Labour leader Pat Rabbitte has strongly rejected an opinion poll that showed a 2 per cent fall in support for his party.
According to the Lansdowne Market Research poll for the Irish Examiner, both the Government parties and Fine Gael received modest gains while the Labour Party showed a drop in support.
This morning's poll put Fianna Fáil support at 39 per cent, Fine Gael at 24 per cent, the PDs at 6 per cent and Labour down to 10 per cent. Sinn Féin support has fallen one point to 9 per cent with Greens and Independents unchanged at 6 per cent.
Speaking today on RTÉ's Morning Ireland, Mr Rabbitte said the poll was "out of sync" with polls done in the past two years, adding that polls "this remote from a general election are no more than an indication".
Mr Rabbitte went on to criticise the Government for what he called its "tax-and-waste" policies and said that his party would "shift the focus of public money to make incremental improvement in quality public services.
"Look at all the money that was wasted on e-voting, on failed computer systems in the health services, on Punchestown pet projects for ministers, on grandiose projects that came in late and over budget," he said.
"We are doing very well in terms of generating wealth; it is what Government is responsible for that is not working," the Labour leader said.
Mr Rabbitte rejected the need for an increase in taxes to implement his party's policies, saying that the growth of the economy means it is "generating a quantum of resources that it is capable of making the kind of social and investment that we want".
When asked about the Michael McDowell's proposals to reform stamp duty, Mr Rabbitte dismissed it as a publicity stunt before adding that he had not expected the new PD leader "to create a rift [within the Government] on something so fundamental so early".
