Satisfaction with the Government and the Taoiseach has risen for the first time in nearly two years, according to the latest Irish Times/TNS poll.
The poll shows a Government approval rating of 38 per cent, up 11 points on last September, halting an almost continual decline since the May 2002 general election.
Dissatisfaction with the Government still stood at 55 per cent, with seven per cent of those polled having no opinion.
Core support for Fianna Fáil rose by 3 per cent to 33 per cent, with Mr Ahern achieving a personal satisfaction rating of 47 per cent, up 11 points.
Support for the main opposition parties fell slightly with core support for Fine Gael down one per cent at 21 per cent and support for Labour, down two points, at 17 per cent.
While the Progressive Democrats, at 3 per cent, fell two points with the personal satisfaction rating of the Tánaiste, Ms Harney, up four points at 45 per cent.
Support for Sinn Fein continued to climb with the party now claiming 12 per cent of the vote, up 2 per cent while party leader Mr Gerry Adams's approval rating rose 8 points to 51 per cent.
The state of the parties is: Fianna Fáil, 33 per cent, up 3 points since September; Fine Gael 21 per cent, down 1; Labour 17 per cent, down 2; Sinn Féin, 12 per cent, up 2; Progressive Democrats 3 per cent, down 2; Green Party 5 per cent, up 1; Others 9 per cent, down 1.
While core support for Fine Gael dropped slightly, party leader Mr Edna Kenny's approval rating increased by two points to 31 per cent. Labour leader Mr Pat Rabbitte's approval rating rose by 5 per cent to 48 per cent while Green Party leader Mr Trevor Sargent's approval rating rose five per cent to 35 per cent.
The poll was conducted among a national quota sample of 1,000 voters at 100 sampling points throughout all constituencies in the State.
