Dublin: Ireland’s outgoing coalition government is expected to fall short of the majority needed for a second term, a second parliamentary election exit poll indicated on Saturday as counting was set to begin.

The poll for public broadcaster RTE showed Prime Minister Enda Kenny’s Fine Gael party and junior coalition party Labour would take roughly 55 seats between them — far short of the 80 needed for a majority in parliament.

That and an earlier exit poll for the Irish Times newspaper indicated the only viable government could be a union of Fine Gael with runners up Fianna Fail — traditionally bitter rivals who ruled out a deal with each other before the election.

The RTE poll showed a slump in support for both government parties, to 24.8 per cent for Fine Gael compared to 36.1 per cent in the previous election, while junior coalition partners Labour plummeted to 7.1 per cent from 19.5 per cent.

The exit poll surveyed 4,283 people outside 225 polling stations across Ireland.

The Irish Times calculated, based on its exit poll released on Friday, that Fine Gael and Labour may get 58 to 68 seats between them.

The first results are expected later on Saturday after counting gets underway at 0900 GMT, a process that could continue all weekend.