There's been another rise in support for Fine Gael in the final opinion poll of the year.
The Red C poll for today's Sunday Business Post shows support for the larger coalition partner is up four points in a fortnight, bringing it to 32% - the highest of any Red C poll since October 2012.
Labour sits on 9%, and is up two from a month ago, while Fianna Fáil has dropped two points to 17%. That puts the party behind Sinn Féin, which rises one point to 19%.
Independents are on 14%, including 2% for candidates in the Independent Alliance.
The Anti-Austerity/People Before Profit alliance is on 3%, while the Greens, Renua and the Social Democrats are each on 2%.
The poll shows the Government passing the combined 40% support mark that they believe will be enough to return them to power.
However Political Editor of the Sunday Business Post Pat Leahy says it may not be enough, suggesting Fine Gael and Labour would likely need support from Independents or other parties with the current level of support:
