THE Tanaiste's special adviser, Mr Fergus Finlay, is expected to be confirmed today as a new "link man" between the Labour backbenchers and the party's Ministers and leadership.
The appointment of Mr Finlay is anticipated when Mr Spring this afternoon presents a "revival plan" to a joint meeting of the Parliamentary Labour Party and its governing body, the Executive Committee.
The blueprint for recovery is designed to regain lost electoral support and to prepare the party for the next general election. Fears run deep among backbenchers particularly in Dublin that the party will suffer heavily at the next election. Anxieties were heightened last month after Labour's disastrous showing in the Dublin West by election and its disappointing performance in Donegal North East.
The party leader promised three weeks ago to bring forward a plan to chart a more hopeful electoral path for Labour and he was assisted in this by senior Labour Ministers as well as by Mr Finlay and two other advisers, Mr Greg Sparks and Mr Willy Scally.
There is no question, however, that Mr Spring's proposals for structural changes will involve a reshuffle. He will tell today's meeting that other changes will be introduced to enhance communications within the party and between Labour and the media.
There is a pervasive view, within the party that it has been the subject of extremely hostile media attention and the leadership is anxious to create a more positive image of Labour in the coming months.
It is understood that Mr Finlay, a highly influential figure in Labour, has been chosen to act as a kind of liaison officer between the party's hierarchy and backbenchers because of his deep knowledge of the organisational and his understanding of how government works.
Mr Finlay was recently at the K centre of controversy when he said that all party talks in Northern Ireland without Sinn Fein would be worth a penny.
Backbenchers have been complaining for some time that they are "isolated" from their colleagues at the Cabinet table and it is understood that Mr Spring will emphasise the need for more "inclusiveness" in the party.
Labour Party policy in the run up to the next election is to be refined by the party's Policy Development Commission, led by Mr Joe Costello, the Dublin TD.