A Waterford Senator says it's not surprising that Fine Gael support stayed strong during the Dail's summer break.
The Behaviour and Attitudes survey for the Sunday Times shows Fine Gael with a 4 per cent popularity increase to 33 while Fianna Fáil are down 5 per cent to 25.
The Green Party remain unchanged in today's opinion poll at 2 per cent
Satisfaction with Leo Varadkar as Taoiseach was at 49 per cent, which is an increase of 6 per cent - while satisfaction with the government is up 4 points to 33 per cent.
Green Party Senator Grace O Sullivan says the results aren't surprising following a summer recess.
However she says that next month's budget will test the strength of Fine Gael
Grace O Sullivan says that there is talk of an Autum election next year rather than an early Spring election