Irish premier Simon Harris has said Fine Gael will gain seats in the General Election despite a further fragmentation of Irish politics. Fine Gael won 35 seats in the 2020 election, but 18 of those TDs did not seek re-election in Friday’s poll.

The outgoing Taoiseach admitted he was relieved when his party received 21% first-preference votes in the exit poll on Friday night

Irish Prime Minister Simon Harris’s party was locked in a virtual dead heat with Sinn Fein in the general election, according to the official exit poll, suggesting his decision to go to the country early did not go as planned.