the age of 18 were canvassed by telephone between the 12th and 16th of November. The margin of error on results is estimated to be plus or minus 4.4 per cent at 95 per cent confidence level.