Two new opinion polls show that a recent increase in support for the Government parties has been halted.

One of the polls will be worrying for Fine Gael and Labour as over three in five of those surveyed believe there is a need for a change of Government.

Surprisingly, at least one fifth of those voters surveyed also remain "undecided", with just weeks to go to the general election.

The RED C survey for the Sunday Business Post and a Behaviour and Attitudes poll for the Sunday Times show Fine Gael support dropping and static respectively, while Labour remains static and drops in the respective polls.

Fianna Fáil and Independents/Others make gains in the polls, while Sinn Féin are unchanged in one and see a one point drop in the other.

Political Editor of The Sunday Times is Stephen O'Brien, who says all the political parties are planning for an election on the 26th of February - and that it's not yet a time to panic based on the latest figures:

The RED C survey, carried out between Monday and Wednesday of this week shows support levels as follows:

* Fine Gael 30 % (down 2)
* Fianna Fáil 19% (up 2)
* Sinn Féin 19% (unchanged)
* Labour 9% (unchanged)
* Independents and Others 23% (unchanged)

In this poll those figures for Independents and Others are broken down: Independents 15% (up 1); People Before Profit-Anti Austerity Alliance 3% (unchanged); Social Democrats 1% (down 1); Green Party 2% (unchanged) and Renua 2% (unchanged).

While more than two-thirds (68%) believe that the country is "on the right track", some 60% of those polled also believed there was a need for a "change of Government to deliver a fairer society". However, some 46% of those polled for the Sunday Business Post do believe that a change in Government could threaten the recovery.

Meanwhile the Sunday Times poll shows support as follows:

* Fine Gael - 31% (unchanged)
* Fianna Fáil 20% (up 1)
* Sinn Féin 16% (down 1)
* Labour 6% (down 2)
* Independents and Others 26% (up 2)

This poll the figure for Independents and Others is also broken down: Independents 12% (up 1); Green Party 3% (down 1); Independent Alliance 3% (up 1); People Before Profit-Anti Austerity Alliance 3% (down 1); Workers Party 2% (up 1); Renua 2% (up 1); and Social Democrats 1% (unchanged).

Both polls show a large number of voters have still to make up their minds - 22% in the RED C poll; 27% for Behaviour and Attitudes. This is surprising as the election is now so close.