It was a defining week for Irish politics.

Fine Gael and Labour bore the brunt of the backlash from the electorate. Fianna Fáil returned from its five-year holiday, Sinn Féin’s early advantage did not follow through and independents and others are now a large and serious group.

Listen to a discussion of the past day's events in our podcast:

Nearly a week after the country went to the polls, some serious questions remain.

What is the final make-up of the Dáil?

With the exception of two seats in Longford Westmeath, the seats in the 32nd Dáil have now been filled. At the time of going to print, there were four men – James Bannon and Peter Burke of Fine Gael, Willie Penrose from Labour and Paul Hogan of Sinn Féin – battling it out for the remaining two seats.

Despite the two exit polls on Friday and Saturday forecasting doom for the government parties, Fine Gael is still the largest party in Ireland. However, Labour has been decimated. The party must wait longer to see if it will have speaking rights in opposition in the next Dáil. A party or grouping needs seven TDs to have Dáil speaking privileges.

What form will the government take?

This is the big one. If Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael join in coalition then it is most likely to be a government of old with the same values and Sinn Féin the main opposition party.

However, there are permutations such as a Fine Gael or Fianna Fáil minority government with support from the “others”, or something entirely new altogether.

Can the parties and the candidates afford to return to the electorate once more?

A defining week that will be defined once again when the Dáil resumes on 10 March in the attempt to form a government to lead the country.

At the time of going to print, the breakdown of the 156 out of 158 seats were as follows:

Fine Gael 49, Fianna Fáil 44, Sinn Féin 23, Labour 6, AAA/PBP 6, Independent Alliance 6, Social Democrats 3, Green Party 2, Independents 17.