Despite having spent the last four years in Government, the Green Party is potentially facing a total wipeout in the current election.

The protracted process of counting votes in Ireland’s General Election will begin as an exit poll put the three main parties virtually tied.

Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil seem poised to return to power with an exit poll last night indicating that support for the Coalition has held firm. The exit poll – conducted by RTÉ, TG4, The Irish Times and Trinity College Dublin – released last night showed that Sinn Féin are on 21.

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.

Sinn Féin has come back from the disaster of the local elections and showed it will be a force in Irish politics for the foreseeable future, but will not be in government

As nearly 3.7m voters head to the polls, what does the path to power look like for Sinn Féin, Fianna Fáil or Fine Gael?