IRELAND faces weeks of coalition talks before a new government can be formed, as the two major right-wing parties work to form a stable administration in the wake of Friday’s general election.

With all 174 legislative seats filled after three days of vote-counting, Fianna Fail had 48 seats and Fine Gael 38. The two parties, who have governed in coalition since 2020, fell just short of the 88 needed to achieve a majority without third-party support.

“The people have spoken. Let us now get on with the work,” said Fianna Fail leader Micheal Martin.

Pro-Irish reunification party Sinn Fein won 39 seats in the Dail, parliament’s lower house, but it is unlikely to join the next government. 

Both Fine Gael and Fianna Fail have long refused to work with Sinn Fein, partly because of its historic ties to the IRA during the Northern Ireland Troubles.

“The outcome of the election is now clear. The numbers are there for Fianna Fail and Fine Gael to form a government together,” said Sinn Fein MP Eoin O Broin, adding that such a coalition would be “the worst possible outcome for the people of the country.”

Fianna Fail and Fine Gael formed an alliance after the 2020 election ended in a virtual dead heat. This time the combined share of the vote for the two parties has declined to just over 40 per cent.

Needing support to command a majority in parliament, they could turn to the Social Democrats and the Irish Labour Party, which both increased their seat totals to 11 each, or to independent MPs.

Fianna Fail deputy leader Jack Chambers said that coalition talks would require “time and space,” making it unlikely  that there will be a new government before Christmas.

The new administration will face huge pressure to ease rising homelessness and better absorb a growing number of asylum-seekers.

Despite considerable focus on immigration, independents who campaigned against it made few breakthroughs.