Fianna Fáil has experienced a surge in support in the run up to the next general election, according to the latest Sunday Business Post/Red C poll.

Taoiseach Leo Varadkar has said that he wants to see a general election in May 2020, which would be the fourth anniversary of the Fine Gael-led minority government.

However, the latest Sunday Business Post/Red C poll shows that Fianna Fáil’s support has increased by four points to 28 per cent.

This is just one point behind Fine Gael who are up by one point to 29 per cent. The last poll was taken in the run up to the local and European elections in May.

There is good news for the Green Party which retains its new-found support level of 7 per cent. This is almost double what it was achieving in polls before it got an extra 37 councillors in the local elections and two MEPs in the European election.

There is also a one point drop for Independents, who are down to 13 per cent. Sinn Féin’s slump is continuing, with its support level dropping by one point to 12 per cent. This is the party’s lowest support level in a Red C poll in the past three years and below the 13.8 per cent share of the vote it got in the 2016 general election. The Labour party is up by one point to 6 per cent.

The Independent Alliance, which is preparing for Budget negotiations, is up by one point to 3 per cent. Smaller parties have suffered, with Solidarity-People Before Profit down by one point to 1 per cent and the Social Democrats are also down one point to 1 per cent. Support for Peader Toibín’s new party Aontú has dropped by two points to zero. Renua, which is still awaiting a new leader after Councillor John Leahy stepped down from the role, is down by one point to zero.

The telephone poll of 1,000 adults aged over 18 was taken between Thursday 5th and Thursday 12th September.

For full analysis of this poll from Sunday Business Post political editor Michael Brennan and Red C Research chief executive Richard Colwell, read tomorrow’s Sunday Business Post.

There will also be an exclusive poll on who voters believe is the best to lead the country through Brexit, and their views on tax cuts ahead of the October 8 Budget.