Labour Party leader Brendan Howlin has welcomed a plan by his British counterpart to prevent a no-deal Brexit at Westminster.
The British Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn has called on other opposition leaders there to back his plan.
UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson has insisted the country will leave the EU on October 31st, with or without a deal.
With EU leaders rejecting Mr Johnson's demand for the Irish backstop to be dropped from the withdrawal agreement, there are increasing fears that the UK will crash out of the bloc without a deal.
Finance Minister Paschal Donohoe told Newstalk earlier he believes the possibility and risk of a no-deal Brexit taking place is "clearly growing".
He suggested: "It is a material risk in the way it perhaps wasn't twelve months ago."
Mr Corbyn has now written to other opposition leaders and senior backbenchers, putting forward his plan to avoid such an outcome.
I've written to the leaders of other political parties and senior backbenchers from across Parliament to lay out my plan to stop a disastrous No Deal Brexit and let the people decide the future of our country. pic.twitter.com/Jz1MjXCrqk
— Jeremy Corbyn (@jeremycorbyn) August 14, 2019
According to the letter, UK Labour will call a no confidence motion in Mr Johnson's government "at the earliest opportunity when we can be confident of success".
If the vote passes, Mr Corbyn would ask other parties' support to form a "strictly time-limited" government with him as caretaker prime minister.
He would then quickly call a general election while seeking an extension to Article 50.
In such an election, Mr Corbyn is pledging that his party would support a second Brexit referendum - a vote which would include a 'remain' option.
He told party leaders: "Our priority should be to work together in parliament to prevent a deeply damaging No Deal being imposed on the country, denying voters the final say."
Reaction
Mr Howlin said: "This is the space we need to be moving into given the constitutional difficulties that face no deal opponents in the UK.
"Corbyn's offer of a temporary Government to extend Article 50 and facilitate a general election is a reasonable one and I welcome the SNP and Green response.
"It recognises Corbyn’s position as leader of the opposition who secured 40% of the vote at the last general election."
"It is already clear that the European Union would facilitate such an extension were there to be a general election."
Mr Howlin added: "I think we need to be realistic too. There is party politics involved and the reaction of the Liberal Democrats is not surprising.
"Nonetheless they will be in a position to make their anti-Brexit position clear in a general election campaign and Labour will have to resolve its position on the issue.
"The bottom line for all involved is that you don’t have to support Jeremy Corbyn either personally or politically to support a proposal.
Labour Party leader Brendan Howlin speaking to the media at the RDS in May 2019 | Image: Leah Farrell/RollingNews.ie"It is merely a way of preventing no deal and the mandateless pursuit of it by an unelected prime minister. If Corbyn were not to honour it he would be finished."
While the letter has received a mixed response from other party leaders in Westminster.
Ian Blackford, head of the SNP in Westminster, said he would be "pleased" to "work together" with Mr Corbyn.
However, the proposal was rejected by the Liberal Democrats.
Party leader Jo Swinson said Mr Corbyn was "not the person who is going to be able to build even a temporary majority" in parliament - suggesting his letter was not a "serious attempt to find the right solution".
Ms Swinson, who leads 14 MPs in the House of Commons, said: "Instead of doing everything in his power to stop us from crashing out, he is demanding the keys to Number 10 as a pre-condition for a vote of no confidence.
"We are facing a national crisis, we may need an emergency government to resolve it.
"But if Jeremy Corbyn truly wants that to succeed, surely even he can see that he cannot lead it.
"There is no way he can unite rebel Conservatives and independents to stop Boris Johnson.
"It's not even certain he would secure all the votes of Labour MPs.
"This isn't about personalities, this is about having a plan that actually works."
Caroline Lucas, co-leader of the British Green Party, said she welcomed Mr Corbyn's proposal - although said she would prefer a referendum before an election.
She also queried whether Mr Corbyn would support another candidate as caretaker prime minister if the Labour leader didn't secure the necessary support himself.
I welcome Corbyn’s Vote of No Confidence & will support his temporary Govt to avoid No Deal (tho would prefer #PeoplesVote before General Election)
But if he can’t gain confidence of House, will he commit to support an MP from his party or another who can? https://t.co/LMKIEUP0I3— Caroline Lucas (@CarolineLucas) August 14, 2019
The Conservative Party currently have a minority government at Westminster supported by the DUP through a confidence and supply arrangement.
Therefore, Mr Corbyn's plan would need the support of most other parties and independents - and likely a number of Conservatives as well.
Several Conservative MPs have, however, voiced their opposition to a no-deal exit - meaning some could potentially back a no confidence motion in Mr Johnson to avoid such an outcome.
