Latest polls shows little separates main parties ahead of Republic's election

Support for Fine Gael has dropped by six percentage points in the Republic of Ireland, according to a new poll from the Irish Times/Ipsos B&A.

It found Fianna Fáil to be the most popular party with 21% share of the vote, while Sinn Féin is second on 20%, and then Fine Gael is third on 19%.

Its findings come just a few days before people go to the polls on Friday 29 November.

The leader of Fine Gael, Simon Harris, has been under pressure after he was forced to apologise for walking away from a disability care worker who said his government had not done enough to help people like her.

He said: "She was absolutely owed an apology from me. The buck stops with me entirely here. We had a very good conversation."

With the race between the three main parties neck and neck, a coalition is the most likely outcome. However, both Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael have ruled out working with Sinn Féin.

The leaders will face off in a final televised debate on RTÉ on Tuesday.

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