New poll suggests FG may lose Euro seat
A new Irish Times MRBI/TNS opinion poll published today suggests that Fine Gael is likely to lose a seat in Ireland East in next week's European elections.
The party currently has two European seats in Ireland East with Mairéad McGuinness and Avril Doyle, who is not seeking re-election.
This time around John Paul Phelan is contesting alongside McGuinness for FG, but Labour's Nessa Childers has made significant gains in the past number of weeks, according to the poll, and looks set to take a seat. Liam Aylward is likely to retain the constituency's third seat for Fianna Fáil.
Meanwhile in the Dublin consituency, Socialist Party leader Joe Higgins could win the final seat, leaving Fianna Fáil's Eoin Ryan in danger of losing out.
The poll, which was conducted amongst 2,000 voters this week, reveals that Fine Gael's Gay Mitchell and Labour's Proinsias De Rossa will probably take the first two seats in the capital, leaving a tight battle between Higgins, Ryan and Sinn Fein's Mary Lou McDonald for the final one.
Overall, the poll indicates that Fine Gael could slip from five to four seats and Fianna Fáil from four to three, while Labour is set to double its tally from one to two.
Meanwhile, the Finance Minister is insisting that the fall in support for the Government outlined in recent polls has no implications for the Taoiseach's leadership.
Brian Lenihan said the Government has a job to do for the good of the country and is focused on that goal.
