THE Tanaiste, Mr Spring, yesterday accused Fianna Fail of attempting to smear him by accusing him of not submitting his legal bill from the beef tribunal prior to polling day.
Fianna Fail's spokesman on law reform, Mr Willie O'Dea, had said in a statement that Mr Spring's legal bill for the tribunal was conservatively estimated to be at least £1 million.
"The bill will be met by the taxpayer, and the taxpayer has a right to know what is in store. It is time to come clean. The other option is, of course, for Dick Spring to agree these fees should be waived," said Mr O'Dea.
He said Mr Spring had been one of the prime movers in establishing the tribunal. Many of his allegations, investigated at the taxpayers' expense, had been found to have no basis in fact and a key member of his legal team had been his brother, Mr Donal Spring, Mr O'Dea said.
He added that it seemed Mr Spring's intention was to put the submission of the bill on the long finger and submit it when the next Dail resumed.
"This is a cowardly approach. I now call on Mr Spring to do [one of] two things, to waive the bill and spare the taxpayer or to submit the bill now in an upfront and open fashion," he said.
However, yesterday Mr Spring, who was meeting his party's Dublin candidates, said this was an ongoing smear campaign by Fianna Fail, but nothing had ever stood up.
Mr Spring said Fianna Fail knew that as soon as the fee had been drawn up it would be submitted. He said it was a matter between his legal advisers, the cost drawer and the High Court.
"To the best of my knowledge quite a lot of people have not yet submitted their fees. I have nothing to hide," he said.
Mr Spring said that if the administration of that time under Michael O'Kennedy, the Minister for Agriculture, had been doing its job properly, there would have been no need for a tribunal.
It was more evidence that Fianna Fail was "running scared" due to the opinion polls because the "don't knows" were swinging to the Rainbow and would continue to swing to the Rainbow, Mr Spring added.