LONDON, July 4 (Xinhua) -- Fine Gael has emerged as Ireland's most popular political party, narrowly overtaking Sinn Fein, the latest Sunday Independent/Ireland Thinks opinion poll published on Saturday showed.

Fine Gael gained one percentage point to 20 percent, placing it ahead of Sinn Fein, which slipped to 19 percent. Fianna Fail rose one point to 17 percent.

Ireland is currently governed by a coalition led by Fianna Fail and Fine Gael and supported by independent lawmakers, with Fianna Fail leader Micheal Martin serving as Taoiseach, or prime minister, and Fine Gael leader Simon Harris as Tanaiste, or deputy prime minister.

The Social Democrats remained unchanged on 12 percent, while support for independent candidates rose one point to 11 percent. Independent Ireland fell two points to 7 percent, followed by Aontu on 6 percent, the opinion poll showed.

Social Democrats leader Holly Cairns remained the country's most popular party leader despite slipping one point to an approval rating of 40 percent. Martin and Harris were unchanged on 35 percent and 33 percent respectively, while Sinn Fein leader Mary Lou McDonald fell one point to 30 percent, according to the opinion show.

The survey of 1,279 people was conducted on July 3 and has a margin of error of plus or minus 2.8 percentage points.