Ireland goes to the polls today in a vote that looks closer than previously expected after prime minister Simon Harris lost the momentum that motivated him to call the the snap general election just three weeks ago.

A fumbled meeting with a voter may dent Simon Harris’s popularity. But his coalition government’s main opposition, the nationalist party Sinn Fein, will likely remain locked out of power.

Voting got under way in Ireland on Friday in a  general election in which the two centre-right coalition partners are neck-and-neck with opposition party Sinn Fein after a campaign marked by rancour over housing and cost-of-living crises.

Ireland is voting in a parliamentary election that will determine the country's next government; voters are selecting more than 170 lawmakers to sit in the Dail.

Polls opened at 7 a.m.. (0700GMT), and Ireland’s 3.8 million voters are selecting 174 lawmakers to sit in the Dail, the lower house of parliament. Here’s a look at the parties, the issues and the likely outcome.