The counting of election votes begins at 9.00am with the exit poll showing a three way tie.
The exit poll of more than 5,000 people shows Fine Gael, Sinn Féin and Fianna Fáil all on 22% support.
The RTÉ/Irish Times survey has the Greens on 7.9%, Labour on 4.6%, the Social Democrats on 3.4%, Solidarity People Before Profit on 2.8% and Independents and others with 14.5%
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A status orange wind warning is in place for the whole country this morning.
Storm Ciara arrived at 5.00am.
It will see winds with speeds of 65 to 80km/h and gusts generally up to 130km/h - along with a significant risk of coastal flooding.
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A man, who killed 21 people at a shopping centre in Thailand, has been shot dead by police.
The country's health minister says 42 others have been injured.
The gunman was identified by police as a soldier who stole weapons from his military base, before filming a lot of the attack on social media.
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More people have been killed by the new coronavirus than the 2003 SARS outbreak, according to latest figures.
A total of 813 people have died from the coronavirus , compared to 774 killed by SARS - or Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome.
Both are types of coronavirus which originated in China and virologists say they are genetically close.
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Six men have been arrested after a burglary at a shop in Monaghan town in the early hours of yesterday morning.
Gardaí later stopped a car, and seized a sledge hammer along with €50,000 worth of stolen electronic devices.
Five men aged from 19 to 30 are in custody at Monaghan Garda station - along with a sixth man who is being questioned at Carrickmacross.
