Irish government rocked by election calls

The Irish Government has been thrown into crisis after the Greens, a junior partner in the ruling coalition, called for a general election.

John Gormley, leader and environment minister, said he wanted a date for the vote to be set some time in the second half of January.

The dramatic call comes less than 24 hours after Cabinet ministers agreed to ask the International Monetary Fund and Europe for a multibillion bail-out - a plea described as humiliation for the country.

Mr Gormley said: "The past week has been a traumatic one for the Irish electorate. People feel misled and betrayed.

"But we have now reached a point where the Irish people need political certainty to take them beyond the coming two months. So we believe it is time to fix a date for a general election in the second half of January 2011."

The Greens say they made the decision on Saturday. The party then sent its two Cabinet ministers into an emergency meeting to sign off the IMF/EU bail-out.

Taoiseach Brian Cowen was told about the move this morning and Mr Gormley said he expressed disappointment at the decision.