Fianna Fáil has opened up a six-point lead on Fine Gael in the first opinion poll of the year.

The poll shows Fianna Fáil unchanged on 29%- but with Fine Gael down three points to 23%.

That’s around level with where Fine Gael were immediately before the Budget last October, when Fianna Fáil held a lead of 7 points.

Sinn Fein are on 17, down 2, while the AAA-People Before Profit is up 1 to 5% - level with Labour which is unchanged.

The Independent Alliance is down two points to 3%, level with the Greens, with the Social Democrats on 1% and Renua failing to register.

The biggest winners of the first poll of the year are unaligned independents, up 6 points to 15% - their highest level of support in several years.

It is also reflected in the satisfaction ratings of the Government and party leaders, with satisfaction either unchanged or down across the board.