Ireland govt thrown into crisis ahead of key Brexit talks

Dublin, November 24

A crisis surrounding Ireland’s Deputy Prime Minister was on Friday threatening the country’s minority government and throwing key Brexit negotiations into confusion.

Fianna Fail, the country’s main Opposition party, is set to table a motion of no confidence in the Deputy Prime Minister Frances Fitzgerald—from the minority Fine Gael government—over her handling of a police whistleblower controversy when she was justice minister.

The move would weaken Prime Minister Leo Varadkar’s minority government ahead of a key summit next month with EU leaders where the issue of Ireland’s post-Brexit border with Britain will be on the agenda.

Three weeks ahead of a vital European summit, Ireland is pushing EU leaders to ensure its concerns about the border with British-ruled Northern Ireland are taken into account before Brexit talks can continue, adding an unexpected hurdle to Britain’s plans.

Fianna Fail props up the minority government, and the prospect of a snap election looms if it removes its support.

Fianna Fail’s justice spokesman Jim O’Callaghan told Irish broadcaster RTE that Fitzgerald “should go”.

Irish Foreign Minister Simon Coveney arrived for a meeting in Brussels on Friday, accusing Fianna Fail of jeopardising the national interest.

“Fianna Fail are behaving recklessly here,” he told reporters.

“We have a precarious situation with the main Opposition party that signed up to a agreement in the country’s interest are now effectively breaching that and risking an election at a time when there are some really, really serious issues for the government to manage,” he added. — AFP