Counting set to get underway

Counting begins this morning in the General Election with Fine Gael expected to take power.

A Millward Browne / Lansdowne exit poll published this morning however suggested Enda Kenny's party will fall short of an overall majority.

The party is on course to lead the next Government on 36.1% support, according to the poll commissioner by RTÉ, which puts Labour in second place on 20.5%.

Fianna Fáil sees its worst electoral performance ever if the survey is accurate, with the party on 15.1% countrywide and just 8% in the capital.

Sinn Féin’s support is put at 10.1%, with outgoing coalition partners the Greens on 2.7% with the Independents and others polling 15.5%

The exit poll interviewed 3,500 voters after casting their ballots outside polling stations across 43 constituencies yesterday.

The same RTE exit poll in the last general election in 2007 was accurate to within 0.5% of the final result.

Ballot boxes will be opened at count centres across the country at 9am with the first results due from mid-afternoon on.

Voter turnout was reported to be one of the highest for many years with officials putting the figure in the region of 70%.

Almost 3.2 million voters were registered to cast their ballots, with more than 550 candidates running for 165 of the 166 seats.

Ceann Comhairle Seamus Kirk is automatically returned.

Mr Kenny will be in his home town of Castlebar, Co Mayo where his party is being tipped to take four of the five seats in the western constituency.

Fianna Fáil leader Micheal Martin will be in Cork with the party, hoping candidates can outperform doom-laden polls which put them at record lows.

Labour is hoping to extend its support further afield than its traditionally strong urban bases.

The Green Party is battling to retain its popularity in Dublin with two former ministers in a fight for political survival.

They are also fighting for the last seats in Louth, Carlow-Kilkenny, Galway West and Cork South Central.

Elsewhere, Sinn Féin is expected to build support with president Gerry Adams giving up a Westminster seat in Belfast to run for the Dáil in Louth while successes in Donegal could see the party extend its influence around the border.