No attempt will be made by Labour to enter a transfer pact with its old rainbow government partner, Fine Gael, before Friday's by-election in Cork South Central.
Expressing disappointment at the Sunday Independent opinion poll that placed their candidate, Mr Toddy O'Sullivan, with just 14 per cent of electoral support in the constituency, Labour sources yesterday admitted he now stood no chance of securing a seat in the five-seat constituency.
Meanwhile, there would be no point in asking Labour voters to send their second preferences to the Fine Gael candidate, Mr Simon Coveney. "In a by-election our supporters would not listen," one source said.
Securing Mr O'Sullivan's transfers has become the main focus of the two front-runners, Mr Coveney and Ms Sinead Behan of Fianna Fail. With just four days to polling, the two parties have started a major drive to take the lion's share of the transfers which will decide which one is elected.
Saying he was "very heartened and happy at the poll", Fianna Fail's director of elections in Cork South Central, Mr Micheal Martin, said a downward trend had set in on the Fine Gael vote and the result would be "a cliffhanger".
With the poll showing Mr O'Sullivan's transfers going 2-1 in favour of Mr Coveney, Mr Martin has appealed to voters to give their No 2 vote to Ms Behan.