The latest political opinion poll shows that the era of Fianna Fáil and the PDs is coming to an end, Labour Party leader Pat Rabbitte said today.
Speaking in Clonmel, Co Tipperary, Mr Rabbitte said that after 10 years of the Fianna Fáil/PD Government there is "a vacuum where the vision should be".
Labour Party leader Pat Rabbitte
Today's opinion poll by Millward Brown-IMS for a national newspaper showed Fianna Fáil support down three points to 35 per cent since April, with support for Fine Gael up by the same number of points to 26 per cent in the same three-week period.
Labour is up one point to 13 per cent, the Progressive Democrats are down one to 3 per cent and the Green Party is down one point to 5 per cent. Sinn Féin's support is up two points to 10 per cent. Independents have an unchanged level of support at 8 per cent.
Mr Rabbitte claimed that across the country there is "a mood for change".
He said: "The Irish people are looking for a new government - a government that will address their issues, a government that will maintain a successful economy, but also build a fair society.
"There is no radicalism. There is no appreciation of the gap that exists between where we are, and where we could be. There is no drive, no confidence in the capacity of Government to move our country in a new and fresh direction. There is just more of the same.
"We all know that there has been progress in the last ten years. We do have more income. But we have not made the best use of our prosperity," the Labour leader said.
"Too many people are on a gilded treadmill, constantly juggling an endless stream of longer hours, rising bills, and less time for family. Our country is increasingly ill at ease with itself, and lacking a sense of purpose for its future. Too many have been left behind in the wake of a rising tide that did not lift all boats," Mr Rabbitte added.
He said Labour's vision was of a "Fair Society", built on "a prosperous, sustainable and enterprising economy, on personal liberty, and on social solidarity".
Separately in Dublin today, Labour's Roisin Shortall and Senator Derek McDowell published the party's plan to address social disadvantage.
The party said it would, in government, seek to introduce a year's free pre-school education for all three-year-old children before they begin primary education. It said it also would provide extra training for teachers in numeracy and literacy.
To address the pre-Leaving Certificate drop-out rate of 18 per cent, Labour said it would "adequately resource" the National Education Welfare Board to ensure all 16-18 year olds are offered "a meaningful and appropriate education or training".