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Richard Martin Spring (born 29 August 1950) is an Irish former Labour Party politician who served as Tánaiste from 1982 to 1987, 1992 to November 1994, and December 1994 to 1997, Leader of the Labour Party from 1982 to 1997, Minister for Foreign Affairs from 1993 to November 1994 and December 1994 to 1997, Minister for Energy from 1983 to 1987, and Minister for the Environment from 1982 to 1983. He was a Teachta Dála (TD) for Kerry North from 1981 to 2002.
Before his political career, Spring was a successful sportsman who played for the Ireland national rugby union team and the Kerry GAA football and hurling teams.
He then won rugby union caps for Munster Rugby, and lined out for London Irish in the UK. He also was capped for Ireland three times during the 1979 Five Nations Championship, debuting against on 20 January 1979 at Lansdowne Road, and receiving his last international cap on 17 February 1979 against at Lansdowne Road.
He was first elected to Dáil Éireann in the 1981 general election for the constituency of Kerry North, again succeeding his father. The Labour Party formed a coalition Government with Fine Gael and Spring was appointed a junior minister on his first day as a TD.
Labour took six of the fifteen cabinet ministries and had much of its election manifesto accepted by Fianna Fáil. Labour ministers led the new Departments of Equality and Law Reform and the reformed of Arts and Culture. Ethics legislation was to outlaw conflicts of interest. Male homosexual acts were to be decriminalised. Purchase of condoms without medical prescription was to be allowed. An extensive programme of family law reform and provision for a divorce referendum was to be undertaken. Spring insisted on a formalised system of programme managers, and state-paid advisers to push the new government's policy platform.
However support for the Labour Party declined, particularly as many voters felt betrayed by Labour for going into government with Fianna Fáil. In June 1994, the Labour Party performed disastrously in by-elections in Dublin South-Central and in Cork North-Central. In both cases, the seats were won by Democratic Left. This had grave implications for the electoral health of the party and therefore for the policy of the Labour leadership.
In late 1994, Reynolds wished to appoint the Attorney General, Harry Whelehan, as President of the High Court, but delayed for over a month. Spring had reservations about Whelehan being suitable, owing to the alleged laxity of his handling of a particular child abuse criminal case, involving a disgraced Catholic priest. Reynolds for his part could not understand why Spring was against Whelehan being nominated to the High Court, and yet had no concerns with Whelehan serving as Attorney General. Reynolds became annoyed with Spring's stance, and his failure to communicate his reservations, and decided to proceed anyway, whilst calling Spring's bluff. Spring and the other Labour ministers withdrew from the cabinet meeting which proceeded to recommend Whelehan's appointment to the President. Immediately afterwards, Reynolds implemented the decision.
There followed a rather heated discussion in the Dáil, concerning the appointment. Fine Gael asked questions about Whelehan's suitability and objectivity. This was supportive of Spring's position. Democratic Left TD Pat Rabbitte then implied that the Catholic hierarchy was instructing Reynolds to appoint Whelehan. Reynolds became irate with this allegation and responded angrily. Reynolds now realised that Spring was uncompromising about Whelehan. To remain in government, Reynolds removed Whelehan; however, Spring refused to go back into government with Reynolds. Whelehan served as President of the High Court for one day.
Spring proceeded to withdraw from the government. The minority Reynolds government then lost a vote of confidence in the Dáil. Reynolds resigned as party leader but continued as a caretaker Taoiseach. Spring entered into negotiations with Reynolds' successor as party, Bertie Ahern, the Minister for Finance. In early December, they agreed to reform the Fianna Fáil–Labour Government. On the eve of that government being formed, The Irish Times published a report that Ahern knew more about an aspect of the scandal that had brought down Reynolds than had previously been known. Spring broke off negotiations with Fianna Fáil, and instead pursued negotiations to form a coalition with Fine Gael and Democratic Left. In December 1994, Fine Gael, Labour and Democratic Left formed a coalition government, referred to as the Rainbow Coalition, forestalling the possibility of an election. Spring returned to his positions as Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs. This was the first occasion on which a new Irish government was formed without a general election. The previous Fianna Fáil and Labour Programme for Government was substantially adopted by the new government and in return for making John Bruton the Taoiseach, Ruairi Quinn of Labour became the first-ever Labour Minister for Finance.
During his period as Foreign Minister, Spring played a role in the Northern Ireland peace process, and along with Reynolds was involved in negotiations leading to the Provisional Irish Republican Army and Ulster loyalism ceasefires of 1994. With Reynolds, he received warm applause in the Dáil on the announcement of the Downing Street Declaration in December 1993. He also advanced Ireland's membership of the Partnership for Peace, a sister organization of NATO, a controversial issue due to Ireland's policy of Neutral country.
He remained a TD, being appointed a director in the formerly state-owned recently privatized telecommunications company Eircom in 1999. Its initial flotation led to a stock market bubble which affected a large number of small shareholders. It was later revealed that he did not purchase shares in the company.
Spring lost his seat in a shock result at the 2002 general election. He has not sought political office since.
As Foreign Minister, there was much critical comment in the media on Spring's extensive foreign travel. Spring got even harsher criticism, for using the Government Jet to reduce journey times between his home in Tralee and his office in Dublin. However, he did conduct, for the first time, a public consultative process that involved a wide range of citizenry and social groups as well as members of the diaspora, in the re-shaping of Irish foreign policy through the first-ever White Paper on Foreign Policy in 1996.Challenges and Opportunities Abroad - White Paper on Foreign Policy, Department of Foreign Affairs, Stationery Office, Dublin 1996
Critics of Dick Spring have described him as a champagne socialist, owing to his choice of the Waldorf Astoria Hotel when staying in New York as Foreign Minister, instead of staying in the then Irish-owned Fitzpatrick Hotel. Spring brought the Irish Labour Party unprecedented exposure and power in government, at a time when the two significantly larger right-of-centre political blocs had precedence in every election.
Spring received a directorship appointment to the Irish state telecom enterprise, Eircom, in advance of the scheduled privatisation. As leader of a left-of-centre party, this was to endorse the privatization and gain consent from the labour unions to the privatisation plan. However, the privatisation was a financial disaster for members of the public, who became ordinary shareholders in the privatisation process. Spring became the target for much of the discontent. Spring's low work involvement, and generous remuneration package, were openly described as 'scandalous', by shareholder advocate Senator Shane Ross. He continues to hold a directorship, with the Financial Services firm FEXCO, based in Killorglin, County Kerry.
Spring lives in Tralee with his wife Kristi (), an American whom he met while working in New York as a bartender. They have three children. His nephew Arthur Spring was a Labour Party TD for Kerry North–West Limerick until March 2016, having first been a councillor for the Tralee electoral area of Kerry County Council. Spring is a member of Ballybunion Golf Club, and has invited former U.S. President Bill Clinton, amongst others, to visit there.
He is a director of Allied Irish Bank and receives annual pension payments of €121,108.
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