The Government has been accused by Fine Gael of attempting to stifle public debate on the "passports for sale" scheme.
The party's Cork South West TD, Mr Jim O'Keeffe, has insisted that a review group's recommendation that it should not be reintroduced should have been revealed in the Dáil before it emerged in media reports at the weekend.
The review group was chaired by the director general of the Irish Prisons' Service, Mr Sean Alyward.
The group has recommended that any new scheme should have the approval of the Oireachtas and should be governed by a strict set of rules.
The Minister for Justice, Mr McDowell, has indicated that he has no plans to reintroduce the scheme in the future.
Mr O'Keeffe said that the report's release to the media, but not to opposition members of the Dáil, was "deliberately designed to draw minimum attention on the August Bank Holiday weekend".
He added that he was surprised Mr McDowell was willing to be party to attempts to spare Fianna Fáil blushes on an embarrassing affair.
"What is demanded is a full public debate on the future of the scheme in Dáil Éireann at the earliest opportunity," he added.
"Such a debate, if it is to be informed and complete, must go beyond the report itself and explore the murky depths of its past tawdry history under Charles Haughey."
