The Dáil reconvenes today with the main Opposition parties hoping to raise their profiles following the Government's recent recovery in the opinion polls.
With the next general election 16 months away, Fine Gael and Labour will press on with drafting common policies and selecting candidates.
The Government will be anxious to sustain the significant increase in public approval that was shown in the Irish Times/ TNS MRBI opinion poll whose results were published last Friday.
However Taoiseach Bertie Ahern will be preparing himself for robust Opposition criticism this session with Fine Gael and Labour hoping to portray themselves to the voting public as a credible alternative to the FF/PD Government.
A small, but important task for Mr Ahern in coming days will be the filling of the Minister of State vacancy at the Transport Department, created by the resignation of Ivor Callely in December.
The Taoiseach is also expected to spend much time in coming weeks on his stated objective of securing Northern Ireland power-sharing this year.
Meanwhile, up to 17 bills are expected to be published during the forthcoming session. These include the Energy Bill, the Health (Nursing Homes) Bill and the Business Improvement Districts Bill.