The Government parties and the alternative coalition of Fine Gael and Labour have near equal public support, according to the latest Irish Times/TNS mrbi opinion poll.
The poll found that Fianna Fáil has made substantial gains following last month's budget, and that public satisfaction with the Government is at its highest point for a year, at 46 per cent. Some 58 per cent were dissatisfied with the Government in the September poll.
Satisfaction with the Taoiseach has also increased, with his popularity rising 9 points to 56 per cent since September. A total of 37 per cent of those polled said they were dissatisfied with Mr Ahern's performance, a drop of 10 percentage points on September's poll.
Since the last Irish Times/TNS mrbi poll last September Fianna Fáil support is at 37 per cent, up three points; Fine Gael 24 per cent, down 1; Labour 16 per cent, up two; Sinn Féin 9 per cent, down one; Green Party 4 per cent, down one; Progressive Democrats 3 per cent, down one; others 8 per cent, unchanged.
The positive showing for the Government and for Fianna Fáil follows a largely well-received Budget in December.
The Budget provided for increases in social welfare payments, including children's allowance and the old-age pension as well as additional support measures for childcare and an increase in paid maternity leave.
The Budget also sought to wind down or limit certain tax reliefs for higher earners.