Poll reaction: Taoiseach Bertie Ahern has said he was surprised by yesterday's poor opinion poll findings for Fianna Fáil in the Irish Times/TNS mrbi survey.
The opinion poll, showing a 6 per cent fall in support for Fianna Fáil, shocked many party TDs, particularly since party confidence levels had risen in the wake of a highly successful performance by the Taoiseach on RTÉ's Tubridy Tonight programme last Saturday, and coverage of the party's 80th anniversary on Sunday.
"I am bit a surprised. Sometimes I am not usually so surprised. We were so much higher in the middle of January when it was freezing. You always look for the factors that influenced things on a particular day," he said.
"You get painted as if the whole thing [ the state of the health services] was an unmitigated disaster and that's just totally untrue and that feeds into public opinion. There is no doubt about that," he told journalists when he attended an event at St James's Hospital in Dublin.
Cork North Central TD Noel Flynn said the poll result was "a wake-up call, though it must be remembered that it is a snapshot of opinion".
The party is being hurt on the doorsteps by the difficulties in the health service, he conceded, though he believes that the economy's health will prove to be a major point in the Government's favour the closer voters get to an election.
Sharing this view, Laois/Offaly TD Seán Fleming said the party must focus the public's attention on the economy, rather than on other issues.
Privately, however, some Fianna Fáil TDs accept Fine Gael's result in the poll reflects the party's position on the ground in many constituencies outside of Dublin, although they believe that Fine Gael has not made a similar level of progress in the capital, where it will have to make significant gains if it is to get into government.
Labour leader Pat Rabbitte said the latest poll showed that there is "an appetite for change" among the electorate.
