23rd Government of Ireland

The 23rd Government of Ireland, the first government of the 27th Dáil, was a coalition of Fianna Fáil (with leader Albert Reynolds as Taoiseach) and the Labour Party (with leader Dick Spring as Tánaiste). It was the first time that these two parties were in government together, as traditionally Fine Gael was the coalition partner of the Labour Party. The 1992 general election had been held on 25 November 1992 and the 27th Dáil first met on 14 December 1992, while post-election negotiations between the parties were still ongoing. A new Taoiseach was not elected, and hence a new government not appointed, until 12 January 1993. The 27th Dáil lasted until 1997, but its 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 and Democratic Left under Proinsias De Rossa, with Spring remaining as Tánaiste under Bruton as Taoiseach. This is the only time an Irish government has fallen without precipitating a general election.