The emergence of the anti-nuclear campaigner, Ms Adi Roche, as Labour's likely candidate in the presidential election has put considerable pressure on the other parties, particularly Fianna Fail. The Labour leader, Mr Dick Spring, is to ask his party to support Ms Roche - who made her reputation through pioneering the Chernobyl Children's Project - as a presidential candidate who can command support from voters of all parties.
Sources in Fianna Fail said pressure will now be exerted on the Minister for Defence, Mr Andrews, to seek the party's nomination on Wednesday.
Mr Andrews, who is due to return today from Mother Teresa's funeral in India, declined to comment in Calcutta on the unfolding situation. With support for the former Taoiseach, Mr Albert Reynolds TD, said to be very significant in the parliamentary party, sources indicated that Mr Andrews would not allow his name to go forward unless he felt he had adequate support.
His absence in recent days has prevented him from mounting a late campaign and the Taoiseach, Mr Ahern, is anxious to avoid a by-election in Dun Laoghaire where the loss of a seat would further erode the position of his minority Government.
Well-placed sources said Mr Reynolds, after an intensive campaign, has already secured the backing of "a strong majority" of the 114 members of the parliamentary party and is well ahead of the other declared contenders, Mr Michael O'Kennedy TD and the Queen's University law lecturer, Ms Mary McAleese.
Attention is now centred on Ms Roche, a native of Clonmel, Co Tipperary, who lives in Cork, where she runs an operation which assists children contaminated by the Chernobyl nuclear disaster in 1986. She was approached in the past by Fianna Fail to contest the European Parliament elections in Munster, but declined.
She is expected to be formally declared a candidate tomorrow afternoon after the parliamentary Labour Party and the general council considers a recommendation from the party leader. Labour will then set about building cross-party support for its candidate.
Meanwhile, Fine Gael will tomorrow open a voting booth between 2 p.m. and 4 p.m. and members of the parliamentary party can vote for either Senator Avril Doyle or Ms Mary Banotti MEP as the party candidate.
Fianna Fail will meet on Wednesday morning at 11.30 in Leinster House and with the issue of choosing a presidential candidate the only item on the agenda, a result is expected in the early afternoon.
Sources in the Progressive Democrats said the emergence of Ms Roche as a candidate would "put a new complexion on everything". The party is not willing to support Mr Reynolds, but a spokesman last night said that the issue would not be decided until Wednesday when the parliamentary party meets.
The spokesman added that the Tanaiste, Ms Harney, was not acting for the Taoiseach, Mr Ahern, when she had discussions with broadcaster Marian Finucane last week about the presidential election.
"She was very much acting in a personal capacity," he said.
A spokesman for Democratic Left said his party was seeking a meeting with the Labour leader but the matter had been complicated by the death of Mr Spring's mother. Ms Roche was "a very worthy person . . . interesting and attractive in many respects" but Democratic Left would have to talk to both Ms Roche and the Labour Party before reaching any decision in relation to supporting her candidacy, he said.
The Green Party TD, Mr Trevor Sargent, said he would be "personally elated and extremely optimistic for this country if someone like Adi Roche was to win the support of the Irish people". His party's co-ordinating committee is due to meet on Wednesday and is now likely to discuss her possible candidacy.
"Personally I would want to support her. My instinct is that Adi Roche is coming from a very similar background to many Greens and we would have a kinship and empathy with her", Mr Sargent said.