THE Tanaiste, Mr Spring, last night backed the Minister for Justice, Mrs Owen, after saying earlier he would have to have the full facts before he could make any decision.
Mr Spring first commented on the controversy yesterday morning in Cairo, Egypt, where he was on EU business. "The situation is serious," he said. "The new revelations haven't helped the matter and I want to have all the facts before I make any decision."
Mr Spring spoke to the Taoiseach by telephone twice on Monday night. He was informed of the new development at around 8 p.m. Irish time.
He arrived back in Ireland at 6.30 p.m yesterday. During the six-hour flight, he was kept in touch with developments in the Dail confidence debate and the High Court.
Last night, he said he had "reviewed the situation with my ministers on my return to Dublin this evening". He believed "that the Minister for Justice has offered a reasonable explanation of the letter which caused concern on Monday evening".
It is understood Mr Spring had not spoken to the Taoiseach or any Fine Gael Ministers when he made his comments last night.
"The proposed changes in the administration of justice are significant and they have my full support," he said.
Asked about Democratic Left deputy, Mr Eric Byrne's statement that if one of the 16 prisoners is released Mrs Owen should resign, Mr Spring said he was "not going to engage in hypothesis in that respect".
He accused Fianna Fail of making"simplistic and facile" comparisons with the Labour Party decision to pull out of government in 1994. "The situation in 1994 was that I spent a lot of time and effort looking for answers to make sure there was a fair account of what happened. And I didn't get those answers."
