By Shane Harrison BBC Dublin Correspondent

The people of the Irish Republic go to the polls on Friday 17 May.

Prime Minister Bertie Ahern is hoping that his coalition government of Fianna Fail and the Progressive Democrats will be returned to power.

There is little real difference between the main parties in this era where the politics of consensus and contentment dominate

However, the campaign has yet to capture the public imagination.

Everybody agrees that Election 2002 is dull, apart from the odd custard pie thrown at party leaders.

The campaign so far has been dominated by the political parties arguing over the real cost of their manifestos.

Fianna Fail and the main opposition party, Fine Gael, have accused each other of engaging in voodoo or "Enron economics". Each says the other will borrow to excess.

Borrowing is a dirty word in Irish politics where the folk memory of the 1970s and 80s runs deep.

Tens of thousands of people were forced to emigrate then and hospitals were closed as governments tried to repay loans and balance their books.

Economy critical

After 10 years of economic boom and with Ireland having the lowest debt/GDP ratio in the European Union, apart from Luxembourg, voters do not want to return to the bad old days.

They want to keep their Celtic Tiger economy.

Bertie Ahern is hoping to secure re-election

The Fianna Fail-led government is standing on its record of delivering peace to Northern Ireland, lowering taxes, virtually eliminating unemployment and ending emigration.

Prime Minister Ahern says his administration has "done a lot but there's more to do".

The opposition parties are keen to highlight quality of life issues.

They say the boom has been squandered, that the plight of the poor has not significantly improved, hospital services are disgraceful and violent crime is out of control.

They say that more and more people are spending more and more time in ever-lengthening traffic jams.

Turnout fears

Neither side has yet aroused strong passions, and everybody expects the election turnout to be down on five years ago, when 65% of citizens voted.

That is probably because there is little real difference between the main parties in this era where the politics of consensus and contentment dominate.

Sinn Fein is hoping to broaden its appeal

Sinn Fein, keen to replicate its success in Northern Ireland south of the border, advertises itself as the radical alternative to what it call the "establishment parties".

Gerry Adams' party has only one of the 166 Irish deputies, but Sinn Fein hopes it will have at least three after the election.

However the party has been dogged by allegations that it has been involved in vigilantism in North Kerry.

With only days of campaigning left Sinn Fein like the other parties will be hoping the election comes alive and that voters engage.

Otherwise this election campaign will be remembered as the custard pie election, the election when leaders lost face and were forced to eat humble pie.