Frances Fitzgerald has told her Cabinet colleagues she will step down in a last-ditch bid to avoid a Christmas snap election
Ireland’s deputy prime minister has today resigned over the handling of a police whistleblower, according to reports.
Frances Fitzgerald has told her Cabinet colleagues she will step down in a last-ditch bid to avoid a Christmas snap election.
She had come under mounting pressure to quit after claims surfaced about her knowledge of an aggressive legal strategy against a respected Garda sergeant during a private inquiry.
Announcing her resignation she said she has decided to ‘put the national interest ahead of my own personal reputation’.
The Irish Parliament was tonight due to debate a motion of no confidence in her over the issue.
There were renewed calls today for Mrs Fitzgerald to resign or be sacked over emails dating back to 2015 when she was Justice Secretary.
The messages showed she was aware of the strategy to target Sgt Maurice McCabe at a private judge-led inquiry into his claims of wrongdoing in the force.
The emergence of the cache of emails had knocked efforts by The Irish Prime Minister (Taoiseach) Leo Varadkar and Micheal Martin, leader of opposition party Fianna Fail to reach a compromise.
The scandal had threatened to undermine the confidence and supply deal which is propping Mr Varadkar up in power.
Mr Varadkar has phoned the leader of the opposition, Fianna Fail’s Micheal Martin, to confirm the resignation.
And it had raised the spectre that a new snap election would have to be held around Christmas time.
Announcing her resignation today, she said: ‘Today I made the decision to tender my resignation to the Taoiseach, stepping-down with immediate effect as Tanaiste and Minister for Business, Enterprise and Innovation.
‘It has been the greatest honour of my life to serve in Government, but I believe it is necessary to take this decision to avoid an unwelcome and potentially destabilising general election at this historically critical time.
‘Throughout my career I have always sought to act with integrity and responsibility, and that is why I have decided on this occasion to put the national interest ahead of my own personal reputation.’
She added: ‘I decided that my continuation in office risks destabilising that good work, and so I have decided to step-down so that this work may continue and the country can be spared an unnecessary election.’
Leo Varadkar, pictured in the Dail in Dublin today, paid tribute to his outgoing deputy saying a ‘good woman is leaving office without getting a full and fair hearing’
The Parliament in Dublin was full to hear the Taoiseach discuss the resignation. Speaking of the scandal, Mr Varadkar said: ‘There was a feeding frenzy, and it became impossible for her to get a fair hearing based on the full facts’
The Taoiseach appeared in the Dail parliament in Dublin today where he paid tribute to his outgoing deputy.
He said: ‘It’s my strong view that a good woman is leaving office without getting a full and fair hearing.
‘She always supported whistleblowers and enshrined a code of ethics in An Garda Siochana to protect them,’ he said.
‘In the past few days a drip-drip of information may have made certain things seem greater than they are.
‘There was a feeding frenzy, and it became impossible for her to get a fair hearing based on the full facts. I hope that will change in the period ahead.’
Sinn Fein deputy leader Mary Lou McDonald attacked Mrs Fitzgerald over her approach to information about how Sgt McCabe was to be targeted at the private inquiry.
She told RTE Radio: ‘What is at play here is an absolute and utter dereliction of duty.
‘If she won’t go then the Taoiseach needs to measure up and demonstrate some level of leadership and judgment and he needs to relieve her of her duties.’
Mrs Fitzgerald said last week that she only learned in 2016 of the approach being taken by lawyers for the then Garda commissioner.
The fallout from the saga threatened to cast a long shadow over December’s key Brexit summit, where the future of the border between the Irish Republic and Northern Ireland could be determined.