Political parties have been making last-ditch attempts to attract votes across the country on the eve of Ireland’s General Election.

All the parties and independent candidates spent the final hours of the short but busy campaign appealing to the public to cast their votes.

The polls will open at 7am and close at 10pm on Friday, with a total of 174 seats in the country’s parliament to be filled.

The latest opinion poll ahead of the General Election shows the country’s three largest parties remain in a tight race.

The Red C-Business Post survey shows support for Fianna Fail unchanged at 21%, only slightly ahead of its coalition partner, Fine Gael, which is down two percentage points at 20% and now neck and neck with the largest opposition party, Sinn Fein, which has gained two.

Speaking on the final day of the campaign, Taoiseach Simon Harris urged the public to transfer their votes to other “centrist parties”.

Meanwhile, Sinn Fein leader Mary Lou McDonald urged the public to transfer their vote to left parties including Social Democrats and People Before Profit.

Speaking outside Government Buildings, Ms McDonald said: “I’ve said that I want people to transfer to other parties that are interested in change.

“I think each constituency will differ but I think we can identify parties like the Social Democrats that we would share ideas on housing and other policies on.

“People Before Profit candidates of the left, some independent candidates. It depends.

“It varies from constituency to constituency, and it’s not for me to tell people how to vote, bar to ask them in the first instance to vote for Sinn Fein.”

Mr Harris said he wants the public to consider who will form a “stable government” when they are voting, asking whether the country would want to have “50 or 60” independent TDs in the Dail.

Mr Harris said it is not his place to tell people who to transfer their vote to, but urged them to consider the make-up of the government after the election.

Speaking to the PA news agency on Thursday, Mr Harris said he was asking people to consider carefully which candidates they would give a preference to on the ballot paper on Friday.

“The point I am making is… of course I am asking people to vote for my party, to vote Fine Gael, and in the areas where we are running more than one candidate, to continue your vote for the rest of the Fine Gael candidates,” he said.

“But I am also very conscious that, when the election is over, whatever people decide is the decision, it is important that a stable government can be formed, and I have been making the point to people that my party has shown the ability to work well with other parties and I’m hoping that people would transfer their votes to other parties.

“There has been many good independent TDs in this country – I don’t make a pejorative comment at all in relation to any independent TD – but I do make the point, do we want to make up the Dail with 40 or 50, 60 independent TDs and how do we form a stable government if that is the backdrop?

“That is very much the point I am making. I am not going to tell people – it is not my place – as to who to transfer to, but I would hope people would consider, in their vote, who would form a government at the end of all of this.”

Tanaiste and Fianna Fail leader Micheal Martin said that forming a “coherent”, “stable” government that would last the next four-and-a-half years was “an important consideration”.

“But ultimately it is a matter for the people. I would never be over-prescriptive in saying to people who are exercising their democratic rights, it’s up to people to do that,” he said.

Speaking in Greystones, Co Wicklow, ahead of a canvass with Fianna Fail minister Stephen Donnelly, Mr Martin described the election campaign as “competitive” and “fragmented”.

He said: “Transfers are going to be crucial and I’m saying to our candidates, campaign for the number ones, but campaign for the twos, threes, fours and fives as well. They’re going to be crucial in terms of the destination of final seats in constituencies across the country.

“So we’re going into this final two days positive but really understanding the competitive nature of this election.”

Mr Harris also admitted his party faced “a couple of bumps” during the election campaign.

“We hit a couple of bumps along the way and I’ve been honest in relation to – to err is to be human and it’s how you respond to that is important,” he said in Dublin on Thursday.

“This election is about issues. This election is about what we are going to do to make life better for people, what are we going to do to keep the economy safe, how are we going to help with the cost of living, how are we going to build more homes?”

He said that he had discussed and debated the issues and spoken to people across the country over the past three weeks.

“This is all to play for,” he said.

“Best of luck to everyone. As President (Barack) Obama said to Sarah Palin when he rang her up when she was put on John McCain’s ticket as vice president, I wish you luck, but not too much.”

Meanwhile, Green Party leader Roderic O’Gorman said that smaller parties and independents will be “pivotal” in the make-up of the next government.

“When you look at the polls, it’s very clear that smaller parties and independents are going to be crucial in the formation of the next government,” he said on Friday.

“I think come Saturday evening, Sunday probably we are going to have a real sense of how pivotal smaller parties will be. I think, irrespective of the lean of the parties, smaller parties will be pivotal.

“So them the question is, what sort of small party do you want in there? Do you want a progressive party like the Green Party, that shows it delivered on its priorities but also created stability. Or do you want parties that are going to bring us to the right, whether it’s anti-climate, anti-choice, anti-equality but also are so incoherent in themselves that you won’t have that element of stability.

“The path towards power and government and policy for the Green Party is demonstrating our track record of deliver of our policies but also giving stability and being a grown partner within a government.”