Support for the Labour party and Sinn Féin has fallen in the Republic, according to two of the latest opinion polls.
The results of both polls, published by the Sunday Business Post and Sunday Independent, suggest it will be either Fianna Fáil or Fine Gael that lead the next southern government.
The latest Red C monthly tracker poll for the Sunday Business Post shows Fine Gael's support is steady on 28 per cent, while its Labour coalition partner fell back three points to seven per cent.
Support for Sinn Féin slipped by three points, whereas Fianna Fáil was up one point to 20 per cent.
The independents and smaller parties enjoyed an overall surge in support of five points to 27 per cent.
Red C surveyed 1,000 people between Monday and Wednesday of last week for its poll.
According to a Millward Brown poll for the Sunday Independent, the Labour Party is on 6 per cent – a drop of 2 percentage points – while their Fine Gael partners in government have gained four points to 29 per cent.
The Millward Brown poll was carried out between June 16 and 19 and the results are compared to a previous poll in April this year.
Fianna Fáil enjoyed a four point rise in popularity to 23 per cent, where by comparison Sinn Féin slipped three percentage points to 21 per cent.
In contrast to the Red C poll, the Green Party slipped two points to one per cent, while the independents and 'others' were unchanged on 20 per cent. Within the 'others' grouping are the Socialist Party on two per cent, Renua Ireland on one per cent, and People Before Profit also on one per cent.
The Millward Brown results suggest the current coalition would struggle to be returned without support of a third party.
