Bertie Ahern should step down as Taoiseach for the good of the country according to Labour party leader Eamon Gilmore.
The Labour party leader warned that as long as Mr Ahern remains in office, the attention of the Government, the Oireachtas and the media would continue to focus on his problems in regard to financial donations and tax matters to the "detriment of a whole series of other serious problems facing this country".
"There is growing evidence already that the Taoiseach and his ministerial colleagues are already preoccupied with the issues surrounding Mr Ahern's finances and taxation and are no longer focussing on the problems of the country," he said.
During an address to his national executive committee in Waterford tonight the Labour leader said serious issues being ignored include the current A&E crisis, ongoing violent crime, the looming industrial relations problems in the public sector and the Lisbon Treaty.
Mr Gilmore said Mr Ahern has been "so damaged" by his inability to get a tax clearance certificate from the Revenue Commissioners that he is now "a Taoiseach without the authority necessary" to deal with the problems of the country.