FF faces battle with Sinn Féin for 'third place' in Election 2011

The first official counts of Election 2011 are due in the next few hours, with early indications that Fianna Fáil is facing a wipe-out, and will be battling for third place overall with Sinn Féin.

Fine Gael is set to win its first election in a generation, while Labour will also have its best electoral performance ever.

From early morning and the first figures to emerge, it quickly became clear that Fine Gael were in pole position to lead the next Government.

In Enda Kenny's Mayo home, the party look set to get four out of five seats, and are also looking likely to pick up a historic levels of seats right across the country.

It is now expected Fine Gael will end the day with more than 70 seats, shy of the overall majority.

Labour has secured about one in five votes nationally, and possibly as many as one in three in Dublin, and could get 40 seats.

After 80 years of dominance of Irish politics, Fianna Fáil is battling with Sinn Féin to be the biggest party in Opposition. Both will probably end with seat numbers in the teens.

In Dublin, FF may be left with a single seat - that of Finance Minister Brian Lenihan in Dublin West.

Independents will also have a good day - Mick Wallace in Wexford, Shane Ross in Dublin South, Clare Daly in Dublin North and Ming Flanagan in Roscommon/Sth Leitrim all likely to gain or retain seats.

With 20 or more seat wins possible, independents could be the largest body in opposition in the 31st Dáil.