Stability and the status quo look to have won the elections in Ireland as voters back the two main parties in government with over 40 percent of the votes.

Fianna Fail and Fine Gael are likely to form another government providing continuity, despite the possibility of leftist united Ireland party Sinn Fein winning the largest share of votes.

Voting concluded at 10pm on Friday night and the counting began on Saturday morning, but an exit poll of some 5,000 people across the country on Friday has given a clear indication of the outcome.

The poll puts Sinn Fein on 21.1 percent just ahead of Fine Gael on 21 percent and Fianna Fail on 19.5 percent.

Smaller parties and independents received the rest of the votes.

The only clear path to a government looks to be another Fianna Fail - Fine Gael centrist and fiscally conservative coalition which will need to find a third-party to get it over the 88-seat finishing line for a clear majority in the 174-seat Dáil.

With disgruntlement and resistance to the Green Party's climate policies, most watchers see Labour as a potential new partner.

Michael Martin or Mary Lou McDonald preferred choice for taoiseach

The exit poll also asked for a preference for Ireland's next taoiseach and it appears that Fine Gael leader and current taoiseach Simon Harris has fallen out of favour.

Of those 5,000 voters surveyed at polling stations around the country after they placed their vote on Friday, 35 percent checked Fianna Fáil's leader, Micheál Martin, as their preferred new leader of the 34th Dáil.

But Sinn Fein leader Mary Lou McDonald was second, proving that Sinn Fein is now a political fixture in Ireland and not a passing fad. 

She ran a strong campaign as the only alternative to the two parties which have passed power between them for a century now, and 34 percent of people said they wanted her to lead the country – a blow to Harris' hopes of continuing as taoiseach. 

The 38-year-old leader of Fine Gael came third in the exit poll with 27 percent.

Voters overcome anxiety on housing emergency to vote for more of the same

A housing emergency and a cost-of-living-crisis were the biggest issues in this election cycle, but the government has stood behind its fiscally prudent policies and rainy-day funds despite needs for increased funding in public services like housing, healthcare, and public transport.

When CGTN asked one voter why they had given their vote to Fianna Fail in support of the incumbent coalition, they told us: "better the devil you know."