Voters in the Republic would favour a continuation of the incumbent three-party coalition government after the next general election, according to the latest polling.
A fresh survey published on Thursday shows support for Sinn Féin and Fine Gael neck and neck.
Both parties are on 23%, representing a four percentage point increase for Simon Harris’s party and a five point slide for Sinn Féin.
Support for Mary Lou McDonald’s party has dropped by 11 points since February, according the Irish Times Ipsos MRBI research.
Fianna Fáil support is unchanged at 20%
The Greens are at 4%, down one point, while Labour has gained one point with support increasing to 5%.
The Social Democrats are down one point to 3%; Solidarity-PBP is unchanged at 2% and Aontú is also unchanged at 1%.
The number of undecided voters, a cohort excluded from the figures, have fallen sharply by six points to 19%.
The opinion poll, conducted between May 11-15, comes three weeks ahead of the Republic’s local government and European Parliament elections.
The next general election must take place before March 22 next year.
In terms of satisfaction ratings, Fianna Fáil leader Micheál Martin has the highest on 46%, up two points, while Taoiseach Simon Harris’s rating in his first poll is 38%.
Mary Lou McDonald’s satisfaction rating has dropped two points to 36%, while the coalition government’s rating has slid by four points to 31%.
However, in terms of the next government, a continuation of the current coalition was the most favoured option, preferred by 33% of respondents, while a Sinn Fein-led government with neither Fianna Fail nor Fine Gael as partners was supported by 20%.
Fine Gael Public Expenditure Minister Paschal Donohoe said the polling gave “confidence” to the prospects of the current coalition government returning.
“It shows that the three parties that form the current government at the moment, they will go into the next election very, very separate parties, all the recent opinion polling over the last 12 to 18 months show the three parties coming together having the ability to form this government again,” Mr Donohoe told Newstalk.
“That’s still some time off, with the local and European elections to deal with first, we’ll all be putting our best foot forward there. But I think we can do so with further confidence.”
The poll canvassed the opinions of 1500 people and has a margin of error of plus or minus 2.5%.
