A NEW OPINION poll shows that Sinn Féin and Fine Gael are neck and neck in first place among the political parties for the first time.

The Ipsos/MRBI poll for the Irish Times found both parties tied on 24% – an increase of four percentage points for Sinn Féin, while Fine Gael have stayed the same since the last such poll.

Fianna Fáil suffered the most in the new poll, falling five points to 20%.

Labour have seen something of a small bounce with the arrival of new party leader Joan Burton; however the party is at just 9%, up two percentage points.

There is some consolation for Joan Burton though: she is already the most popular party leader in the country, ahead of Gerry Adams, Enda Kenny, and Micheál Martin.

Independents and Others are at 23%, down one point.

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The result is good news for the coalition government just five days before Budget 2015 is announced. It also suggests that the ongoing John McNulty controversy has not impacted on Fine Gael’s popularity.

The poll was carried out on Monday and Tuesday of this week with a sample of 1,200 people.

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