The possibilities for the formation of a government when the 30 thDail sits for the first time next week remain uncertain, with both Fianna Fáil leader Bertie Ahern and Fine Gael leader Enda Kenny both still insisting they can form a working coalition.
In the May 24 thgeneral election, Fianna Fáil returned with 78 seats, including that of the Ceann Comhairle Dr Rory O'Hanlon.
Fine Gael has a total of 51 seats and Labour, with which FG made a pre-election coalition pact dubbed the Alliance for Change, has 20.
The Green Party returned to the Dail with six seats, the same number it held in the previous Dail, after it lost one in Cork South Central but gained one in Carlow-Kilkenny.
Sinn Féin holds four seats, having lost one in the election.
There are five independents, including former Fine Gael minister Michael Lowry, who was expected to support a Fianna Fail-led coalition with the Greens. The two so-called Fianna Fail 'gene pool' independents, Jackie Healy Rae in Kerry South and Beverley Flynn in Mayo, were also expected to back Mr Ahern.
Independents Tony Gregory of the Dublin Central constituency and Finian McGrath of Dublin North Central, had been contacted by Fianna Fail last week with the party trying to sound them out for their support.
Those independents, along with Mr Healy Rae in particular, are likely to seek a 'shopping list' of promises for their respective constituencies in order to secure their support.
Mr Gregory famously supported former Fianna Fáil leader Charles Haughey in government in 1982 when Mr Haughey failed to win an overall majority. The Gregory deal secured significant investment for the independent TDs Dublin Central constituency, which included large areas suffering from social deprivation and under-investment.
A Fianna Fáil/Labour coalition, which would give Mr Ahern clear stability in government, has been so far ruled out by Labour Party leader Pat Rabbitte. Although Mr Rabbitte hedged the question of whether he would go into government with Fianna Fáil for many months before the election, he finally and firmly ruled out such a deal in an interview in the days prior to the May 24 thpoll when he said his answer to any such proposal would be: "Forget it Bertie."
Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael both say they will refuse to go into government with the support of Sinn Féin under any circumstances.
Senior Fianna Fáil ministers, including Brian Cowen and Willie O'Dea, said before the election they would rather go into opposition than into governement with Sinn Féin.