There were some fiery exchanges in the first major Leaders' Debate of the general election last night.

The leaders of Fine Gael, Labour, Fianna Fáil and Sinn Fein faced off in the debate hosted by TV3 and Newstalk.

Much of the 90-minute debate was reduced to a shouting match among some of the four leaders arguing over their various records in power on either side of the border.

Afterwards all the leaders claimed to be happy with their performances. The next seven-way debate on Monday night could provide a welcome platform for smaller parties to make their mark.

Our political correspondent Gavan Reilly reports: