A substantial majority of people do not believe that Bertie Ahern gave the Mahon tribunal the full picture about his personal finances during his appearance there in September, according to the Irish Times/TNS mrbi opinion poll.
There has been a significant shift in attitudes since the last opinion poll conducted just days before the election. At that time the number who felt he had not given the full picture was significantly lower.
In total, 72 per cent said he had not given the Mahon tribunal the full picture, while 17 per cent said he had. Back in May when people were asked if he had given the full picture, 58 per cent said he had not, while 29 per cent said he had.
There was a bigger shift in opinion on the question of whether the matter was a serious political issue.
Now, 56 per cent of people think it is and 34 per cent think it is not. That is almost an exact reversal of the position in May, when 36 per cent felt it was a serious issue and 54 per cent said it was not.
Fianna Fáil voters are, unsurprisingly, more likely to say that Mr Ahern has given the full picture about his finances, with 35 per cent taking this view, although 48 per cent of them feel he has further questions to answer.
There was much less understanding for Mr Ahern's position among supporters of other parties, with just 10 per cent of Fine Gael and 5 per cent of Labour voters agreeing that he had given the full picture. Green voters were equally sceptical, with just 6 per cent in this category.
The change since May is striking. At that stage a majority of Fianna Fáil voters, 50 per cent, thought Mr Ahern had given the full picture, as against 38 per cent who felt there were further questions to answer.
In May 28 per cent of Green voters believed they had been given the full picture.
There were also interesting variations between the supporters of parties on the issue of whether or not the disclosures at the Mahon tribunal represented a serious political issue. Back in May, just 19 per cent of Fianna Fáil supporters felt it was a serious issue, while 73 per cent believed it was not. This time around 29 per cent of them think it is a serious political issue, but 60 per cent still believe it is not.
That view is not shared by supporters of Mr Ahern's coalition partners. Among Green voters, 75 per cent believe it is a serious political issue and just 18 per cent believe it is not. PD supporters are more evenly divided, but a majority- 51 per cent - believe it is a serious issue, while 43 per cent believe it is not.
Fine Gael and Labour supporters believe strongly that it is a serious issue, with 75 per cent in both parties taking this view.
