Fine Gael has made significant gains in public support at the expense of Fianna Fail according to the latest Irish Times TNS mrbi poll which shows for the first time that a Fine Gael/Labour-led coalition could form an alternative government.
The figures show Fianna Fail's support has fallen by 6 percentage points since the last poll conducted in January while Fine Gael has picked up 4 percentage points to 28 per cent. Labour has fallen by 1 point to 15 per cent with Sinn Fein and the PDs showing no change at 9 per cent and 3 per cent respectively.
Satisfaction with the Government has fallen by 6 points to 40 per cent while those dissatisfied with Fianna Fail/PD coalition rose by 4 points to 50 per cent.
While Bertie Ahern remains the most popular party leader, his approval rating has fallen by 4 points to 52 per cent. Mary Harney's popularity has fallen by 5 points to 34 per cent over the period when the A&E crisis dominated the domestic agenda.
Fine Gael will be disappointed that the party's gains have not translated into a boost in popularity for Enda Kenny who remains stuck on a 40 per cent personal approval rating.
Labour will also be concerned that Pat Rabbitte's approval rating has fallen by 7 points to 41 per cent.
Sinn Fein's support remained static at 9 per cent but satisfaction with Gerry Adams' leadership fell by a point to 39 per cent.
Trevor Sargent's popularity rose 3 points to a 35 percent satisfaction rating but Green Party support showed only modest improvement to 5 per cent.
This survey in the Republic of Ireland was conducted exclusively on behalf of The Irish Timesby TNS mrbi, among a national quota sample of 1,000 representative of the 2.82 million electors aged 18 upwards, covering 100 sampling points throughout all constituencies in the Republic.