Irish Prime Minister Bertie Ahern, whose ruling Fianna Fail (FF) party was facing a mid-term voter backlash in European and local elections, is warming to the idea of succeeding European Commission president Romano Prodi, media reported here Sunday.

"Bertie lured by 1.3 million-euro EU job as FF vote slumps," headlined The Sunday Tribune.

The newspaper said that Ahern, who had previously shown a lack of interest for the top EU post, was now likely to accept the job if it was formally offered to him.

"You can never say no," Ahern told the paper in an interview, in which he also confirmed that at least half of the EU's 25 member states had asked him to take the prestigious job.

Belgian Prime Minister Guy Verhofstadt, Austrian chancellor Wolfgang Schuessel and Denmark's Anders Fogh Rasmussen have been linked with the post.

Meanwhile, Ahern's FF party has suffered a setback in local elections while Sinn Fein, the political wing of the IRA, is set to make big gains, according to unofficial party tallies and exit polls.

FF is facing big losses while Sinn Fein looks set to establish itself as a major presence in council chambers around the country following Friday's vote, held in tandem with elections for the European Parliament.

Unofficial tally figures from party observers said Fianna Fail could lose about eight of its 20 seats on the 52-member Dublin City Council and is facing seat losses nationwide.

The party tallies indicated that Sinn Fein should have councillors elected in city, town and county councils where it has had no representation for 80 years.

Sinn Fein is the political wing of the Irish Republican Army, Northern Ireland's main nationalist paramilitary force, but also competes in elections in the Republic of Ireland, where it holds five seats in the national parliament.

Counting of ballot papers for Ireland's 13 seats in the European election will take place on Sunday when the remaining European Union member states finish voting.

However the RTE exit poll indicated that Sinn Fein may for the first time also get a seat in the European Parliament.

In a separate referendum held alongside the European and local elections, there was a resounding four to one vote to approve a constitutional change removing the automatic right to citizenship for babies born in Ireland to foreign nationals.