As the final seats of the 30th Dáil were filled today the focus switched to the coalition options available to Taoiseach Bertie Ahern for an historic third term in office.
Fianna Fáil defied predictions of major seat losses after Thursday's vote and it appears the party will take 78 seats out of 166. Fine Gael is set to make significant gains with a total of 51 seats. Labour is expected to take 20 or 21, the Green Party will have six, the PDs will have two, and Sinn Féin either three or four.
Taoiseach Bertie Ahern during an interview on RTE late last night
There will be around five independents, a significant reduction on the total in the previous Dáil.Fianna Fáil must now search for a coalition party to achieve the 83 seats needed for a majority government, with the PD-only option effectively ruled out because of its poor showing.
Fianna Fáil could form a minority government relying on the support of "gene-pool" independent TDs, Jackie Healy-Rae and Beverley Flynn, as well two PDs, Mary Harney and Noel Grealish.
Other options include a deal with Labour or with the Green Party.
Speaking on RTÉ radio today, Mr Ahern said he would take account of how the people had voted in order to form a stable government. "We have to have a programme for government. It's not just a question of doing an arrangement for numbers on the day," he said.
He said that stable government was "important for the image of the country both internally and externally".
During a late-night television interview last night, Mr Ahern said: "It's a great night for Fianna Fáil, it's a great night for the party machine"
He said the election campaign was "far more passionate than 1997 or 2002. "It was tough and you get tired but it was really passionate," he told RTÉ. He also hit out at media for pursuing him over his personal finances.
Mr Ahern refused to be drawn on what he called the "endless" questions on possible coalition options. "Whatever I try to do, and I'm not going to work that out now, my favoured option is to man a stable government for a five year term," he said.
He vowed to "do his best" to see out his next five-year term. "It is a huge honour to be in this position 30 years on in your 10th election," Mr Ahern added.
Minister for Finance and deputy leader of Fianna Fáil Brian Cowen, who polled 19,102 first-preference vote in Laois-Offaly, said earlier it was "premature" to discuss who the party might enter a coalition government with. However, he said they were "interested in continuing with the stability" of an arrangement such as the one they had with the PDs.
However, that party has suffered major losses including the party's leader, Tánaiste Michael McDowell. Mr McDowell lost his seat in Dublin South East and said he was bowing out of public life. Deputy PD leader Liz O'Donnell lost her seat in Dublin South while party president Tom Parlon also lost his seat.
Amid chaotic scenes in the main Dublin count centre in the RDS, Mr McDowell said he was "deeply grateful" to the Irish people for his time as a TD adding: "My period in public life as a public representative is over".
Fianna Fáil has also ruled out coalition with Sinn Féin.
Sinn Féin president Gerry Adams said today the electorate had seen a "two-tier" general election in this campaign, which had been turned into a "referendum" between the two main party leaders Bertie Ahern and Enda Kenny.
On Fianna Fail's campaign, Mr Adams said they were the majority party and that "when they get it right, they get it very right".
Mr Adams said exit polls after Thursday's ballot had been accurate.
People who were voting for Fianna Fáil were also saying they were hugely concerned about public services, issues which were of concern to Sinn Féin.
Mr Adams said it was probably a case of "the divil you know than the divil you don't".
It was clear from early in the day that it was a good election for Fianna Fáil. Labour party leader Pat Rabbitte, who forged an alternative alliance with Fine Gael, admitted at lunchtime that Bertie Ahern would most likely be the next Taoiseach.
Before the first seat was confirmed yesterday morning, bookmaker Paddy Power started paying out to those who bet on Bertie Ahern leading his party into government for an historic third term as taoiseach.
Mr Ahern topped the poll in his Dublin Central constituency, almost doubling the quota with 12,734 first preference votes.