SUPPORT for Fianna Fáil has dropped three points since October, but the coalition government is still reasonably well placed to win a third consecutive term in office, the Sunday Tribune/Millward Brown IMS opinion poll shows.

Fianna Fáil support levels have dipped to 39% - equivalent to its 1997 general election win, but down from the 42% it got in the 2002 election and in last October's opinion poll.

There was good news for the Progressive Democrats in the poll with a sharp rise in the approval rating of Tánaiste and party leader Michael McDowell and a one-point increase in party support to 5%.

Satisfaction levels with the government remained steady at 51%, with rural voters and those over 65 most likely to be happy with its performance.

The combined Fianna Fáil/PD vote at 44% is still comfortably ahead of the total support for Fine Gael, Labour and the Greens, which stands at 39%. However, the gap between the two potential governments has closed from 10 points to five since October.

And the poll also shows that the strong surge in support for Fianna Fáil in Dublin in the wake of the Bertiegate controversy has dramatically fallen away since October. The Sunday Tribune/Millward Brown IMS poll then showed Fianna Fáil at 43% in the capital, up an astonishing nine points in just a month and six points higher than its 2002 general election performance.

But in the current poll, support for Fianna Fáil has dropped back to 31%. While the smaller numbers used at regional levels mean there is a greater margin of error - which means the regional results have to be treated with caution - there does appear to have been a sharp drop in Fianna Fáil's support in the capital over the past three months. However, the party's vote held up strongly in the rest of Leinster, Munster and, particularly, Connacht/Ulster.

Bertie Ahern remains the most popular of the party leaders with an approval rating of 58%, up two percentage points and almost 20 points ahead of his rival for the position of Taoiseach, Enda Kenny.

But again the news wasn't quite as good in the capital.

Dubliners are less likely to be satisfied with Ahern's performance and the same is true of their assessment of the government. However, there is better news for the Taoiseach in Connacht/Ulster, where he has an approval rating of 65%.

On the question of who would make a better Taoiseach, Ahern has maintained the decisive 2:1 lead over Enda Kenny that emerged in October. In this latest poll, 57% of people opted for Ahern as their choice for the top job, with just 25% plumping for Kenny. That lead holds across all age groups, social classes and regions and it is only among farmers that Kenny comes within 10 points of Ahern as choice for Taoiseach.

On the question of which party leader best understands the social and economic issues affecting the Ireland of today, the gap between Ahern and Kenny is even more stark.

Almost half of voters, 45%, opted for Ahern compared to 14% for Kenny, 11% for Pat Rabbitte and 4% for Michael McDowell.

However, the PDs will be pleased with their performance in the poll. The party's 5% rating is the highest it has achieved in recent years in Millward Brown IMS polls.

Support levels in Dublin - the party's heartland and home to four of its eight TDs - remain rock solid at a healthy 8%. At that level the party is well placed to hold on to those four seats, with three of them certainly looking safe at this point.

Michael McDowell is also a big winner, with his satisfaction rating jumping seven percentage points to 42% from October. While McDowell is now above the level of support Mary Harney attracted just before she stood down as party leader, he still has some way to go to match the 55% approval rating she enjoyed when she first took over as minister for health.

The Tánaiste's approval ratings are spread evenly across all social classes, although he appeals most to older voters and those living in Connacht/Ulster.

The government will be slightly disappointed by the lukewarm reaction to December's giveaway budget. One in four voters - 27% - thought their personal financial situation would be better as a result of the tax changes in the budget, while a majority, 56%, felt their situation would be unchanged.

A total of 11% said they had been left worse off. Better-off voters were happiest with the budget, with 37% of ABs saying their financial situation would be improved, compared to just 18% of farmers.

Satisfaction with the government Are you satisfied or dissatisfied with the way the government is running the country?

Dissatisfied 44% (up 2) Satisfied 51% (no change) Don't know 4% Most understanding party leader Which one of these party leaders, if any, do you think best understands the social and economic issues affecting the Ireland of today?

Ahern 45% Kenny 14% Bertie Ahern 45% End Kenny 14% Pat Rabbitte 11% Michael McDowell 4% Trevor Sargent 3% Gerry Adams 8% None of them 7% Don't know 8%