Dáil Election Set In Resignations Chaos

Ireland's Prime Minister Brian Cowen has announced that he intends to dissolve parliament and call a general election on 11 March.

Mr Cowen was addressing parliament after five ministers resigned from the cabinet, prompting uproar in the Dáil yesterday. He said that existing ministers would take on the work of those who had quit.

Earlier, the Dáil chamber was suspended twice as an incensed Opposition called for the absent Taoiseach to explain the shock multiple cabinet resignations.

Mr Cowen was absent at the morning session despite incurring five vacancies in the previous two days.

Four Minister's, Mary Harney, Dermot Ahern, Noel Dempsey and Tony Killeen gave their letters of resignation to the Taoiseach late on Wednesday night in an effort to curb attempts by the Green Party to block an expected reshuffle.

The resignations followed that of the Foreign Minister Michael Martin on Tuesday, who left after losing a challenge to Brian Cowen's leadership.

A sixth minister, Batt O'Keeffe, Minster for Enterprise, Trade and Innovation, is also understood to have tendered his resignation on Thursday morning too.

Defending the Taoiseach's absence under a salvo of Opposition heckling yesterday morning, Tánaiste Mary Coughlan said that under the Irish Constitution, ministers who resigned were not deemed to have done so until the Irish President accepted their resignations.

However, in response, Labour Leader Eamon Glmore said: "We have a flu epidemic we have people lying on hospitals in trolleys and the Minister for Health has taken to the hills.

"We have flights being cancelled by Aer Lingus and the Minister for Transport has resigned, we have problems for crime in many parts of the country and the two ministers responsible for Justice and Defence are gone," adding "we have had quite serious commentary on this country by both President Sarkozy of France and by the President of the European Commission and the Minister for Foreign Affairs has gone".

Opposition leaders then forced the suspension of the Dáil until the Taoiseach was present in the afternoon, with Fine Gael's Enda Kenny demanding that proceedings be discontinued until the Taoiseach explained what was happening in Government.

"This is the worst government in history," Mr Kenny said.

(DW)