There was mounting anger from within Fine Gael on Monday night over the latest disclosure of emails received by Tánaiste Frances Fitzgerald on the Garda whistleblower controversy.
The Department of Justice published a batch of documents which showed that Ms Fitzgerald received three emails advising her of the legal strategy of the former Garda commissioner Nóirín O’Sullivan against whistleblower Sgt Maurice McCabe.
TDs and Ministers felt they had been left to defend Ms Fitzgerald over recent weeks in the hope that further embarrassing details would not emerge. However, she stood over her handling of the situation in a series of Twitter posts last night.
Even before last night’s developments, some in Fine Gael were already coming to the conclusion that the Tánaiste should stand aside for the sake of the Government.
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One deputy said it seemed as if it was "game over" and expressed concern that Taoiseach Leo Varadkar "didn't intervene" to avert the crisis before the latest details emerged.
One Minister said Ms Fitzgerald was already “losing ground” within the parliamentary party over the weekend as voters and the Fine Gael organisation reacted angrily to the prospect of a pre-Christmas election.
Earlier, some TDs said that a solution where Ms Fitzgerald stood aside as Tánaiste but remained in Cabinet would be acceptable if Fianna Fáil would agree to it.
The mood has darkened, but the Taoiseach has just expressed full confidence in her. Damage is done now at this stage
“If everyone else got what I got at home over the weekend, they would be doing everything to solve this,” said one TD, who believed Ms Fitzgerald could stand down as Tánaiste.
Announcement
One TD remarked that he expected an announcement on Ms Fitzgerald within hours of the new revelations at 7pm.
“The mood in the party is changing, people are more concerned and worried again,” said a Minister after the new documents emerged. “The mood has darkened, but the Taoiseach has just expressed full confidence in her. Damage is done now at this stage.”
Against that, Mr Varadkar’s spokesman said t the Taoiseach still supported the Tánaiste and had full confidence in her.
Fianna Fáil TDs, who earlier on Monday were ready to compromise to avert an election, hardened their stance.
The sheer extent of the Tánaiste's dereliction of her duty as Minister for Justice is laid bare in the chain of emails released tonight
“I presume they realise this is the end for her?” asked one, while another said: “Surely after those documents, Fine Gael must be willing to do something about Frances.”
Labour Party leader Brendan Howlin repeated his position that Ms Fitzgerald had to resign, and the Social Democrats said her position "is untenable in the light of further documents released tonight about Garda whistleblower Maurice McCabe".
“The sheer extent of the Tánaiste’s dereliction of her duty as Minister for Justice is laid bare in the chain of emails released tonight,” Róisín Shortall TD said.
“The correspondence shows that a senior official in the Minister’s department liaised with the then Garda commissioner about media queries about the Garda commissioner’s role in the aggressive legal stance towards Sgt McCabe at the O’Higgins Commission.
“Whatever about a Minister not recalling an issue being raised once in an email, this departmental trawl shows that both the Minister and her officials were informed in another two further emails, and in considerable detail, about media inquiries about the legal strategy adopted by the Garda commissioner.”