GE2024 at a glanceTHE BOXES HAVE been opened, the count centres are heaving, and the patterns are starting to emerge.
It’s technically still all to play for, with nearly all of the tallies completed, but certain narratives are starting to take shape in the race to fill the 34th Dáil.
You can follow us throughout the day on our liveblog, but for a quick summary, here’s what we know so far.
As expected from last night’s exit poll, Sinn Féin, Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil all look set to do well (except for a couple of Fianna Fáil ministers who are in trouble).
Fianna Fáil are marginally ahead in tallies, followed by Fine Gael and Sinn Féin, though it’s very tight between the three.
The Social Democrats and Labour also look like they’re going to have decent days.
At the other end of the scale, it’s not looking great for the Green Party, who look like returning just two or three of their TDs (and possibly none at all).
Their leader Roderic O’Gorman has said his party could win two or three seats (and there’s a chance they may not win any at all), while Fingal West TD Joe O’Brien has already conceded.
Some high-profile names also look to be in trouble, including: Green Party leader Roderic O’Gorman (Dublin West); his party colleagues Catherine Martin (Dublin Rathdown) and Joe O’Brien (Fingal West); Fianna Fáil’s Stephen Donnelly (Wicklow); and his party’s junior minister Anne Rabbitte (Galway East).
Last night’s exit poll said housing/homelessness was the number one issue for people when deciding how to vote (followed by the cost of living and healthcare).
More than one-in-four of those polled (28%) said that housing and homelessness was the most important factor in their vote.
Almost one-in-five (19%) cited the cost of living as the biggest factor, with almost one-in-six (17%) citing health.
Immigration was seen as a much smaller issue, despite dominating politics over the past two years, with just 6% of people citing it as the main reason why they voted the way they did.
Most people also want Micheál Martin to be the next Taoiseach (35%), followed closely by Mary Lou McDonald (34%), with Simon Harris trailing in third (27%).
The highest proportion of people (31%) also said they want a Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael Government, followed by a Sinn Féin-led Coalition without either of the other two parties (22%).
One of the biggest stories of the day is that Gerry “The Monk” Hutch is very much in the running in Dublin Central.
Tallies have him sitting fourth in a four-seater constituency, though he faces stiff competition for the final seat from Labour’s Marie Sherlock and Fianna Fáil’s Mary Fitzpatrick, who are both trailing him but may both be more transfer friendly.
In contrast, former MEP Clare Daly looks like she’s out of the running in the same constituency.
Tallies have her in fourth-last with just 4% of first-preferences (though this isn’t official yet because counting hasn’t officially started).
Despite Ireland electing the country’s first-ever far-right politicians during the local elections in June, the movement isn’t getting a similar bounce in the general election.
Tallying shows that they’re performing badly for the most part - with most of the more than 70 far-right candidates identified by The Journal looking like they’ll poll 2% or lower.
The exceptions are Ireland First leader Derek Blighe and Independents Malachy Steenson, Gavin Pepper, Stephen Kerr, and Elaine Mullally, who all tallied more than 4%.
Counting has begun in Limerick, where there was speculation that the ballot could be deemed void last night.
It emerged candidates names did not appear in alphabetical order on some ballot papers, as required by legislation.
That declaration could still come in future, for what it’s worth.
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