The 1992 general election was held on 25 November 1992. The 23rd

Government of Ireland The Government of Ireland ( ga, Rialtas na hÉireann) is the cabinet that exercises executive authority in Ireland. The Constitution of Ireland vests executive authority in a government which is headed by the , the head of government. The govern ...

(12 January 1993 – 15 December 1994), the first government of the 27th Dáil, was a

coalition A coalition is a group formed when two or more people or groups temporarily work together to achieve a common goal. The term is most frequently used to denote a formation of power in political or economical spaces. Formation According to ''A Gui ...

Fianna Fáil Fianna Fáil (, ; meaning 'Soldiers of Destiny' or 'Warriors of Fál'), officially Fianna Fáil – The Republican Party ( ga, audio=ga-Fianna Fáil.ogg, Fianna Fáil – An Páirtí Poblachtánach), is a conservative and Christia ...

(with leader

Albert Reynolds Albert Martin Reynolds (3 November 1932 – 21 August 2014) was an Irish Fianna Fáil politician who served as Taoiseach from 1992 to 1994, Leader of Fianna Fáil from 1992 to 1994, Minister for Finance from 1988 to 1991, Minister for Indust ...

Taoiseach The Taoiseach is the head of government, or prime minister, of Ireland. The office is appointed by the president of Ireland upon the nomination of Dáil Éireann (the lower house of the Oireachtas, Ireland's national legislature) and the of ...

) and the Labour Party, with leader

Dick Spring Dick Spring (born 29 August 1950) is an Irish businessman and former politician. He was a Labour Party Teachta Dála (TD) for the Kerry North from 1981 to 2002. He became leader of the Labour Party in 1982, and held this position until 1997 ...

Tánaiste The Tánaiste ( , ) is the deputy head of the government of Ireland and thus holder of its second-most senior office. The Tánaiste is appointed by the President of Ireland on the advice of the Taoiseach. The current office holder is former Tao ...

. It was the first time that these two parties were in government together; on each previous occasion Labour was in government, it was a junior coalition party with

Fine Gael Fine Gael (, ; English: "Family (or Tribe) of the Irish") is a liberal-conservative and Christian-democratic political party in Ireland. Fine Gael is currently the third-largest party in the Republic of Ireland in terms of members of Dáil É ...

. The 27th Dáil lasted until 1997, but the first government fell in 1994 after the breakdown of relations between the two parties. It was succeeded by the 24th Government, a coalition of Labour with Fine Gael under

John Bruton John Gerard Bruton (born 18 May 1947) is an Irish former Fine Gael politician who served as Taoiseach from 1994 to 1997, Ambassador of the European Union to the United States from 2004 to 2009, Leader of Fine Gael from 1990 to 2001, Leader ...

and Democratic Left under

Proinsias De Rossa Proinsias De Rossa (born 15 May 1940) is a former Irish Labour Party politician who served as Minister for Social Welfare from 1994 to 1997, Leader of Democratic Left from 1992 to 1999 and Leader of the Workers' Party from 1988 to 1992. He s ...

, with Spring serving again as Tánaiste under Bruton as Taoiseach. This was the only time a new government with a different party composition was formed within a single Dáil term.

Nomination of Taoiseach

The

members of the 27th Dáil The 27th Dáil was elected at the 1992 general election on 25 November 1992 and met on 14 December 1992. The members of Dáil Éireann, the house of representatives of the Oireachtas (legislature) of Ireland, are known as TDs. The 27th Dáil ...

first met on 14 December 1992. In the debate on the nomination of Taoiseach,

Fianna Fáil leader ''Fianna'' ( , ; singular ''Fian''; gd, Fèinne ) were small warrior-hunter bands in Gaelic Ireland during the Iron Age and early Middle Ages. A ''fian'' was made up of freeborn young males, often aristocrats, "who had left fosterage but had n ...

and outgoing Taoiseach

Fine Gael leader Fine may refer to: Characters * Sylvia Fine (''The Nanny''), Fran's mother on ''The Nanny'' * Officer Fine, a character in ''Tales from the Crypt'', played by Vincent Spano Legal terms * Fine (penalty), money to be paid as punishment for an offe ...

and Labour Party leader

were each proposed. None of these proposals were passed by the Dáil: Reynolds received 68 votes in favour with 94 against, Bruton received 55 in favour to 107 against, and Spring received 39 in favour to 122 against. Reynolds resigned as Taoiseach and continued in a caretaker capacity. On 12 January 1993, Albert Reynolds and John Bruton were again proposed for the nomination of the Dáil for the position of Taoiseach, and on this occasion, the nomination of Reynolds was successful by 102 votes to 60. Reynolds was then appointed as Taoiseach by

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university * President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ...

Mary Robinson Mary Therese Winifred Robinson ( ga, Máire Mhic Róibín; ; born 21 May 1944) is an Irish politician who was the 7th president of Ireland, serving from December 1990 to September 1997, the first woman to hold this office. Prior to her electi ...

Members of the Government

After his appointment as Taoiseach by the president, Albert Reynolds proposed the members of the government and they were approved by the Dáil. They were appointed by the president on the same day. ;Notes:

Attorney General

On 12 January 1993

Harry Whelehan Harry Whelehan (born 17 February 1944) is an Irish barrister and judge who served as President of the High Court from 15 November 1994 to 17 November 1994, a Judge of the High Court from November 1994 to December 1994 and Attorney General of I ...

SC was appointed by the president as

Attorney General In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general or attorney-general (sometimes abbreviated AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. The plural is attorneys general. In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have exec ...

on the nomination of the Taoiseach. He resigned as Attorney General on 11 November 1994 on his nomination as President of the High Court (a position he would serve in for only two days). On 11 November 1994, Eoghan Fitzsimons SC was appointed by the president as Attorney General on the nomination of the Taoiseach.

Ministers of State

On 12 January 1993, the Government on the nomination of the Taoiseach appointed Noel Dempsey to the post of Minister for State at the Department of the Taoiseach with special responsibility as Government Chief Whip. On 14 January 1993, the Government on the nomination of the Taoiseach appointed the other

Ministers of State Minister of State is a title borne by politicians in certain countries governed under a parliamentary system. In some countries a Minister of State is a Junior Minister of government, who is assigned to assist a specific Cabinet Minister. In o ...

Confidence in the government

After the sum of

European Structural and Investment Funds The European Structural and Investment Funds (ESI Funds, ESIFs) are financial tools governed by a common rulebook, set up to implement the regional policy of the European Union, as well as the structural policy pillars of the Common Agricultural ...

allocated to Ireland was lower than previously announced, a

motion of no confidence A motion of no confidence, also variously called a vote of no confidence, no-confidence motion, motion of confidence, or vote of confidence, is a statement or vote about whether a person in a position of responsibility like in government or mana ...

was proposed in the government. This was then debated on 28 October 1993 as a motion of confidence in the government, proposed by the Taoiseach. It was approved by a vote of 94 to 55.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Government of the 27th Dail, 1st 1993 establishments in Ireland 1994 disestablishments in Ireland 27th Dáil Cabinets established in 1993 Cabinets disestablished in 1994 Coalition governments of Ireland Governments of Ireland