FF denies bid to delay by-elections

FIANNA FÁIL last night denied making an informal approach to other parties to hold the Meath and Kildare North by-elections on May 5, the same day as the British general election.

According to senior source in another party, a sounding-out approach had been made by FF about a possible May 5 date.

The rationale for holding it on the day of the British election, said the source, was that Sinn Féin would find it more difficult to bring hundreds of volunteers down from the North to canvass both constituencies, as they would be required by the party for its Northern campaign.

The FF spokesperson said last night: "We have no information that there has been contact."

However, other parties would not be amenable to such a late date with a date in late March or early April being more probable.

"The by-elections will be done and dusted by May 5," said the source.

Predictably, Fianna Fáil TDs privately welcomed yesterday's Irish Times/TNS mrbi poll that showed a marked increase in Bertie Ahern's satisfaction ratings as well as support levels for the party.

However, all the opposition parties said that the results were unsurprising and not of real concern.

Fine Gael's Phil Hogan dismissed any suggestion of a reverse for his party, saying it reflected a number of factors namely: that politics was on hold since Christmas; that Mr Ahern had finally turned his face against Sinn Féin; and that Mr Ahern has been on "constant parade" in China.

"The real test will be in Kildare North and Meath. We have a game plan for 2005 and we are sticking to our strategy. We are satisfied that polls do not reflect our true level of support," Mr Hogan said.

A Labour source said the fact the Dáil was not in session favoured the Government, with Mr Ahern and Foreign Affairs Minister Dermot Ahern having high profiles during January.

"There's no doubt that the rebranding of Bertie Ahern has worked in the short term though I doubt if it will sustain to a General Election," said the source.

Eamon Ryan of the Green Party said that polls had consistently shown that his party had a core vote and the challenge facing the party now was expansion.

"We need to be articulate in clarifying what our policies are and in getting our message across," he said.

A Sinn Féin spokesperson said the support levels for the party (down one point since October) showed a continuing consolidation of the SF vote.

He said the party hoped to maintain that 11%-12% share which would double its number of seats in a General Election.

The fall in Gerry Adams's personal support was "not surprising", said the spokesperson. "I would not read too much into it."