Editing Albert Reynolds (section)

==== Whelehan controversy and downfall ====
{{Main|1994 Irish government crisis}}
Reynolds had decided to reappoint Attorney General Harry Whelehan when the government was formed in 1992. When the position of [[President of the High Court]] became available, Reynolds proposed Whelehan. At this stage, allegations surfaced that Whelehan had been less than keen to prosecute a serial child abuser priest, [[Brendan Smyth]], due to the implications that such an action would concern the accountability of certain prominent members of the [[Catholic hierarchy]]. It was later revealed that Whelehan, in his capacity as Attorney General (AG), had mishandled an attempt<ref>{{cite news |last=Brennock |first=Mark |title=Breakdown in communications leads to outrage and disarray |via=OneinFour.org |url=http://www.oneinfour.org/news/news2006/communications/ |newspaper=The Irish Times |date=2 June 2006 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090105233506/http://www.oneinfour.org/news/news2006/communications/|url-status=dead |archive-date=5 January 2009}}</ref> to extradite Smyth to Northern Ireland, where he was facing criminal charges. This was covered on the British television station [[Channel 4]], which was seen across most of Ireland. RTÉ stood mute, while Irish newspapers were effectively talking around the issue for fear of action for [[libel]].

Spring led his ministers out of a cabinet meeting to consider the position of the Labour Party. The coalition appeared to be finished, but Reynolds still held out for the chance to patch things up. Reynolds went before the Dáil and said that if he had known "then" what he "knew now" about the incompetent handling of the case by the AG's office, he would not have appointed Whelehan to the judicial post.

However, Reynolds was damaged politically, appearing more interested in holding on to power than in the integrity of government actions. Spring decided he could not go back into government with Reynolds, and led the Labour Party out of the coalition on 16 November 1994.