UPDATE - Ireland narrowly avoids snap election

UPDATES WITH RESIGNATION STATEMENT

BY Ahmet Gurhan Kartal

LONDON (AA) - A possible Irish government collapse has been averted after the country’s deputy prime minister resigned on Tuesday.

The resignation came hours before a planned motion of no confidence against Tanaiste (Deputy Prime Minister) Frances Fitzgerald.

In a statement, Fitzgerald said she would be stepping down from her government roles with immediate effect.

She said she believed the decision was necessary “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 said.

Taoiseach (Prime Minister) Leo Varadkar said in a Dail (parliament) statement he accepted Fitzgerald’s resignation with regret.

Ireland’s government came to the point of falling by the end of the day amid an acrimonious row over Fitzgerald, a former justice minister, that threatened to destabilize crunch EU Brexit talks scheduled for next month.

In a national dispute, lawmakers from Ireland’s biggest opposition party, Fianna Fail, were set to table a no-confidence motion in parliament over Fitzgerald at 8 p.m. Dublin time (2000GMT).

Fitzgerald has been accused of knowing about plans by lawyers for the police, known as the Gardai, to discredit a Garda whistleblower who exposed wrongdoing in the force.

Revelations about her handling of the affair undermined Fianna Fail support for the minority government headed by Varadkar.

Local media also reported that Fitzgerald had faced calls from a number of senior Fine Gael colleagues to step down so as to avoid a pre-Christmas general election.