SUPPORT FOR TAIOSEACH Brian Cowen has plummeted to just 11 per cent while 39 per cent of voters would back Eamon Gilmore, according to a poll by Red C for the Irish Sun.

The paper reveals that Fine Gael’s is trailing behind Labour, with Enda Kenny winning the support of just 23 per cent of voters. However, 21 per cent of those surveyed said they had no faith in any political party.

The poll also showed how the recession is taking its toll on peoples’ lives:

• 8 per cent of people have split with their partner over the recession
• Two per cent of people have lost their homes
• One third of 25 – 34 year olds have been laid off
• One in two of us have health problems they attribute to the collapse of the property market
• Nearly four in 10 have watched loved one been forced to emigrate

Of the 1,003 people questioned, 38 per cent said that they now struggled to meet basic home bills and food bills.