"GOVERMENT"
In December 1991 Ireland signed the Treaty on European Union at Maastricht, The Netherlands,
after securing a special provision that guaranteed that Ireland’s abortion laws would not be affected
by future European Union policies. The treaty was ratified by a national referendum in June 1992.
Haughey resigned as prime minister and leader of Fianna Fáil in early 1992, amid allegations that he
had known about illegal phone tapping ordered by one of his ministers in a previousadministration;
Haughey’s former finance minister, Albert Reynolds, was chosen to replace him. Reynolds remained
prime minister after the elections of November 1992, but at the head of a coalition government made
up of Fianna Fáil and the Labour Party. In the elections, Irish voters also approved measures
guaranteeing access to information about abortion and legalizing foreign travel to get an abortion, but
rejected a constitutional amendment that would have broadened the availability of abortion within the
republic. However, these measures were not supported by a July 1993 Irish Supreme Court decision,
which upheld a ban on the distribution of overseas abortion information by a Dublin clinic. In November
1994 the coalition government collapsed over disagreements regarding Reynolds’s appointment of a
controversial new attorney-general, a move that led the Labour Party to withdraw its support of Fianna
Fáil. A new coalition government was formed, headed by Prime Minister John Bruton of the Fine Gael
Party. This new coalition was made up of members of Fine Gael, the Labour Party, and the Democratic
Left. In February 1997 a law legalizing divorce under certain circumstances went into effect in the
Republic of Ireland. Divorce had been banned in Ireland since the country gained independence from
Britain, and the new law was vigorously opposed by the Roman Catholic Church. Shortly
thereafter, John Bruton called a national election for June. He was faced with a growing scandal
involving large cash donations to members of parliament and criticism regarding his policies on Northern
Ireland. In the elections, Bruton’s three-party coalition government came away with only 75 seats in
the 166-seat lower house of parliament, compared to 81 for the opposition coalition of Fianna Fáil
and the Progressive Democrats. Though neither group was able to secure the 84 seats needed
for an overall majority, Fianna Fáil leader Bertie Ahern became the new prime minister. In
September 1997 President Mary Robinson resigned to become the United Nations High Commissioner
for Human Rights. The popular Robinson was widely credited with raising the profile and influence of
the largely ceremonial presidential office during her seven-year term. In elections held in October,
Robinson was replaced by Mary McAleese, a law professor from
Belfast, Northern Ireland.
