Ireland: deputy PM resigns - but is election crisis averted?

Frances Fitzgerald resigned as Ireland’s deputy prime minister today following a row that has threatened to bring down the country's minority government and create chaos for Brexit negotiators.

Fitzgerald says she is quitting for the sake of the country and to avoid a general election, Irish broadcaster RTE reports. Her departure comes hours ahead of a parliamentary no-confidence vote brought by opposition party Fianna Fail, who had demanded Fitzgerald's resignation over her handling of a police whistle-blowing scandal.

The row escalated last night following the publication of correspondence from the Department of Justice questioning her version of events relating to the inquiry into allegations of police malpractice.

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Tonight's no-confidence vote threatened Fine Gael leader Leo Varadkar’s minority government and would probably have led to Irish elections in December or January - creating further problems for the UK, since Brexit negotiators need to agree on the Irish border question before talks can turn to UK-EU trade.

Fine Gael sources told The Irish Times that Fitzgerald's resignation handed Fianna Fail a “significant win” and damaged Prime Minister Varadkar.

“Even if the immediate threat of an election has been removed, the crisis has significantly weakened the government and damaged trust between Fine Gael and Fianna Fail, which supports the minority government with a confidence-and-supply arrangement,” the newspaper says.

Fitzgerald was under pressure over her handling of a case involving Maurice McCabe, a Garda whistle-blower, while she was justice minister. Fitzgerald says she was unaware of a strategy by the former police commissioner to question the integrity and credibility of McCabe at the commission examining the police corruption allegations.