Fine Gael looks set to gain two seats in the five-seat Carlow Kilkenny constituency.
John Paul Phelan, who missed out narrowly on a seat last time out in 2007, topped the poll with 10,929 first preference votes.
His running mate, Fine Gael’s director of elections and outgoing TD, Phil Hogan, is just behind him on 10,525 first preference votes.
Fellow Fine Gael candidate Pat Deering, a Carlow-based councillor, also polled well with 7,470 first preferences. Heis expected to take a third seat for the party.
Fianna Fail’s often outspoken outgoing TD John McGuinness is also expected to take a seat, having polled 9,531 first preferences.
His running mate and outgoing TD Bobby Aylward also did well with 6,762 first preferences, but at this early stage Labour’s Ann Phelan, a Kilkenny councillor, is thought likely to take the fifth seat. She got 8,072 first preference votes.
No candidate reached the 12,291 quota after the first count. The second count is now underway.
Mr Hogan said the result was a foregone conclusion. “There is no doubt about the outcome in the Carlow Kilkenny constituency at 6.45pm. It’s three Fine Gael, one Labour and one Fianna Fail,” he said.
The deputy leader of the Green Party and outgoing TD Mary White will lose her seat after getting just 2,072 first preference votes.
Meanwhile Conor MacLiam, the husband of the late Suzie Long, failed to make any real impact for the United Left Alliance. He polled 1,135 first preferences.
The result here, like elsewhere, will be a massive disappointment for Fianna Fail, which won three seats in this two county constituency last time out. These were won by Mr McGuinness, Mr Aylward, and MJ Nolan, who did not contest this election.