Ireland's fragile minority government survived a no-confidence vote on Wednesday over a scandal involving the police, the state's child protection agency and the political establishment.
Lawmakers voted by 57 to 52 in support of the government, with 44 abstentions, after the motion was tabled by opposition party Sinn Fein as criticism mounted of Prime Minister Enda Kenny and his cabinet's handling of a case involving a police whistleblower.
The high-profile officer faced false allegations of child sexual abuse, which may have been a criminal conspiracy by senior members of the force.
The vilification of police sergeant Maurice McCabe has engulfed the coalition government since the story emerged in national media last week, with ministers telling conflicting stories about what they knew about the affair and when.
In a special parliamentary session on Tuesday, Kenny admitted he gave "wrong information" regarding a meeting with a senior cabinet minister on the matter as recently as last weekend.
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