Garda commissioner offered a lifeline as Fianna Fáil back away from no confidence motion

Garda Commissioner Nóirín O’Sullivan has been thrown a lifeline to save her job after Fianna Fáil backed away from supporting a no-confidence motion mooted by opposition parties which would effectively force her to resign.

After Ms O’Sullivan failed to answer key questions on how almost 1m drink-driving tests were falsified and instead announced a three-month review into the scandal, Fianna Fáil said it is still unable to support the commissioner.

However, the party’s justice spokesman, Jim O’Callaghan, backed away from supporting a no-confidence motion in the commissioner, instead taking aim at Justice Minister Frances Fitzgerald.