Ireland’s Taoiseach, Leo Varadkar, is to step down from office.
Irish media first reported that a “political earthquake” was on the way just an hour before a noon press conference, following an early morning cabinet meeting.
There is as yet no expectation of a general election.
The governing coalition that includes Varadkar’s Fine Gael party is widely expected to suffer losses to nationalist party Sinn Fein the next time the country goes to the polls.
Varadkar’s resignation comes less than two weeks after the shock “no” vote in a twin referendum that had been expected to abolish outdated constitutional provisions relating to the definition of the family and women’s role in society.
The surprise vote against the proposed changes was widely blamed on a flaccid government campaign resulting in apathy and low turnout.
Our journalists are working on this story and will update it as soon as more information becomes available.
