Ireland's Green Party is pulling out of the ruling
coalition, a move that is expected to bring forward the general
election that is planned for on March 11.
The Greens' announcement wipes out the ruling coalition's
two-seat majority and puts into question the passage of a
vital finance bill.
It also follows the decision on Saturday by PM Brian Cowen
to quit as leader of his Fianna Fail party but to stay on as
Taoiseach.  Opponents said this was "farcical".
Fianna Fail had urged the Greens to stay in government to
ensure the financial bill - which is needed as part of
Ireland's international bail-out package - was passed before
the election.
Ireland was forced to accept the US$113bn EU and IMF
bail-out in November last year.
When asked whether he would now resign immediately, Mr Cowen
said getting the finance bill through was the main issue.
The Green Party will join the opposition benches immediately.
But it said it would still support the finance bill and
hoped Fianna Fail would fast-track the legislation so it
could be approved speedily.
The political chaos will raise fears of a potentially
damaging delay over Ireland's Finance Bill.
The cost of borrowing for the Irish government has soared in
recent months and currently stands at just under 9%, for the
benchmark 10-year bond, suggesting the markets are already
unconvinced Ireland will not default in some way.
Green Party leader John Gormley, speaking after a meeting in
a Dublin hotel, said: "For a very long time we have stood
back in the hope that Fianna Fail could resolve persistent
doubts about their party leadership."
"A definitive resolution of this has not yet been possible
and our patience has reached an end. Because of these
continuing doubts, the lack of communication and the
breakdown in trust we have decided that we can no longer
continue in government."
"We will remain true to our promise to support the finance
bill from the opposition benches."
After the Greens' announcement, Mr Cowen said: "The
important thing now is to have an orderly completion of the
finance bill in the interests of the country and then
obviously we move to a dissolution of the [parliament] and a
general election."
The loss of two Green Party cabinet ministers means Mr Cowen
now only has seven of 15, the minimum constitutionally allowed.
The focus next week will fall on the finance bill and a
no-confidence motion put forward by the opposition for Tuesday.
If Mr Cowen lost the motion he would be obliged to resign
and call an election within four weeks.
Correspondents say he might try to persuade the opposition
to hold off on that vote to allow for debate and passage of
the finance bill, which is designed to cut the government's
deficit.
The Greens want all-party talks on Monday to rush the bill
through as soon as possible.
But the passage is not assured, given the country's
political system is in a state of chaos and filled with
bitterness.
Mr Cowen's assertion that it is "not possible to deal
with it in a week" is unlikely to please the opposition.