Voters go to the polls today in the Meath and Kildare North byelections. Polls open at 7am in both constituencies and will remain open until 10pm.
Some 64,901 people are entitled to vote in Kildare North, with 120,656 registered to vote in Meath. Byelection turnout is traditionally low, but after substantial campaigns in both constituencies, there are hopes that up to 50 per cent of voters could turn out.
Voters must bring some form of identification with them, which can range from a driving licence to a passport or employment ID card. They may also use a cheque book or credit card, as long as they also have proof that they live in the constituency.
Manual counting of votes will begin at 9am tomorrow, with party tallymen who watch the sorting of votes likely to make predictions by mid-morning. First count results are not expected until the afternoon with the final declaration of the result not coming until the evening or possibly late into the night.
Fianna Fáil will try to become the first Government party to win a byelection since 1982. The outcome of the two contests will have a significant impact on Government morale as it seeks to recover from last year's dismal local government and European Parliament election results. It is also likely to affect the internal debate in Labour on whether to form a pre-election pact with Fine Gael.
The five seat Meath constituency returned three Fianna Fáil deputies and two Fine Gael TDs in the 2002 general election. The byelection was necessitated by the departure of Fine Gael's John Bruton to become the EU representative in Washington. Meath was a pilot constituency for electronic voting at the last general election. Votes will be counted manually this time round at Simonstown Gaels GAA Club in Navan.
Fianna Fáil's candidate in Meath, Shane Cassells, is seen as having a serious chance of breaking the 23-year pattern, although Fine Gael's Shane McEntee is also challenging strongly to retain the seat of former party leader John Bruton.
Sinn Féin's Joe Reilly and Labour's Dominic Hannigan have also mounted strong campaigns, but activists in most parties privately agree that they are likely to be contesting third place.
Sirena Campbell of the Progressive Democrats, the Green Party's Fergal O'Byrne and independent candidate Liam O Gogain are the other candidates in Meath.
The parties agree that Kildare North is more open, with most seeing Labour's Paddy McNamara and Leixlip-based independent Catherine Murphy as the front-runners.
The constituency returned one Fianna Fail TD, one Fine Gaeler and one Labour deputy at the 2002 general election. The by-election was caused by the appointment of the former Minister for Finance Charlie McCreeevy as EU commissioner.
Fianna Fáil believes its candidate, Áine Brady, has a chance, while Fine Gael maintains its candidate, Cllr Darren Scully, has put in a strong campaign.
The Progressive Democrats are running Kate Walsh, while JJ Power is contesting the constituency for the Green Party. Independents Seanán Ó Coistín and Gerry Browne are also running.
Counting in the Kildare North constituency will take place in Naas GAA club.