IRISH TIMES EXIT POLL: FIANNA FÁIL, SINN FÉIN AND INDEPENDENTS GAIN, FINE GAEL AND LABOUR DOWN

IT’S INDEPENDENTS DAY in the General Election as the country shunned bigger parties, an exit poll by the Irish Times tonight shows.

The poll indicates the first preference votes of the parties is: Fine Gael 26.1 per cent; Labour 7.8 per cent; Fianna Fáil 22.9 per cent; Sinn Féin 14.9; AAA/PBP 3.6 per cent; Greens 3.5 per cent; Social Democrats 2.8 per cent; Renua 2.6 per cent; Others 28.3 per cent.

At the last election in 2011, Fianna Fáil took 17 per cent of the first preference vote so the exit poll puts them up 5.9 per cent, Sinn Féin had 10 per cent (up 4.9 per cent this time) and Others 17 per cent – other are up 11.3 per cent.

The 2016 General Election Exit Poll was conducted exclusively on behalf of The Irish Times by Ipsos MRBI, among a national sample of 5,260 voters at 200 polling stations throughout all constituencies in the Republic of Ireland.

Turn-out in Donegal is expected to be around 63 per cent; with slightly less in Sligo/Leitrim

The full poll is here:

http://www.irishtimes.com/news/politics/election-2016-irish-times-exit-poll-shows-coalition-well-short-of-overall-majority-1.2550489