Two million vote in Irish general election

Counting in the Republic of Ireland's election is due to begin at 09:00 local time on Saturday.

The early indications are that there was a turnout of about 66%.

An exit poll commissioned by the Irish Times suggests that Fine Gael will remain the largest party with 26%.

However Fianna Fáil, the main opposition, appears to be close behind on 23%.

Mark Devenport reports.