Taoiseach Leo Varadkar has told his parliamentary party that school closures may continue until May, raising the prospect that Leaving and Junior Certificate exams could now be cancelled

The prospects of Micheál Martin being the first Fianna Fáil leader not to be taoiseach are increasing, writes Political Correspondent Aoife Moore

The Fianna Fáil leader said he is also open to the idea of a rotating Taoiseach position

"We're willing to talk to all parties, we have a mandate as do other parties, we respect that mandate. A government can be formed if there is a willingness there, if there is a bit of grown-up politics."

Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald has criticised the leaders of Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil for refusing to meet them for government formation talks.

Fianna Fáil leader Micheál Martin has indicated that coalition talks could last for weeks more as he and Taoiseach Leo Varadkar left the door open on forming a government together.

Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald has said gardaí have been alerted to threats made against her.

A fifteen minute phone call between Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald and Fianna Fáil leader Micheál Martin earlier this evening has been described as a conversation which lacked any forward movement.

Tánaiste Simon Coveney has described the verdict of voters as “harsh” and a result of the pubic being “impatient” for more housing and a better health service.

Finance Minister and Fine Gael's director of elections Paschal Donohoe has predicted that his party will still win the most votes in the General Election and possibly even surpass its 2016 record of 50 seats.

Taoiseach Leo Varadkar has said this election will be "one of the most important for generations" and warned voters not to back populist promises and “amadán economics”.

Retiring Independent Alliance Minister John Halligan has said he would like to see Tánaiste Simon Coveney returned to Government.

Taoiseach Leo Varadkar has denied he had any impression that anything untoward had been going on under John Delaney at the FAI during his own tenure as Minister for Sport.

Taoiseach Leo Varadkar launched a blistering attack on Sinn Féin for being “soft on crime” after Mary Lou McDonald failed to state whether she supports the Special Criminal Court in tonight's RTÉ leaders' debate.

Fine Gael ministers believe their party's message will land with voters in the final few days of the election and that, despite falling in the polls, there is still time to turn the party's campaign around.

So, just what in the hell is going on?

One of Fine Gael’s General Election candidates has had nearly 100 of his election posters removed by supporters of his own party.

Fine Gael has promised to allocate €2bn of carbon taxes towards the insulation of old homes as ministers appealed to voters to judge the party on its record in government.

Update: The Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald has said the new opinion poll shows the public's appetite for change ahead of Saturday's general election vote.

Fianna Fáil has criticised Fine Gael's record on housing and promised to usher in a "new era" of home construction and ownership if returned to government.

Fine Gael has pledged that their tax plans are the "fairest" of all parties and will benefit a million workers, unlike Fianna Fail, whose failure to lower rates would cost workers €777.

Micheál Martin has hit out at claims that Fianna Fáil could not manage Brexit if in government and attacked “cynical and desperate” attempts to politicise Britain's EU exit.

Fine Gael Senator Catherine Noone is said to be “mortified and humiliated” after she described Taoiseach Leo Varadkar as “autistic” to a journalist.

Fine Gael’s approach to the 2020 election campaign has been dismissed as “project fear” by the party’s lead opponents, who have described it as “the sign of a party becoming increasingly desperate”.

Former Fine Gael leader Alan Dukes has admitted that the election campaign is “looking very difficult” for his former party after another bruising poll for the outgoing government.

There’s no disguising the fiscal rivalry that lies behind these manifestos, launched within hours of each other. It ripples through every page of the glossy documents.