The Taoiseach, Mr Ahern, faces Opposition questions in the Dail about the appointment of Fianna Fail TD Mr John Ellis as chairman of the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture and the Marine.
Fine Gael said last night it might raise the matter in the Dail after the recess if Mr Ahern did not explain in the meantime how Mr Ellis was given the position of chairman of the committee after being told he owed more than £300,000 to a group of farmers in the west.
It was also learned last night that a special meeting of the committee was likely to be convened to discuss Mr Ellis's position unless he voluntarily resigned as chairman.
Two Fine Gael members of the committee, Mr Paul Connaughton and Mr Michael Finucane, met Mr Ellis privately last week and asked him to step aside. Mr Ellis said he would reflect on their request. However, the committee has not heard from Mr Ellis since.
Last night Mr Connaughton said he would let the matter rest for this week. However, if the committee has not heard from Mr Ellis after the recess, a meeting of the committee may be called to discuss the matter.
It is known that senior Fianna Fail figures are also anxious that Mr Ellis resign his chairmanship of the committee, a position that is worth £10,000 a year in expenses. However, Fianna Fail has not publicly called on Mr Ellis to resign.
Mr Connaughton said last night he was concerned that Mr Ellis was elected as chairman of the committee after Mr Ahern was made aware of the extent of Mr Ellis's indebtedness to farmers.
The Farmers Positive Action Group wrote to Mr Ahern in the summer of 1997, just after the Government was formed, asking him to investigate the matter.
A Government source said last night it was nonsense to think that nobody knew when Mr Ellis was elected as chairman of the committee in 1997 that he had had financial difficulties in the late 80s. "It was well known and documented for years that Mr Ellis's business owed farmers money."
The source said it was the members of the Dail committees who elected chairpersons, and not the Taoiseach.
It has emerged that in 1989 and 1990, Mr Ellis was given £26,000 by Mr Charles Haughey from the Fianna Fail party leader's account to settle debts and that National Irish Bank also wrote off a £243,000 debt during that period.