Media say Irish deputy prime minister to quit

Irish media say the country's deputy prime minister has agreed to resign to avert a parliamentary vote that would have collapsed the government and triggered a snap election.

Irish lawmakers were due to vote Tuesday on a no-confidence motion targeting deputy premier Frances Fitzgerald, filed by opposition party Fianna Fail.

Fianna Fail wanted Fitzgerald ousted over her involvement in a long-running police scandal.

Prime Minister Leo Varadkar's Fine Gael party backed Fitzgerald.

Irish broadcaster RTE and other outlets say she will quit, heading off a vote that the minority government would likely have lost.

It comes after Ireland's governing party and main opposition held last-minute talks in an attempt to avoid the government collapsing.

The crisis comes at a crucial time for Varadkar's five-month-old government. A key EU summit looms Dec. 14-15, and Ireland is pressing Britain to spell out how it can maintain the open Ireland-Northern Ireland border after Brexit.