Irish Prime Minister Brian Cowen's party has slumped in popularity, a poll out Sunday showed, a reverse that could have serious implications for efforts to revive the EU's stalled Lisbon Treaty.

Support for Cowen's Fianna Fail party in the recession-hit republic has plunged by 10 points in the last month, since the previous Sunday Business Post/Red C tracking poll in September.

"This is by far the largest fall for any party that a Sunday Business Post poll has ever measured, and it is the lowest rating for Fianna Fail that we have ever seen," the weekly newspaper said.

"For any political party, shedding more than a quarter of its support in a few weeks is terrifying."

Fianna Fail, the largest partner in the three-party governing coalition has 26 percent support, seven points behind the main opposition Fine Gael party with 33 percent.

The Sunday Business post said "this new political landscape is one where the dominant position of Fianna Fail, for so long the defining characteristic of Irish politics, has evaporated".

Richard Colwell, managing director of Red C, said analysis of the poll suggests that the gains for opposition parties are based on a drop in confidence for Fianna Fail and its ability to manage the economy.

The collapse in support comes as Cowen mulls how to solve the crisis caused by Irish voters' shock 53 percent rejection of the European Union's key Lisbon Treaty in a referendum on June 12.

He promised his EU partners he would come up with an action plan by the December EU summit.

Irish voters needed two referendums before finally approving the EU's Nice Treaty in 2002 but the crisis of confidence -- the poll shows just 20 percent have confidence in the government to manage the public finances, a drop from 39 percent last month -- has serious implications for any plans for an early re-run of the Lisbon Treaty vote.

Ireland was the only country in the 27-nation bloc to hold a popular vote on the treaty which had been due to come into force on January 1, 2009.

After over a decade of the so-called Celtic Tiger growth which placed it among the richest nations in Europe, Ireland has been hammered by a series of economic blows.

The poll was carried out last Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday among more than 1,000 voters across the country.

Click here to view source