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

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?

The margin of error in the poll is around 1.4 percent, so there appears to be nothing between the main parties ahead of the counting of votes, which gets under way at 9am on Saturday.

The pollsters asked voters who their preference for Taoiseach would be - and the Fianna Fáil leader came out on top, just about. Martin garnered 35 per cent of that particular vote with Mary Lou McDonald on 34 per cent and Simon Harris lagging behind on 27 per cent.

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.

Fine Gael (21 per cent) and Fianna Fáil (19.5 per cent) are virtually neck-and-neck in terms of first-preference votes in the general election, according to an exit poll. The Social Democrats are on 5.

The results of the poll, conducted by Ipsos B&A today for The Irish Times/RTÉ/TG4/TCD, and released just after polls closed, are as follows: Sinn Féin 21.1 per cent, Fianna Fáil 19.5 per cent, Fine Gael 21 per cent,