LATEST: Exit poll suggests final result of General Election is 'too close to call'
Fine Gael, Sinn Fein and Fianna Fail separated by just 1.6% as more than 5,000 voters are interviewed
A new exit poll, based on more than 5,000 in-person interviews, suggests Fine Gael and Sinn Féin are virtually tied following the closing of polls in the General Election.
The exit poll, carried out by Ipsos Behaviour and Attitudes for RTÉ, The Irish Times, TG4 and Trinity College Dublin, indicates the two parties and Fianna Fail are separated by just 1.6%.
The headline results of the exit polls were released just after 10pm on Friday - after the polls had closed in all 43 constituencies around the country.
Based on the answers provided by 5,018 voters outside polling stations, Fine Gael are on 21%; Fianna Fáil 19.5% and Sinn Féin 21.1%.
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The exit poll, which has a margin of error of 1.4%, indicates Green Party first preference support stands at 4%; Labour at 5%; the Social Democrats at 5.8%; People Before Profit-Solidarity at 3.1%; and Independents at 12.7%, Independent Ireland 2.2% with others on 1.9%.
Based on the poll, the first preference vote of both Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil stands at 40.5% - lower than the 43% they polled in the 2020 General Election.
Three polls over the past week suggested that the three largest parties were running neck-and-neck, and this Exit Poll appears to confirm that position.
Following the closing of polls at 10pm, ballot boxes are being brought to count centres across the country with the counting of votes set to begin at 9am on Saturday.
Follow our live blog across the weekend for updates and analysis.