Adi Roche, the Labour-DL-Green Party presidential candidate, is to spend more time in Dublin than originally planned and will target her message at the broad left vote in an effort to reverse her slide in support.
The results of the latest Irish Times/MRBI opinion poll, published yesterday, showed Ms Roche's support at 13 per cent, down nine points from the previous MRBI poll. Just 33 per cent of Labour supporters said they would vote for her, while in Dublin she has fallen to fourth place behind the Fianna Fail-PD candidate, Prof Mary McAleese, Mary Banotti of Fine Gael and independent Derek Nally.
Roche campaign sources said yesterday that her schedule would be revised to ensure she spent more time campaigning in Dublin than originally planned. "We are not doing well enough in Dublin and we need to spend more time there," a source said.
She also has campaign events planned for the west, Tipperary, Meath and Mayo in the next few days. She is likely to pitch her speeches and statements more towards a broad left vote, according to campaign sources. She will emphasise "that she is the only candidate in the field who shares those values", the sources said, in order to bring back Labour, Democratic Left and Green Party voters who currently intend to support other candidates.
Ms Roche's supporters also hope that her appearances on forthcoming television debates, particularly The Late Late Show tomorrow night, will help reverse the fall in her support. The Late Late will host the first live TV debate, in which all five candidates have been invited to participate.