Frances Fitzgerald resigns ahead of no confidence vote

The Tánaiste is expected to announce her resignation from Government this afternoon, just hours ahead of a no-confidence motion in the Dáil that threatens to bring down the Government.

Ms Fitzgerald has been under intense political pressure in recent days over the handling of the case of Garda whistleblower Maurice McCabe.

According to The Irish Times, Ms Fitzgerald indicated her intention to stand aside from her position during a Cabinet meeting on Tuesday where she faced a series questions from her colleagues.

The Independent Alliance and some Fine Gael Ministers questioned Ms Fitzgerald’s handling of the controversy which has brought the State to the edge of a pre-Christmas election.

Despite her intentions to step down, the current crisis has damaged confidence in the Fine Gael government, as well as damaging the party's relationship with Fianna Fail, which supports the minority Government with a confidence and supply arrangement. During the crisis, the Taoiseach Leo Varadkar stood by Ms Fitzgerald and offered her his full support, a move which was highly criticised by political pundits and parties across the spectrum.

Fine Gael Ministers were reported to have reacted with fury on Monday night when it emerged Ms Fitzgerald had received a total of three emails on two separate dates notifying her of the legal strategy pursued by former Garda commissioner Nóirín O’Sullivan against whistleblower Sgt Maurice McCabe.