The Agriculture Minister has described the recent opinion survey - which shows a drop in support for the coalition parties - 'as a bad poll' but, he says the Government will not panic.

The Millward Brown survey for today's Sunday Independent questioned a thousand people over the past 10 days - during a time when water charges and the Mairia Cahill case dominated the political agenda.

According to the poll, Sinn Féin has passed Fine Gael in terms of popularity. Their support is at 26%.

Fine Gael stands at 22%, marking a decrease of 3%. Fianna Fáil is at 20% support, Labour is at 7% and Independents and Others at 23%.

However, despite the increases in support for the party, Gerry Adams disapproval rating has increased by 8%.

Minister Simon Coveney, speaking on the Sunday Show earlier today, spoke about the poll's findings:

Originally published at 20:13, November 1st