Fianna Fáil leader Micheal Martin has issued an eve of polling appeal to voters thinking of supporting independents to instead back his party.
He said this would ensure that there is a broad agreement in Dáil Éireann on the type of policies being pursued to ensure economic recovery.
"I would ask people to reflect on it [voting for independents] - I don't want to dictate to people but in my view, particularly people who voted Fianna Fáil in the past, I would ask them to reflect on that and to give their vote to the Fianna Fáil candidate," he said.
"I say that on the basis I think Fianna Fáil will be a vital force in the next parliament and can make a vital contribution to national policy and implementing the kinds of ideas that will help Ireland recover - we would argue independents can't do that as effectively as a party."
Speaking in Cork where he attended a promotion for Youth Mental Health, Mr Martin rejected poll forecasts and predicted that Fianna Fáil would win a seat in every constituency.
He identified the decision of so many established TDs stepping down as a particular difficulty for the party's bid to retain seats. He also conceded that the economic situation and last December's budget had impacted on how people will vote.
"That [sitting TDs retiring] is a factor - when some of your Premiership players come off the team, that makes it far more challenging and you very quickly adopt the role of underdog in an election campaign," he said. "But also the economic context and crisis we are in is a factor along with a very tough budget that did impact on people and did affect people's incomes - they too are big factors along with the fact that senior people are not contesting the election this time out in several constituencies."
Mr Martin said that while it was clear national rather than local issues dominated on the doorstep during the campaign, it would be premature to say that tomorrow's election would mark the end of parish pump politics for Ireland.
"It remains to be seen if this election marks the end of parish pump politics - I suppose part of the historian in me would say, never rush into immediate analysis of events like this - I just look at the field of candidates - there are as good parish pump politics as ever.
"If you look at the independents, many of them are fighting on the basis of their constituency and local issues and that's a feature of politics in generally - Tipp O'Neill did say all politics is local at the end of the day.
"We did sense in this campaign that people we spoke want public representatives to focus on the national issues in this campaign and in the Dáil and that's why we proposed a change in the electoral system for example, moving from a multi-seat PR system to a list system."
Mr Martin said his task was not just about winning seats in the election but about rebuilding Fianna Fáil. "I have made it clear throughout this campaign that I am not just about the election itself. I am about renewing and rebuilding Fianna Fáil so that it can contribute constructively to the future of the country as a vital political force in the best traditions of the party."
