One-in-three Fine Gael supporters believe Labour’s Eamon Gilmore would be a stronger leader than their own party head, Enda Kenny.

The findings are the results of a new opinion poll which shows that  Gilmore remains the most popular leader in the country with over 45 percent  of respondents saying they believed he would make the best Prime Minister.

Fine Gael’s leader Enda Kenny achieved 24 percent, and  Ireland’s current leader Brian Cowen on just 11 percent.

Over half of Fine Gael supporters surveyed said they believed Enda Kenny would make the best Prime Minister. But a substantial 34 percent, roughly one in three, choose Gilmore ahead of  Kenny.

By contrast, Labour supporters who were surveyed were more loyal to their leader with 79 percent of them saying that they would choose Gilmore as the next leader of Ireland.

The poll was conducted by Red C for the Paddy Power bookmaking firm and was carried out towards the end of last week, with over 1,000 people polled over the telephone.