Irish election: What happens next and who could be the next PM?

The Labour Party and the Social Democrats have both made good gains in the general election.

But both are understood to be wary of becoming the junior member of a predominantly centre-right coalition – given the centre-left party which took that role the last time has suffered a near wipeout at the polls.

The Green Party lost 11 seats, and its leader Roderic O’Gorman is the only survivor of the electoral drubbing.

If the parties on the left choose the opposition benches – Martin and Harris may look to independents for support.

Non-party politicians have a long history of playing a prominent role in Irish politics.

In the past some have been appointed ministers.

Parties are likely to hold internal meetings this week about their standpoint ahead of coalition manoeuvrings.

When early results were declared, Martin highlighted three policy areas he believed parties could coalesce around – enterprise, EU relations and home ownership.