Tánaiste Michael McDowell has refused to say whether he wishes the Taoiseach to issue a full statement clarifying issues surrounding his finances before deciding whether he would enter any new coalition government with Fianna Fáil.
Mr McDowell was asked about the issue during a press conference in Dublin to highlight Minister for Health Mary Harney's achievements in the health porfolio.
Asked if he would seek clarification on any element of the issues raised about payments to Mr Ahern by businessman Micheál Wall in the 1990s before negotiating a new coalition agreement, the Tánaiste said: "I believe there are a number of things upon which I would want to reflect.
Labour Party leader Pat Rabbitte
"I don't want to say more than that at this stage - we are here to talk about health. And I'm not going to answer your question directly, yes or no, if you don't mind, because I do want to reflect on what I have seen and what I have heard."
He was asked again to state whether that meant he would seek a full statement from the Taoiseach with regard to his financial affairs and again Mr McDowell said he wished to "reflect" on what he had heard in recent days.
Fine Gael and Labour also refused to be drawn into a debate about the Taoiseach's finances during their joint press conference in Dublin.
Fine Gael leader Enda Kenny was asked whether the election campaign was being clouded by the issues surrounding Mr Ahern's finances to the detriment of policy issues and whether the Taoiseach should come out and make an "unequivocal statement" about his finances.
He responded: "Well as far as I'm concerned, we have said what we have said about this. At the beginning of this election campaign I made it perfectly clear the election would be fought on the issues that are of real concern to the people, on health, education, transport and crime and all of that area.
"What we want to do is focus in the remainder of this electoral contest on how Ireland is going to be different with Fine Gael and Labour in government and how we are going to change things and change them for the better, to build that fairer society. And I'm not making any further comment on the matter that you have raised."
Labour Party leader Pat Rabbitte said the issues were "entirely a matter for Mr Ahern.
"We have done our best to intrude policy issues into this election campaign," he said, adding "the Irish people will draw their own conclusions in their own time".
Mr Rabbitte expressed concern that the issue "may well be getting to a stage where...it will damage the campaign and that it will do some damage to politics".
"Because people nowadays have got accustomed to the five-year cycle. That's the opportunity that people have to pass judgment on government and we really ought to be discussing the things that they say are urgent to them - anti-social behaviour, police numbers, policing itself...all of these issues.
"Very hard to get them heard through the din of what's been going on. I'm not saying the media aren't entitled to legitimately pursue these issues but it would be helpful if we could move on now to challenging the Government to defend some of its assertions.
"Like the issue raised by [Fine Gael finance spokesman] Richard Bruton a couple of days ago when we found the Government trying to pull a fast one on pensions that hadn't been costed into their plan. Then the next day they do a u-turn on stamp duty. It's very hard to get your teeth into those issues when this other thing is hanging spectrally over the conduct of the campaign."
Mr Ahern has said a payment of £30,000 received in cash from Mr Wall in 1994 was for the purpose of refurbishing a house in Drumcondra that he was renting from the Manchester-based businessman. He said the funds were not for him and were administered by his then-partner, Celia Larkin.