Irish foreign minister says opposition vote would bring down government

Ireland's government will collapse if the opposition Fianna Fail party proceeds with its plan to vote for the resignation of the Deputy Prime Minister Frances Fitzgerald on Tuesday, Foreign Minister Simon Coveney said.

"If they move ahead with the motion of no confidence, then the confidence and supply (agreement) is over," Coveney, a member of the ruling Fine Gael party, told state broadcaster RTE on Friday, referring to a three-year agreement Fianna Fail signed to support the government.

"If there is no confidence and supply agreement in place ... then I don't see how we can have a government that can function," he said.