Final poll before election day shows three main parties neck and neck
Fianna And Leader Niall Sinn Gael Right) Micheál Leader Simon Mcdonald Martin, Féin Wire Fáil Mary Lou Harris Fine To Tanaiste Carson/pa And Leader And (left Taoiseach
The general election has narrowed again, with the top three parties now neck and neck in the final opinion poll.
A RedC/Business Post poll published this evening shows that Fianna Fáil leads the way - narrowly up one point to 21% - with Fine Gael down two to 20%, and Sinn Féin up two points to 20%.
The poll was in the field after the Taoiseach's interaction with Charlotte Fallon in Kanturk last week and shows another drop for Fine Gael. Polling took place between November 20 and 26.
The poll asked respondents about transfers and this shows that the two main coalition parties and from Fianna Fáil to Labour are strong. The poll shows Sinn Féin is not as transfer friendly.
The poll has Independents on 14% support, the Social Democrats on 6%, Labour on 4%, the Green Party on 4%, Aontú on 4%, Independent Ireland on 4%, and People Before Profit on 2%.
In terms of second preferences, Fianna Fáil is also the most transfer friendly, with 21% of people saying that Micheál Martin's party will get their number 2. That compares to 17% for Fine Gael and 13% for Sinn Féin. Social Democrats account for 4%, with Labour and the Greens on 3%, and People Before Profit, Independent Ireland and Aontú on 2% of transfers. Independents account for 14% of second preferences.
It is the third poll in the last week of the election campaign that shows Fine Gael down support, a worrying trend for Taoiseach Simon Harris amid a campaign which has seen multiple missteps and controversies.
However, it does not represent the surge that Sinn Féin may have hoped for as it seeks to lead a government without Fianna Fáil or Fine Gael.
Sources within all parties this evening said that the poll was representative of the overall mood they had detected while canvassing with one Fine Gael source simply saying "game on".