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Lisa O'Carroll with minute-by-minute coverage as Ireland's ruling coalition faces imminent collapse amid turmoil over the EU's potential €90bn bailout
9.12am: One of the most bizarre spectacles in this morning's papers is the photo of a sombre-looking Green party TDs (MPs) lined up behind a desk in Leinster House yesterday.
It was the most important press conference the Irish Greens have ever called and second from the left was one "bizarre" guest. Lise Hand in the Independent explains:
When the line of Greens walked into the room, there was a gasp from the gobsmacked press.
For Paul Gogarty had managed to upstage his party leader's most dramatic ever announcement by arriving into the press conference with his 18-month-old daughter Daisy in his arms.
The camera went berserk as the curly-headed poppet blinked in surprise as she clutched her teddy bear.
It was truly the most bizarre sights of a most surreal day. One impressed observer muttered: "That's the first time I've seen a politician kiss a baby before the election begins."
9.00am: Ireland's largest opposition party, Fine Gael, is demanding an election before Christmas and refusing to support a budget that it hasn't been consulted on. The move will horrify Brussels, which needs cross-party support for the budget and the four-year plan, due to be published tomorrow, as a condition of the IMF bail out.
Health spokesman James Reilly told RTE Morning Ireland:
What's the point in preparing a four-year plan that they're [Fianna Fáil] not going to preside over and they're not there to implement and they haven't consulted the people on? If we have an election tomorrow, it can all be done and dusted in 18 days, we all have an opportunity to put forward ... our respective plans for the country and people can vote on that and have their say and that government would have a mandate for the next four years to do what's necessary.
His remarks come just hours after the embattled Cowen telephoned opposition leaders requesting their support.
Last night Fintan O'Toole, the author and Irish Times columnist, said it was unthinkable that the electorate should go to the polls on the basis of a "secret deal" between the IMF and Fianna Fáil.
8.43am: Good morning from Dublin. We will be liveblogging today from Ireland, where the growing political unrest has spooked Europe and the markets.
Brian Cowen, the prime minister, is clinging to power by his fingertips – there is mutiny in the air, with Fianna Fáil backbenchers considering a no-confidence motion. A group of them are meeting today to discuss "a strategy in relation to a motion of no confidence."
"There's serious discontent within the parliamentary party. I believe it's now up to those who've spoken out to take soundings amongst their colleagues to take action to remove that man [Cowen] immediately," John McGuinness, who represents Carlow in the Dáil (parliament), said.
The political instability is horrifying Europe, which is nervous that the December budget may not even be passed. Olli Rehn, the EU's commissioner for monetary affairs, has said he wants to stop the "bush fire" in Ireland turning into a "forest fire" across the eurozone. He has called Irish MEPs to a meeting today.
The Irish Times is reporting that the embattled Cowen phoned the leaders of the opposition parties last night to try to secure their support for the budget.
Mr Cowen phoned Fine Gael leader Enda Kenny and Labour Party leader Eamon Gilmore late last night to offer to make available to them the financial advice underpinning the government's proposed budget.
While the taoiseach made no direct request to Mr Kenny or Mr Gilmore to help him get the budget through the Dáil on December 7th, his phone calls to them signalled the first move in a strategy to persuade the opposition to let the budget pass.
The cabinet meets later this morning for what will be a particular tense meeting of Fianna Fáil and Green party, which bounced the taoiseach into making his announcement that he would be seeking a dissolution of the Dáil following the passing of the budget.
Meanwhile, the IMF is seeking a cut in Ireland's minimum wage, a decrease in the long-term dole and more tax relief for women. The measures were published in a staff position paper note posted on its website last night.
It recommends a "gradual decrease of benefits over time of unemployment and stricter job search requirements". In an effort to increase the number of jobs it said public resources should be targeted to the "knowledge-based economy" and it wants to see more competition in energy and telecoms services such as broadband.
The IMF paper is also seeking a reduction in the cost of waste disposal and legal fees.
The most surprising measure, however, given the austerity measures in the upcoming budget, is its concession that women need more financial encouragement to come back to work.
The report says that "cutting labour income taxes paid by women by 5 percentage points" would increase the GDP by 1.75 percentage points.
I'll be following all the day's developments live today.
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