The first opinion poll of the election campaign shows Fianna Fáil performing strongly, and 7% ahead of an alternative Rainbow Coalition.
The MRBI poll in tomorrow's Irish Times shows the party on 45%, 5% up on its performance in the 1997 general election.
Fine Gael is on 23%, Labour on 12%, the Greens on 3%, Sinn Féin on 6% and others on 9%.
These figures exclude the 15% who were undecided. For the first time, the survey was based on a simulated ballot paper in each constituency.
A Fine Gael spokesperson said that notwithstanding the claims by the Irish Times and MRBI that this poll is not comoparable to the last poll in February, it shows an increase in Fine Gael support and is a welcome start to the election campaign
