The results of private polls, which are conducted regularly by Fianna Fail, are a closely-guarded secret, but the Sunday Tribune has learned that the party leadership is seriously worried about the "disastrous" results of the latest polling in the capital, where commentators believe as many as nine Fianna Fail seats could be vulnerable.

The results may explain the rethink on decentralisation reportedly ordered last week by Taoiseach Bertie Ahern. There is concern that the particular reluctance of the 2,300 workers in state agencies to move out of Dublin could damage the government at next year's general election.

The private polls come on top of the recent Irish Times TNS MRBI poll which, it is understood, put Fianna Fail at 30% in Dublin. While there is a greater margin of error on regional breakdowns, the figure is well down from the party's 37% vote in the capital at the last election.

In the 1992 general election, which proved a disaster for the party, Fianna Fail won just 16 seats in Dublin with 33% of the vote. A loss of five or more of the party's 21 seats in the capital . . . the key battleground in the next general election . . . could open the way for the alternative rainbow coalition government.