Counting has begun in the Irish general election, as exit polls suggest a close contest between the three major parties.

The first meeting of the new Dáil is due to take place on the 18th of December, but the government will be officially formed whenever the Dáil passes a vote to install the new Taoiseach

The Irish General Election 2024 will be held this Friday, November 29 - here, an overview of the major political parties running candidates. What parties are running in the Irish General Election 2024?

Ireland's main opposition Sinn Fein looked on course to win the most votes at a general election by the narrowest of margins on Friday, but its two main centre-right rivals will likely have enough seats to govern again without it,

The polls are set to open for the Irish general election. Polling stations will be open between 07:00 and 22:00 local time on Friday to allow voters to choose representatives to serve as Teachtaí Dála (TDs) in the Dáil, the lower house of the Oireachtas (Ireland's parliament).

The Republic of Ireland elects its government using a system of proportional representation known as the single transferable vote. Voters rank candidates in their constituency in order of preference, marking their favourite with a number one, a number two beside their next choice and so on.

An exit poll in the Republic of Ireland Ireland suggests that Sinn Féin has 21.1% of first preference votes with Fine Gael having 21%, making the result of the general election too close to call. The poll indicates Fianna Fáil has 19.

The exit poll put the left wing Sinn Fein on 21.1%, the centre-right Fine Gael of Prime Minister Simon Harris on 21.0% and like-minded coalition partner Fianna Fail on 19.5%. Fine Gael and Fianna Fail pledged ahead of the election to seek to form a coalition without Sinn Fein,

The exit poll in Ireland's general election is suggesting a virtual tie between the three biggest parties. The main opposition party Sinn Féin is predicted to narrowly win the popular vote. However, government parties Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael will likely have enough seats to form a coalition with at least one other party.

Sinn Féin leads in the Irish General Election exit poll with 21.1% of first-preference votes, followed closely by Fine Gael at 21% and Fianna Fáil at 19.5%.