A second day of counting has concluded after Ireland's general election
All of the Dáil's 160 seats left have been filled, but negotiations to establish a government could be prolonged
Sinn Féin topped the polls with 24.5% of first-preference votes, compared to 22.2% for Fianna Fáil and 20.9% for Fine Gael
But Sinn Féin ran fewer candidates than its rivals, so no one party is able to win enough seats for an outright majority in the main house of the Irish parliament
Sinn Féin's Michelle O'Neill says the Irish election has been "a game changer" for her party.
Speaking from Stormont, she said her party wants to negotiate a government that delivers on their electoral promises.
SF will clearly have asks in terms of the "republican project", she says.
Allow Twitter content?
This article contains content provided by Twitter. We ask for your permission before anything is loaded, as they may be using cookies and other technologies. You may want to read Twitter’s cookie policy, external and privacy policy, external before accepting. To view this content choose ‘accept and continue’.
Allow Twitter content?
This article contains content provided by Twitter. We ask for your permission before anything is loaded, as they may be using cookies and other technologies. You may want to read Twitter’s cookie policy, external and privacy policy, external before accepting. To view this content choose ‘accept and continue’.
Allow Twitter content?
This article contains content provided by Twitter. We ask for your permission before anything is loaded, as they may be using cookies and other technologies. You may want to read Twitter’s cookie policy, external and privacy policy, external before accepting. To view this content choose ‘accept and continue’.
Labour leader Brendan Howlin says the party was "blindsided" by the surge in support for Sinn Féin.
Allow Twitter content?
This article contains content provided by Twitter. We ask for your permission before anything is loaded, as they may be using cookies and other technologies. You may want to read Twitter’s cookie policy, external and privacy policy, external before accepting. To view this content choose ‘accept and continue’.
Sinn Féin's Mairéad Farrell lost her seat last year in the Irish local elections.
But she has just been elected TD in Galway West. It’s a major turnaround.
Aoife-Grace Moore, a Press Association journalist, told RTÉ television that people now seem to be voting for the party and “this big idea”.
She said she had interviewed Mary Lou McDonald who said that after last year, Sinn Féin sat down and “a lot of honesty and home truths were told within the party”.
Allow Twitter content?
This article contains content provided by Twitter. We ask for your permission before anything is loaded, as they may be using cookies and other technologies. You may want to read Twitter’s cookie policy, external and privacy policy, external before accepting. To view this content choose ‘accept and continue’.
Allow Twitter content?
This article contains content provided by Twitter. We ask for your permission before anything is loaded, as they may be using cookies and other technologies. You may want to read Twitter’s cookie policy, external and privacy policy, external before accepting. To view this content choose ‘accept and continue’.
Simon Coveney has told RTÉ Radio that Leo Varadkar should continue as Fine Gael leader.
Image source, RTEHe said that while he has a good relationship with the Sinn Féin leadership, that was different from forming a coalition.
The tánaiste (deputy prime minister) believes Fine Gael can work with parties, including Fianna Fáil, to form a strong government, or else he says his party will be very active in opposition.
Newly-elected Fine Gael TD Neale Richmond has told RTÉ television that it's a "shame" that there may be fewer women in the next Dáil.
Sinn Féin TD Eoin Ó Broin said politics was "a really tough business" and it was "a hard job to get elected and to stay elected".
He said he believed the Dáil has to look at how the political culture can become "more friendly" so the parliament represents the full diversity of society.
Allow Twitter content?
This article contains content provided by Twitter. We ask for your permission before anything is loaded, as they may be using cookies and other technologies. You may want to read Twitter’s cookie policy, external and privacy policy, external before accepting. To view this content choose ‘accept and continue’.
Allow Twitter content?
This article contains content provided by Twitter. We ask for your permission before anything is loaded, as they may be using cookies and other technologies. You may want to read Twitter’s cookie policy, external and privacy policy, external before accepting. To view this content choose ‘accept and continue’.
Allow Twitter content?
This article contains content provided by Twitter. We ask for your permission before anything is loaded, as they may be using cookies and other technologies. You may want to read Twitter’s cookie policy, external and privacy policy, external before accepting. To view this content choose ‘accept and continue’.
Counting is complete in 13 of the 39 constituencies with 78 of the 160 seats filled.
Sinn Féin is currently out in front with 29 seats.
Cabinet ministers Shane Ross, Mary Mitchell O'Connor and Regina Doherty are among those to lose their seats.
BBC Ireland correspondent Chris Page gives his analysis of the state of play as counting resumes in the Irish general election.
Day two election analysis - Chris Page
Ruth Coppinger, Solidarity - People Before Profit - said the loss of her seat was not totally unexpected.
Image source, paBut she told RTÉ's Morning Ireland programme that it was "critical" that Sinn Féin and the Green Party rule out any government arrangement with Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael, adding that it is important to have a socialist voice in the Dáil.
Ah Abba... is this the headline of the Irish election?
Allow Twitter content?
This article contains content provided by Twitter. We ask for your permission before anything is loaded, as they may be using cookies and other technologies. You may want to read Twitter’s cookie policy, external and privacy policy, external before accepting. To view this content choose ‘accept and continue’.
"One quarter of the vote is hardly a stunning endorsement of the idea there should be a border poll," Sir Jeffrey Donaldson, DUP, tells BBC NI's Nolan Show.
