As the ballot boxes are opened and counting begins around the country, we examine politicians’ reactions to last night’s exit poll.

Fine Gael has been engulfed by infighting over candidates breaking rules set by party HQ over where they could canvass in the final, frantic days of a ‘bumpy’ General Election campaign.

Stakes were high for the main political parties of Fine Gael, Fianna Fáil and Sinn Féin going into this election, with polls showing them neck and neck.

A nationwide exit poll has revealed Fine Gael and Sinn Féin are deadlocked at the top, with Fianna Fáil narrowly behind in a tight three-way race. The poll indicates that Sinn Féin has received 21.1% of first preference votes,

Fine Gael (21 per cent) and Fianna Fáil (19.5 per cent) are virtually neck-and-neck in terms of first-preference votes in the general election, according to an exit poll. The Social Democrats are on 5.

The results of the poll, conducted by Ipsos B&A today for The Irish Times/RTÉ/TG4/TCD, and released just after polls closed, are as follows: Sinn Féin 21.1 per cent, Fianna Fáil 19.5 per cent, Fine Gael 21 per cent,