led by mary—lou mcdonald, they're seen as socialist party and are strong advocates of uniting the irish elections use a system where candidates are ranked in terms of preference. it means a lot of counting and the possibility of another coalition government. lets ta ke lets take you to my colleague, caitriona perry, whojoins us now from ireland. n caitriona perry, who “oins us now from irelandh caitriona perry, who “oins us now from ireland. i am speaking to ou now from ireland. i am speaking to you from _ now from ireland. i am speaking to you from the _ now from ireland. i am speaking to you from the north-east - now from ireland. i am speaking to you from the north-east of i to you from the north—east of ireland, from county louth. this county is one of the north—eastern ones that borders with northern ireland. those issues you mentioned around housing, cost of living, health care, immigration are all big issues for voters here. the imf estimates, just to give you an example, that the average irish households would have to save for 15 years to be able to afford a house or home of an

led by micheal martin — he's the tanaiste, the deputy prime minister — and sinn fein, led by mary lou mcdonald ireland. let's go to stephen. welcome to tullamore in county offaly, where we have been chatting to people about what's on their minds ahead of the election and for lots of young people, it is housing. rents and the cost of buying a place here is among the highest in the eu, and some young people have told us that they have considered leaving the country because it is so expensive. now, polls open tomorrow at 7am and the system here is different — you can vote for multiple people to represent your area. in previous elections, parties have had to work together to form a government, so it might be a while until we know who is going to run the country for the next few yea rs. in other news — australia will ban under 165 from using social media. the australian prime minister says it will protect young people, but critics are not sure. in the uk, ofcom found a fifth of children use a fake age on social media. and there's just time for ten seconds of flop the penguin. —— a penguin at dudley

with his coalition partner of the last four years, the fianna fall leader micheal martin, and mary—lou mcdonaldlections use a system where candidates are ranked in terms of preference. it means a lot of counting and the possibility of another coalition government. my colleague caitriona perry is in drogheda. good to see you. i was talking to a couple of voters yesterday, one of them a first—time voter. both of them said they still haven't decided who they were going to vote for on friday. are you finding a lot of undecided people as you talk to voters in drogheda there today?— talk to voters in drogheda there today? that is a good oint there today? that is a good point because _ there today? that is a good point because the - there today? that is a good point because the opinion l there today? that is a good - point because the opinion polls are showing that the three biggest parties, sinn fein, fianna fail and fine gael, are more or less all around equal levels of support, but when you are out and about talking to people, it is exactly that, people, it is exactly that, people say they are unde

we heard from the sinn fein leader mary lou mcdonald and she intends trying to form a government that hear now from simon harris. he is the leader of the fine gael party and he spoke a while ago about how many more hours there are still to go. i think we have a while to go yet — i think we have a while to go yet in — i think we have a while to go yet. in many ways it could be this_ yet. in many ways it could be this time _ yet. in many ways it could be this time tomorrow before we are getting a clearer picture. but what _ are getting a clearer picture. but what i do know is this. fine — but what i do know is this. fine gael_ but what i do know is this. fine gael was in a competitive position — fine gael was in a competitive position. we are on track to top — position. we are on track to top the _ position. we are on track to top the poll and at least ten constituencies. that is a significant increase was that we are — significant increase was that we are gaining seats where we haven't — we are gaining seats where we haven't had them in many a year. — haven't had them in many a year, i

the main opposition party currently is sinn fein, a left—wing party led by mary lou mcdonald, which is republic of ireland. that's not a fitted to be one of the main issues in the campaign, the full so there really are three. one is housing, the cost of renting or buying a home is externally hot and all particles of the get the best solution to the housing crisis. for the first time immigration has become a mainstream critical issue in ireland over the last year or so, then also the last year or so, then also the wider economy. on paper, ireland is rich bringing in billions of euros in corporation taxes for multinational companies who have got european bases in ireland, but one key question is how much citizens, voters, people on the ground in the community are feeling the benefits of these holding public finances and also whether donald trump ozment presidency could make a difference to foreign direct investment in ireland. three weeks from now until polling day. weeks from now until polling da . . ~ weeks from now until polling da . ., ~' ~ weeks from now until polling da. .mg . ., w

the sinn fein leader mary lou mcdonald would aim to put together a coalition with other left—wing partiese current prime minister, known as the taoiseach, is simon harris of fine gael. he has ruled out sharing power with sinn fein. so has his main partner in the last government, the fianna fail leader micheal martin. the centre—right parties are hopeful they will return to office together. in terms of the regional analysis and i suppose the early indications are that we are competing well, and i think we are well disposed in many constituencies and certainly in the mix, which is an early positive sign at this point. the number of independent candidates who are elected could also be pivotal. for politicians and voters, the outlook for this country is unpredictable. chris page, bbc news, dublin. a memorial service for the former first minister of scotland, alex salmond, has been taking place in edinburgh. around 400 people attended the invitation—only event at st giles' cathedral. alex salmond died last month in north macedonia at the age of 69. there have been a few speakers at the memoria

with his coalition partner of the last four years, the fianna fail leader micheal martin, and mary—lou mcdonaldo, let's take a closer look at those key parties in ireland's election. traditionally, irish politics have been dominated here's the take of our correspondent caitriona perry in drogheda. they are, ben. the three main parties, as you say, the three biggest parties fianna fail, fine gael and sinn fein — all in and around 20—21%, according to the latest opinion poll from the irish times. here, the two parties currently in government, fianna fail and fine gael with the smaller party, the green party, are hoping to keep on to that balance of power. but really, talking to people as you go around county louth, as we have done today, a county on the border with northern ireland, there's a lot of people who really haven't made up their minds yet. here in ireland — not dissimilar to the situation in many other countries — there's a cost of living crisis, a housing crisis. people feel that they're working hard. the unemployment rate here in ireland isjust in and around 4%, which is more or less

partner micheal martin who was also taoiseach earlier in the coalition government's turn and mary lou mcdonald the irish parliament since the election in 2020. during that time sinn fein has also become the biggest party in northern ireland, and it would push hard for a referendum on irish unity by 2030 if it did take power here in dublin. but even if sinn fein were to win the most seats in the irish parliament for the first time, it could well still have an uphill task in assembling a coalition of other left—wing parties which would command an overall majority. so the results of that exit poll from the irish national broadcaster and trinity college dublin put sinn fein on 21.1%, fine gael on 21% and fianna fail on 19.5%. we should get the total number may be by tomorrow evening, but then the counting will continue on into sunday when transfers, second, third and fourth preferences will come into play, and the margins of victory and defeat could be very small indeed. all right, chris, thank you very much. downing street says the prime minister accepted louise haigh's resignation as transport s

sinn fein leader mary lou mcdonald has fielded more candidates this time, though, aiming to form a governmentwithout the two traditional powerhouses. an exit poll at 10:00 pm will offer the first glimpse of what ireland's next government could look like . next government could look like. russia is waging a staggeringly reckless campaign of sabotage across the uk. that's according to britain's m16 chief richard moore. in a speech in paris, he warned that putin's actions are not just aimed at ukraine but are threatening european and transatlantic security. he's also highlighted russia's nuclear threats. he says they're designed to scare nations into backing down from supporting kyiv . moore also stressed the kyiv. moore also stressed the high cost of failing to aid ukraine, warning that if putin succeeds, other adversaries like china and north korea could be emboldened, while his comments today come as intelligence reports show a rise in russian sabotage efforts targeting the west , and the sabotage efforts targeting the west, and the wait is over. notre dame's grand revival is finally on displ

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we were speaking to mary lou mcdonald earlier and she said _ lou mcdonald earlier and she said she _smaller left—leaning parties. you a government with the smaller left-leaning parties.— left-leaning parties. you are potentially — left-leaning parties. you are potentially looking _ left-leaning parties. you are potentially looking to - left-leaning parties. you are potentially looking to those l potentially looking to those same parties to buoy up yourself and fianna fail. can yourself and fianna fail. can you make a government? i do you make a government? i do believe that _ you make a government? i do believe that that _ you make a government? i do believe that that we _ you make a government? i do believe that that we would be able — believe that that we would be able to — believe that that we would be able to form a stable government here in ireland. it will take — government here in ireland. it will take a _ government here in ireland. it will take a little bit of time. as you _ will take a little bit of time. as you said yourself a few moments ago we are only in the very— momen