The Cork man was re-elected after the 18th count in the 10-county constituency.

Kathleen Funchion got 61 per cent of transfers from her running mate Paul Gavan’s eliminated share.

‘We are extremely careful,’ returning officer Martin Harvey said on the fourth day of counting in Cork.

Returning officer Martin Harvey said that once candidates are eliminated, each count will take around an hour.

Sinn Féin TD Kathleen Funchion said that transfer votes will be ‘a key part’ of how the count plays out.

Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael have held steady at 23 per cent of first preference votes in the local elections