In Pictures: Voters and a pug cast their ballots in the Irish General Election

Sonia Higgins, carrying her dog Chico, arrives to cast her vote in Ireland’s General Election (Brian Lawless/PA) - (PA Wire)

Polls opened at 7am on Friday for voters to decide who will form Ireland’s next government.

Some 174 seats across 43 constituencies in Ireland’s parliament, the Dail, are being contested.

The vote will close at 10pm with counting expected to start on Saturday morning.

A young girl helps put a vote in the ballot box at St Anthony’s Boys’ School, Beechwood Park, Ballinlough, in Cork (Jacob King/PA) (PA Wire)

Sonia Higgins, with her pet pug named Chico, arrives to cast her vote at Deaf Village Ireland (DVI) on Navan Road, Dublin (Brian Lawless/PA) (PA Wire)

Ms Higgins holds up a ballot paper with Chico still under her other arm (Niall Carson/PA) (PA Wire)

Irish President Michael D Higgins casts his vote at St Mary’s Hospital, Phoenix Park, in Dublin (Brian Lawless/PA) (PA Wire)

Mr Higgins and his wife Sabina speak to staff overseeing voting at St Mary’s Hospital (Brian Lawless/PA) (PA Wire)

Taoiseach and Fine Gael leader Simon Harris opted for his wife, Caoimhe, and two children, Saoirse and Cillian, to accompany him to the voting station.

Taoiseach and Fine Gael leader Simon Harris and his wife, Caoimhe, cast their votes at Delgany National School, County Wicklow, with their children (Niall Carson/PA) (PA Wire)

Mr Harris’s children, Cillian and Saoirse, accompanied their parents at the polling station (Niall Carson/PA) (PA Wire)

Saoirse is five years old while Cillian is aged three (Niall Carson/PA) (PA Wire)

Sinn Fein leader Mary Lou McDonald (left) is greeted by Sarah Byrne (right) as she arrives to cast her vote at Deaf Village Ireland on Navan Road (Brian Lawless/PA) (PA Wire)

Ms McDonald faces a wall of photographers and reporters as she dropped her vote into the ballot box (Brian Lawless/PA) (PA Wire)

Tanaiste and Fianna Fail leader Micheal Martin arrives with an umbrella to cast his vote, accompanied by his family (Jacob King/PA) (PA Wire)

Mr Martin speaking to the media as he casts his vote at St Anthony’s Boys’ School, Beechwood Park, Ballinlough, Cork (Jacob King/PA) (PA Wire)

A man drops his vote into a ballot box St Maries of the Isle National School in Cork, watched closely by voting overseers and Father Christmas (Jacob King/PA) (PA Wire)

Voter turnout is expected to be a crucial factor in this General Election, with several opinion polls putting the three biggest parties within touching distance of one another (Brian Lawless/PA) (PA Wire)

This year’s General Election has been described as ‘close-fought’ (Brian Lawless/PA) (PA Wire)