The leaders of the two main opposition parties have rejected any suggestion that the results of The Irish Times/TNS Mrbi poll show that they mis-handled the issue of payments to the Taoiseach.
Labour leader Pat Rabbitte said the results of the poll were "remarkable" given the recent controversy surrounding Bertie Ahern.
"I think it's rather a referendum on the Bertie Ahern affair where he admitted taking money for his private use while a Minister," Mr Rabbitte said on RTÉ Radio today. "I think he wrapped it in his family circumstances and a lot of people clearly empathided with that.
"In that sense it's a remarkable poll - the Opposition is punished and Fianna Fáil is rewarded - but there you are.
"The fact is that he has been rewarded in the opinion polls for the belief that he was hard done by at a time of difficulty in his personal life," he said. "I believe there are a lot of holes in that story, but the people obviously think otherwise and are willing to turn a blind eye to it."
Fine Gael leader Enda Kenny said the results of a single poll should not be taken in isolation.
"This is not a disaster for Fine Gael and Labour," said Mr Kenny. "On the contrary, it solidifies the fact that the trend over the last 18 months is very far removed from this individual poll."
He also pointed out that the poll showed that the vast majority of the public agreed with the Opposition stance.
"Sixty-four per cent of the people in this country in that poll said that the Taoiseach was wrong to accept monies," said Mr Kenny.
"That's the question that we asked him consistently in the Dáil to admit that he was wrong and he refused to do so. 64 per cent agree with that sentinment, and yet Minister after Minister being trotted out has had an impact, and they will be pleased with that."
Mr Kenny said the poll did not raise the issues that the electorate are raising with him on the ground such as the cost of living, crime, traffic and education.
"They are the real policy issues on which the election will be fought when all this has died down in the Dáil," said Mr Kenny.
Mr Kenny said he was not concerned about any drop in support for potential coalition partners Labour and pointed out the contradiction in the data that showed Labour down 4 per cent but a 7 per cent increase in satisfaction for Mr Rabbitte.