The protracted process of counting votes in Ireland’s General Election will begin as an exit poll put the three main parties virtually tied.

Fianna Fáil Health Minister Stephen Donnelly currently sits in seventh position for the four-seater, with independents Shay Cullen and Gerry O’Neill in fifth and sixth.

The two main parties in the outgoing Irish government have again ruled out Sinn Fein as a potential coalition partner in the next government. The leaders of Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael and Sinn Féin were taking part in a TV debate just days before the general election.