Labour’s Ivana Bacik is likely to win the Dublin Bay South by-election.
A first count is not expected until around 3pm but the tallies already suggest Bacik is ahead of all other candidates.
A full tally now predicts Bacik will top the poll in the first count with 30.4% of first preference votes.
James Geoghegan is on 26%, with Sinn Fein’s Lynn Boylan on nearly 16%.
While the Green Party’s candidate Claire Byrne is on just under 8%.
There is expected to be massive disappointment for Fianna Fáil as their candidate as tallies show Deirdre Conroy has secured just under 5%.
Speaking at the count centre at the RDS, the Labour party’s director of elections Duncan Smith said: “It’s our hope that the afternoon will play out with an ending with Ivana Bacik as the next TD for Dublin Bay South.
“She’s been an exceptional candidate and the Labour party have run an exceptional campaign.
“We have a hope and expectation that we’ll be able to see this through the counts.
“I’m cautiously optimistic, nothing is done until all counts.”
The by-election will undoubtedly be a setback and a blow to Fine Gael and leader Tanáiste Leo Varadkar.
The party had hoped that their candidate, James Geoghegan would retain the seat held by former TD and housing minister Eoghan Murphy who resigned his Dáil seat in April.
