Editing Albert Reynolds (section)

== Taoiseach (1992–1994) ==
=== 22nd government of Ireland (1992–1993) ===
{{further|22nd government of Ireland}}
{{More citations needed section|date=November 2021}}
On 30 January 1992, Haughey retired as [[leader of Fianna Fáil]] at a parliamentary party meeting. Reynolds easily defeated his rivals [[Mary O'Rourke]] and [[Michael Woods (Irish politician)|Michael Woods]] in the [[1992 Fianna Fáil leadership election|party leadership election]] and succeeded Haughey as Taoiseach on 11 February 1992.{{citation needed|date=May 2025}}

The ministers who had been sacked along with Reynolds at the end of 1991 were all appointed to cabinet, while eight members of Haughey's cabinet, including such long-serving Haughey loyalists as [[Ray Burke (Irish politician)|Ray Burke]], Mary O'Rourke and [[Gerry Collins (politician)|Gerry Collins]], were left out.{{citation needed|date=May 2025}} Nine of the twelve [[Minister of State (Ireland)|junior ministers]], many of whom were also Haughey supporters, were also dismissed. Reynolds promoted several long-time critics of Haughey, like [[David Andrews (politician)|David Andrews]], [[Séamus Brennan]] and [[Charlie McCreevy]], to senior ministerial positions. Reynolds also promoted younger TDs from rural constituencies, such as [[Noel Dempsey]] and [[Brian Cowen]], to cabinet positions. One of Haughey's oldest political allies, Bertie Ahern, remained Minister for Finance, agreeing with Reynolds not to challenge him for the leadership.{{citation needed|date=May 2025}}

==== X Case ====
{{main|X Case}}
On Reynolds's first day as Taoiseach, he had to deal with the "X Case", a constitutional case on whether a 14-year-old who had become [[Pregnancy from rape|pregnant as a result of rape]] could access [[Abortion in the Republic of Ireland|abortion]].{{citation needed|date=May 2025}} The [[Attorney General of Ireland|Attorney General]], [[Harry Whelehan]], refused to allow the pregnant girl to travel to the United Kingdom for an abortion.{{citation needed|date=May 2025}} The [[High Court (Ireland)|High Court]] granted the Attorney General's injunction, while the [[Supreme Court of Ireland|Supreme Court]] found that abortion was permissible where there was a threat to a woman's life from suicide. The case strained relations between the coalition parties. Reynolds tried to find a middle ground but alienated both the [[Catholic Church in Ireland|Catholic Church]] and those who sought [[Abortion rights in Ireland|abortion rights]]. Three amendments to the constitution on abortion were put to referendum.{{citation needed|date=May 2025}} {{Sentence fragment|date=November 2021}} The wording of the constitutional change caused tensions between the two government parties. Still, the government remained intact as the amendments passed through the [[Oireachtas]]. They were held on the same date as the [[1992 Irish general election|1992 general election]]. The [[Twelfth Amendment of the Constitution Bill 1992|first proposal]] was defeated, which would have excluded the risk of suicide from circumstances where abortion was permissible, while proposals to [[Thirteenth Amendment of the Constitution of Ireland|allow travel outside the state]] and [[Fourteenth Amendment of the Constitution of Ireland|access to information]] were approved.

==== European Union ====
Reynolds negotiated considerable benefits for Ireland from the [[European Union]] regional aid budget in the aftermath of the [[1992 Danish Maastricht Treaty referendum|Danish rejection]] of the [[Maastricht Treaty]].<ref>[https://eur-lex.europa.eu/EN/legal-content/summary/denmark-emu-opt-out-clause.html?fromSummary=14#:~:text=The%20Maastricht%20Treaty%20was%20presented,with%2050.7%20%25%20of%20the%20votes. https://eur-lex.europa.eu/EN/legal-content/summary/denmark-emu-opt-out-clause.html?fromSummary=14#:~:text=The%20Maastricht%20Treaty%20was%20presented,with%2050.7%20%25%20of%20the%20votes.]</ref>

==== Beef Tribunal and 1992 election ====
A tribunal of enquiry into irregularities in the beef industry referred to as the "[[Beef Tribunal]]", was established to examine the "unhealthy" relationship between Charles Haughey and beef baron [[Larry Goodman]]. This revealed to the public a substantial conflict of opinion between the two party leaders. At the tribunal, Desmond O'Malley severely criticised Reynolds, in his capacity as Minister for Industry and Commerce, for an [[export credit]] scheme. When Reynolds gave evidence, he referred to O'Malley as "dishonest".<ref name="count">{{cite news|url=http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-12977919.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140921200451/http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-12977919.html|url-status = dead|archive-date=21 September 2014|title=Out for the count: Ireland. (general elections in Ireland)|date=5 December 1992|newspaper=[[The Economist]]|url-access=subscription |publisher=[[HighBeam Research]]|access-date=22 August 2014}}</ref> This enraged the Progressive Democrats' leader; his party called a motion of no confidence, which resulted in the Progressive Democrats withdrawing from government and the collapse of the government. Reynolds then sought a [[dissolution of the Dáil]] from the president, [[Mary Robinson]]. A general election was then called.

=== 23rd government of Ireland (1993–1994) ===
{{further|23rd government of Ireland}}
The 1992 general election campaign was a disaster for Fianna Fáil with many seats lost in the wake of the scandal.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Wayback Machine |url=https://www.polisci.upenn.edu/ppec/PPEC%20People/Brendan%20O'Leary/publications/Journal%20Articles/WestEPolitics__affairs_partner_swapping_spring_tides.pdf |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20100613082216/http://www.polisci.upenn.edu/ppec/PPEC%20People/Brendan%20O'Leary/publications/Journal%20Articles/WestEPolitics__affairs_partner_swapping_spring_tides.pdf |archive-date=2010-06-13 |access-date=2025-03-27 |website=www.polisci.upenn.edu}}</ref> The world was [[Early 1990s recession|in recession]], the Haughey era was a recent memory, and the [[Gulf War]] dominated international news, with [[Saddam Hussein]] in the news at the same time as the Beef Tribunal was discussing Reynolds's attempts to sell beef to the [[Ba'athist Iraq|Iraqi regime]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Beef report criticised government and not him - Reynolds |url=https://www.irishtimes.com/news/beef-report-criticised-government-and-not-him-reynolds-1.98525 |access-date=2025-03-27 |website=The Irish Times |language=en}}</ref> The fact that Reynolds seemed prepared to issue state-funded export insurance, effectively subsidizing the Goodman business empire which now accounted for 12% of national GDP, when the country was in deep recession, shocked the electorate.{{Citation needed|date=November 2021}} Support for the party fell by 5%.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://electionsireland.org/results/general/27dail.cfm|title=27th Dáil 1992 General Election|work=ElectionsIreland.org|access-date=22 July 2009|archive-date=26 February 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090226212233/http://electionsireland.org/results/general/27dail.cfm|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ark.ac.uk/elections/gdala.htm|title=Dáil elections since 1918|work=ARK Northern Ireland|access-date=22 July 2009|archive-date=27 November 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201127122828/https://www.ark.ac.uk/elections/gdala.htm|url-status=live}}</ref> The [[Labour Party (Ireland)|Labour Party]] under [[Dick Spring]] ran a campaign independent of its traditional coalition partner [[Fine Gael]]. It was Fianna Fáil's worst election result since 1927,{{Citation needed|date=November 2021}} losing nine seats. Fine Gael lost ten seats, while the Labour Party had its best result, with 33 seats. In January 1993, Fianna Fáil and Labour formed a government with Reynolds as Taoiseach and Spring as [[Tánaiste]].

==== Tensions with Labour ====
{{Unreferenced section|date=November 2021}}
In 1993, Reynolds's Minister of Finance, Bertie Ahern, issued a [[tax amnesty]] for people who had outstanding tax bills unpaid and undeclared, provided they made some declaration of their previous income. This created considerable media disquiet and provoked Spring to make a policy statement. On 9 June 1994, Fianna Fáil lost two seats in the [[1994 Mayo West by-election|Mayo West by-election]] and the [[1994 Dublin South Central by-election|Dublin South-Central by-election]] to the opposition Fine Gael and [[Democratic Left (Ireland)|Democratic Left]], placing Reynolds under pressure, as he could no longer depend on Spring to remain in government.

The report on the Beef Tribunal was published in July 1994. The Labour Party had threatened to leave the government if Reynolds was criticized. Reynolds was alleged to have juxtaposed and misquoted sections of the report in issuing a rebuttal before the report became public. Spring was furious that the report was not considered by the cabinet first.

==== Northern Ireland and foreign affairs ====
[[File:President Clinton receives a crystal bowl of shamrocks from Irish Prime Minister Albert Reynolds on St. Patrick's Day.jpg|thumb|Reynolds (left) giving a bowl of [[shamrock]]s to US president [[Bill Clinton]] on [[Saint Patrick's Day]], 1994]]

One of Reynolds's main achievements during his term as Taoiseach was in the [[Northern Ireland peace process|peace process]] in the [[The Troubles|long-running conflict in Northern Ireland]]. Piecemeal negotiations had gone on during 1993 between Reynolds and British prime minister [[John Major]], resulting in the Anglo-Irish agreement of 1993.<ref>{{Cite web |title=CAIN: Statement by Albert Reynolds 15 December 1993 |url=https://cain.ulster.ac.uk/events/peace/docs/ar151293.htm |access-date=2025-04-15 |website=cain.ulster.ac.uk}}</ref> On the 15th of December, the [[Downing Street Declaration]] was signed in London. Reynolds remained involved in discussions with Northern Ireland's nationalist parties and, along with [[John Hume]], persuaded the [[Provisional Irish Republican Army]] (IRA) to call a complete ceasefire on 31 August 1994.<ref>https://cain.ulster.ac.uk/events/peace/docs/ar151293.htm</ref> Major was quoted at the time as saying:
{{cquote|Let me now say something that may surprise you. Throughout the process, I was acutely conscious that IRA leaders were taking a risk, too: if Albert and I upset our supporters we might – as Albert put it, be 'kicked out'. That was true, but the IRA's supporters were more deadly than our backbench colleagues. And their leaders were taking a risk too, possibly with their own lives.<ref name="theguardian.com">{{Cite web|last=McDonald |first=Henry |url=http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/aug/21/albert-reynolds-former-irish-taoiseach-dies|title=Albert Reynolds, former Irish taoiseach, dies aged 81|date=21 August 2014|website=The Guardian|access-date=26 December 2014|archive-date=13 September 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140913055940/http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/aug/21/albert-reynolds-former-irish-taoiseach-dies|url-status=live}}</ref>}}

In September 1994, Reynolds was left standing on the tarmac at [[Shannon Airport]] by Russian president [[Boris Yeltsin]], who failed to emerge from his plane to meet awaiting Irish dignitaries.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/breaking/2007/0423/breaking65.htm |title=Yeltsin stood up Reynolds in 1994 |newspaper=The Irish Times |date=4 April 2007 |access-date=28 December 2010 |archive-date=22 September 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210922192255/https://www.irishtimes.com/news/yeltsin-stood-up-reynolds-in-1994-1.806036 |url-status=live }}</ref> Headlines around the world alleged that Yeltsin was too drunk to appear; a Russian official said that he was unwell, and aides later suggested that he had had a heart attack.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.irishtimes.com/news/yeltsin-aide-offers-solution-to-mystery-1.93743 |title=Yeltsin aide offers solution to mystery |newspaper=The Irish Times |date=4 August 1997 |access-date=17 December 2019 |archive-date=22 March 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210322063239/https://www.irishtimes.com/news/yeltsin-aide-offers-solution-to-mystery-1.93743 |url-status=live }}</ref> Yeltsin later announced that he had overslept.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/september/30/newsid_2542000/2542983.stm |title=1994: Sleepy Boris 'snubs' Irish leader |work=BBC News |access-date=17 December 2019 |archive-date=22 December 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191222072737/http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/september/30/newsid_2542000/2542983.stm |url-status=live }}</ref>

==== 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.

==== Succession ====
It was apparent that Reynolds no longer had enough support to govern, so he resigned as Taoiseach on 17 November 1994.<ref name=Oireachtas28June2016a>{{cite web|url=https://www.oireachtas.ie/parliament/media/housesoftheoireachtas/libraryresearch/lrsnotes/LRSNote_Caretaker_govs_FinalDraft28June2016_125621.pdf|title=Caretaker governments and caretaker conventions|publisher=Houses of the Oireachtas|author=Oireachtas Library and Research Service|date=28 June 2016|page=4|access-date=21 March 2017|quote=Box 1. Irish Caretaker Governments ... 1994 ...|archive-date=21 March 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170321171638/https://www.oireachtas.ie/parliament/media/housesoftheoireachtas/libraryresearch/lrsnotes/LRSNote_Caretaker_govs_FinalDraft28June2016_125621.pdf|url-status=dead}}</ref>

On 19 November 1994, Reynolds resigned as party leader, and the Minister for Finance Bertie Ahern was [[1994 Fianna Fáil leadership election|unanimously elected]] the sixth leader of Fianna Fáil. Reynolds's favoured successor, [[Máire Geoghegan-Quinn]], withdrew from the leadership contest on the morning of the vote. It initially appeared that Labour would rejoin the coalition with Fianna Fáil under Ahern, allowing Ahern to ascend to the position of Taoiseach. Instead, when it emerged that Ahern knew more about another case mishandled by Whelehan than previously known, Spring led Labour into successful coalition negotiations with Fine Gael and Democratic Left, and Fianna Fáil found themselves in opposition against a [[Rainbow Coalition (Ireland)|Rainbow Coalition]]. Reynolds remained acting Taoiseach until [[John Bruton]] took office on 15 December and then returned to the opposition backbenches.