THE LATEST POLITICAL opinion polls won’t make for pleasant reading at Labour Party HQ this morning.

A survey in The Irish Times forecasts an electoral wipeout for the party in Friday’s European elections, while one in The Irish Sun shows Labour support collapsing to 8 per cent. One in the Irish Independent contains even less encouraging news for Eamon Gilmore, putting the party on just 6 per cent.

The Ipsos MRBI poll in the Times puts Fine Gael on course to retain four seats in Brussels, with Sinn Féín also closing in on three European slots.

Times

SF first time candidate Liadh Ní Riada is in second place in the ten county Ireland South constituency — on 19 per cent, 12 behind veteran FF MEP Brian Crowley.

Sean Kelly looks set to retain his seat, in third on 13 per cent. He’s followed by two other FG candidates — Deirdre Clune on 8 per cent and Simon Harris on 7. Phil Prendergast, the Labour MEP, is on 6 per cent, one behind the Greens’ Grace O’Sullivan.

In Midlands-North West, Mairead McGuinness of FG tops the poll on 18 per cent, followed by SF’s Matt Carthy on 15 points and the pair of Luke ‘Ming’ Flanagan (Ind) and Pat ‘the Cope’ Gallagher (FF) both on 12 per cent. Marian Harkin, another Independent, is on 10 per cent, just edging out sitting MEP Jim Higgins of FG.

In Dublin, SF’s Lynn Boylan is tops on 23 per cent, with FG’s Brian Hayes on 22. Mary Fitzpatrick is leading the fight for the third seat, according to this morning’s poll — the FF candidate is on 12 per cent, followed two points behind by Green Party leader Eamon Ryan, then Labour’s Emer Costello on 9.

Elsewhere

Meanwhile, today’s Red C poll in the Sun, which simply measures party support, shows Labour with just 8 per cent of the vote — well behind FF and SF, both on 20 per cent.

Fine Gael are on 25 per cent in the Red C poll, with the Greens on 2 per cent and Independents & Others making up the remaining 25 per cent.

Labour are at just 6 per cent support in the Millward Brown/Irish Independent poll. FG are on 20 per cent, FF on 21, SF on 23, Independents & Others on 27 and the Greens on 2.

There were also a raft of opinion polls on the European elections at the weekend, the results of which can be read here. 

RTÉ’s ‘Poll of Polls’ will be announced on Wednesday, with the country due to head to the polls for real on Friday morning.

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