However, despite the unprecedented economic boom in that nine years, almost as many voters believe their financial situation has merely remained the same in that period, with another 20% believing that their situation had disimproved.

There is also a clear perception among voters that the government has favoured the better off, with a clear majority (56%) saying that those on higher incomes had benefited most from the current coalition. Fianna Fail and the PDs have continually rejected the claim that the rich have done best from their tenure, stressing that their tax cuts have benefited those on the average industrial wage the most and pointing to the introduction of the minimum wage, tax credits and substantial social-welfare increases as evidence of their commitment to the less well off.

Fianna Fail has also very publicly signalled its shift to the left over the last two years with Taoiseach Bertie Ahern even going so far as to say that he is a socialist.

However, despite these arguments, just 12% of voters believe that those on lower incomes have benefited most from the present government. A further 11% say that those on middle incomes have done best, while 12% say that everyone has benefited.

Even among Fianna Fail and PD supporters, there is little divergence on this point, with 47% saying 'those on higher incomes' have financially benefited most over the past nine years. Sinn Fein voters are most emphatic on the point . . . 75% of them say that big earners have done best.

The poll shows that Fianna Fail and PD voters are more likely to be bullish about their personal circumstances. Well over half (56%) of them say their personal financial situation has improved since the government came to power . . . considerably higher than the overall figure of 39%. Just 14% of government voters believe their finances have disimproved. In contrast, just 29% of Fine Gael supporters are positive about their financial situation, with 24% saying it had declined. Of Sinn Fein voters, just 19% said their status had improved, while more of them . . . 23% . . . said it had declined.

Older voters are more likely to believe that their finances have improved, with 51% of those over the age of 65 taking a positive view of how their finances have fared since 1997.

This may be down to the large increases in the old-age pension since the Fianna Fail/PD government came to power. Middle-class and 'skilled working-class' voters are happiest at how their finances have improved.

Farmers, meanwhile, are the most unhappy with their lot . . . just 29% of them say their situation has improved, with 21% saying it had disimproved and 48% stating it had stayed the same. However, there is little sign of an urban-rural divide on the issue, with the figures virtually identical for urban and rural voters.

But, despite living in the wealthier eastern half of the country, a higher number of voters in Dublin and the rest of Leinster say that their finances have declined.