Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael have been rewarded by voters who believe they have managed the economy well. Buoyed by strong corporation tax receipts, Ireland is running a budget surplus of at least €23 billion (£19 billion). As a result, all parties have committed to substantial increases in public expenditure, both current and capital.

Ireland faces weeks of coalition talks before it gets a new government, as the country’s two major center-right parties work to form a stable administration. With all but a handful of seats filled in the 174-seat legislature on Monday after three days of counting election ballots,

Ireland has proved a partial exception to the anti-incumbent mood in elections around the world. Fianna Fail and Fine Gael, which have dominated Irish politics for a century, remain in the driving seat, though their combined share of the vote has declined to just over 40%.